Jackson Pollock's Mural

The painting was last conserved in 1973 and included a wax-resin lining treatment that successfully mitigated a long history of flaking. However, it also locked into place a sag in the canvas, resulting in a misalignment of the painted image with its rectangular stretcher.

In addition, a varnish applied during this treatment had become dull, masking the vibrancy of many of the colors and obscuring the subtle variations of gloss one might expect from such a varied surface. Structurally, the 1973 stretcher was unable to support the considerable weight of the lined canvas.

Scientific research undertaken by the Getty Conservation Institute focused on the paints and application techniques used by the artist to determine if any of the well-known characteristics of Pollock's later work—such as the use of house paints and his placement of the canvas on the floor while he painted—were part of his working methods in creating Mural.

There is strong documentary evidence that Mural was painted as a stretched canvas leaned against a wall in Pollock's New York apartment/studio, and most of the paint appears applied with the canvas upright. However, one paint, a pink, stringy paint, had a different appearance, similar to his later works’ enamel house paints, which he poured onto a canvas lying on his studio floor.

The Getty team investigated whether Pollock might have applied this paint onto Mural in a similar way despite the cramped conditions in his studio. The team manipulated modern oil paints with various media and solvents to alter their viscosity, and experimented with application methods. The team found that paint of a certain consistency, when flicked at a test canvas placed upright, could create the same results. It is therefore unlikely that Pollock laid this painting horizontally to apply paint to the canvas for Mural.

Getty Museum conservators removed surface grime and then an aged synthetic varnish, making an important visual change to the depth and surface of the painting. However, the larger conservation challenge was deciding how to deal with the exposed edges of the painting and the pronounced sag in the original canvas. The stretcher from the 1973 treatment needed to be remade to properly bear the weight of the artwork.

Consulting numerous colleagues in the field, the Getty research team explored how the shape of the painted surface could be incorporated into the new stretcher design. A slightly curved stretcher was created to follow the existing painted edges, thereby returning all areas of unpainted canvas to the sides of the stretcher, and to re-establish the original edges of Pollock's work.

Conservation Institute: Herant Khanjian, Tom Learner, Joy Mazurek, Alan Phenix, Rachel Rivenc, Michael Schilling

Getty Museum: Yvonne Szafran, Laura Rivers

Research Institute: Andrew Perchuck