Enamel paint on Canvas

Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) is a 1950 abstract expressionist painting by American artist Jackson Pollock in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The work is a distinguished example of Pollock’s 1947-52 poured-painting style, and is often considered one of his most notable works.

Autumn Rhythm was made in the fall of 1950 at Pollock’s studio in Springs, New York, as part of a group of paintings he first exhibited at the Betty Parsons Gallery in November–December, 1951. Pollock’s technique in the painting, like others made during this part of his career, involved working on unprimed canvas laid on the floor of his studio, pouring paint from cans or using sticks, heavily loaded brushes and other implements to control a stream of paint as he dripped and flung it onto the canvas. At 17 feet wide and 8 feet high, Autumn Rhythm is among Pollock’s largest pictures.

The creation of Autumn Rhythm was partly documented by Hans Namuth, who photographed Pollock at work over several months in 1950. According to art historian Monica Bohm-Duchen, Namuth’s photographs lend insight to the sequence in which Pollock filled in the canvas, and the order in which paint colors were applied to the work. Pollock began by painting the right third of the canvas, laying down a skein of thin black lines, and then adding other colors of paint (mostly browns and white, with a small amount of teal blue) using several methods of dripping and pouring to create a variety of types of lines and puddled areas of paint until the section began to resemble its finished state. He then moved on to the center section, and ultimately the left-hand section using the same process. Throughout the making of the work, he painted from all sides of the canvas.