Tom and Jack

The drip paintings of Jackson Pollock, trailblazing Abstract Expressionist, appear to be the polar opposite of Thomas Hart Bentons highly figurative Americana. Yet the two men had a close and highly charged relationship dating from Pollocks days as a student under Benton. Pollocks first and only formal training came from Benton, and the older man soon became a surrogate father to Pollock. In true Oedipal fashion, Pollock even fell in love with Bentons wife.
Pollock later broke away from his mentor artistically, rocketing to superstardom with his stunning drip compositions. But he never lost touch with Benton or his ideas-in fact, his breakthrough abstractions reveal a strong debt to Bentons teachings. I n an epic story that ranges from the cafés and salons of Gertrude Steins Paris to the highways of the American West, Henry Adams, acclaimed author of Eakins Revealed, unfolds a poignant personal drama that provides new insights into two of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.