Overview
Join our debut collaboration with Regent Street Cinema for a screening of Pollock (2000).Directed by and starring Ed Harris, the film traces the arc of the life of “an artist dedicated to concealment, a celebrity who nobody knew.” The film takes us back to the early forties when the artist was living with his brother in a tiny New York apartment, drinking heavily and exhibiting only in small group shows, to meeting fellow artist Lee Krasner, through to his untimely death in 1956. As in life, Krasner is the real heroine of the story, supporting him through the grips of alcohol, his inner demons and insecurities, putting her own career second to be his companion, lover, champion and wife.
The film rightly neither romanticises nor demonises Pollock, managing to avoid the heavy-handed clichés that have gathered around the artist since he first became widely known, focusing instead on something that films about artists rarely get right: the act of making art itself.
Introducing the screening will be Christie’s Education Lecturer and Art Historian Ben Street who will also host a post-film discussion and Q&As.
Proceeds will go towards the Christie’s Education Trust.