Fonds LA.SC165 - Jack Pollock fonds

Identity area

Reference code

LA.SC165

Title

Jack Pollock fonds

Date(s)

  • 1920-[199-] (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

26 cm of textual records
229 photographs (129 negatives, 60 slides, 40 prints)
61 drawings
11 prints
5 posters

Context area

Name of creator

(1930-1992)

Biographical history

John Henry Pollock (1930–1992), known primarily as Jack Pollock, was a Canadian art dealer, painter, art instructor, author and owner/director of the Pollock Gallery in Toronto. Born in Toronto, he attended the Ontario College of Art there and the Slade School of Fine Art in London, England. He opened the Pollock Gallery in Toronto in 1960. In 1962, Jack Pollock met Anishinaabe painter and printmaker Norval Morrisseau while teaching in northern Ontario. Shortly after, he mounted an exhibition (1962) of the artist’s work at the Pollock Gallery, which continued to represent Morrisseau for several years. In 1979, Jack Pollock collaborated with author and broadcaster Lister Sinclair (1921–2006) on the illustrated publication The art of Norval Morrisseau (Toronto: Methuen, 1979). Pollock also wrote We all are all (Toronto, 1980), a privately-published book of poetry illustrated with his own drawings; Dear M (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1989), a memoir in letters written to his psychiatrist between 1984 and 1987; and several exhibition catalogues. After he became chronically ill, the Pollock Gallery closed in 1981. In 1984 he moved to Gordes in the south of France. Jack Pollock died in Toronto in 1992. Paintings, prints and drawings by Jack Pollock are in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Hamilton (Ont.) and other public art museums in Canada.

Archival history

The materials now constituting the Jack Pollock fonds were gathered and maintained after Pollock's death by his niece, Barbara Barrett, who transferred them to the AGO in 2019.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

AGO Credit line: Gift of Barbara Ann Barrett, 2021

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Fonds consists of the personal records of Jack Pollock, including his writings (unpublished and manuscript); selected correspondence, experimental works on paper, publicity material such as press clippings, photographs of the artist and his associates, and related personal documents.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open. Access to Special Collections is by appointment only. Please contact the reference desk for more information.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copyright is held by the creator or their heirs. Copyright belonging to other parties, such as that of photographs, may still rest with the creator of these items. It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission to publish any part of the fonds.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

The Pollock Gallery fonds contains the business records of Jack Pollock's art gallery.

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Edward P. Taylor Library and Archives, Art Gallery of Ontario

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Final

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation revision deletion

Originally prepared 2021; uploaded 8 July 2022

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

Archivist's note

Prepared and uploaded by Amy Furness

Accession area

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