Identity area
Reference code
Title
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
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Fonds consists of the personal records of Jack Pollock, including his writings (unpublished and manuscript); selected correspondence, experimental works on paper, publicity material such as press clippings, photographs of the artist and his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
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Pollock, Jack (Subject)
- Pollock Gallery (Toronto, Ont.) (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
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