Happy Birthday Jackson Pollock!
Thomas Hart Benton was part of a group of artists referred to as the Regionalists. His interest was in depicting scenes of normal life in the Midwest. Pollock's early work was strongly influenced by Benton's.
In the 1940s Jackson Pollock began placing his blank canvases on the floor. He dripped, splattered and poured paint directly from the can to create completely abstracted "action paintings". This technique allowed Pollock the freedom to move around all 4 sides of the painting.
Jackson Pollock struggled with alcoholism throughout his life. On August 11, 1956 he had a car accident while driving drunk that killed both him and a passenger in his car.