#18: “Mural” by Jackson Pollock – Getty Center, Los Angeles
Commissioned in 1943, this early Pollock work shocked critics with its sheer size and raw energy. Abandoning traditional composition, it laid the groundwork for Abstract Expressionism. Many dismissed it at the time as chaotic or meaningless, unable to reconcile it with existing ideas of artistic form. Today, it’s seen as a turning point in American art.
