Blue Poles : Jackson Pollock, Gough Whitlam and the Painting That Changed a Nation - Tom McIlroy

Blue Poles

Jackson Pollock, Gough Whitlam and the Painting That Changed a Nation

By: Tom McIlroy

Paperback | 26 February 2025 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback


RRP $34.99

$31.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $7.94 with

 or 

Available: 26th February 2025

Preorder. Will ship when available.

An iconic American painting. An Australian controversy. Where art and politics, myth-making and modernism intersect, there is Blue Poles by Jackson Pollock. Now in the eye-opening Blue Poles book, journalist Tom McIlroy uncovers the fascinating story of the painter, the politics, and the national scandal that followed.

The captivating story behind the iconic Blue Poles - the painter, the process, the patronage, the politics and the national scandal.


In 1973, Blue Poles, the iconic painting by America's great abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock, was acquired by the Australian government for A$1.4 million. This record-setting price for an artwork sparked a media sensation and controversy both in Australia and the United States.

Blue Poles: Jackson Pollock, Gough Whitlam and the painting that changed a nation details how Jackson Pollock rose to fame, the negotiations that led to the artwork's move to the National Gallery of Australia, and the many successes and turbulent turns in between.

This story covers Pollock's entree into an art circle which included renowned patron Peggy Guggenheim, as well as his relationship with artist Lee Krasner, and the larger-than-life accounts that surrounded his artistic practice - including questions around the creation of Blue Poles.

It was Gough Whitlam's commitment to the arts and cultural capital that would see the painting move to another continent, where the media feasted on stories of its cost and brows were raised over its merit. The value of Blue Poles to the Australian art and museum landscape was yet to be foreseen.

Journalist Tom McIlroy tells a compelling account of one of Australia's most prized paintings, which stirred up many storms from the time of its creation to its placement in the NGA.

About the Author

Tom McIlroy is a political correspondent with the Australian Financial Review, reporting from the press gallery at Parliament House. Born and raised in Melbourne, he has reported for a range of newspapers in Australia and overseas, including The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Ballarat Courier, Canberra Times and Houston Chronicle.

A graduate of Melbourne University and RMIT University, McIlroy has been featured in a range of publications including Meanjin and Art Monthly Australasia. Based in Canberra, he writes on national politics, the arts, tax and the economy. Blue Poles is his first book.

More in Abstract Expressionism

Kandinsky : Basic Arts Series - Hajo Düchting

RRP $39.99

$33.90

15%
OFF
Kilims : Warp & Weft - MICHAEL MANDAPATI

$134.25

Glory of the World : Color Field Painting (1950s to 1983) - Bonnie Clearwater
Soo Kyoung Lee - SOO KYOUNG LEE

$61.25

Abstract Expressionism : Basic Arts Series - Barbara Hess

RRP $39.99

$35.35

12%
OFF
Cy Twombly - Jonas Storsve

Hardcover

RRP $90.00

$77.80

14%
OFF
James Bishop : Paintings on Paper - James Bishop

RRP $99.00

$63.90

35%
OFF
Rethinking Arshile Gorky - Kim S. Theriault

RRP $113.00

$92.80

18%
OFF
Gerald Wilde : 1905 - 1986 - Chili Hawes
John Carter : On Paper - Stephen Bann

RRP $59.99

$41.25

31%
OFF
Lee Krasner : A Biography - Gail Levin

RRP $24.99

$24.50

Abstract Art : Basic Arts Series - Dietmar Elger
Peter Voulkos : The Breakthrough Years - Glenn Adamson

RRP $62.99

$45.25

28%
OFF
Pollock : Basic Arts Series - Leonhard Emmerling
Ten Americans : After Paul Klee - Zentrum Paul Klee

RRP $99.00

$63.90

35%
OFF
Abstract Painting and Abstraction - Emyr Williams

RRP $49.99

$44.90

10%
OFF
Rothko : Basic Arts Series - Jacob Baal-Teshuva

RRP $39.99

$39.40

Bacon : Basic Arts Series - Luigi Ficacci

$42.87

Bridget Riley - Bridget Riley

Paperback

RRP $79.99

$78.95