In her New York Times article, “A Real Pollock? On This, Art and Science Collide” (November 25, 2013), Patricia Cohen writes about the dispute between connoisseurs and forensic scientists about whether the painting, “Red, Black and Silver” (owned by Ruth Kligman) can be attributed to Jackson Pollock. It is a contentious issue and a positive attribution would mean an additional millions of dollars in value. Forensic analysis of fibers and other substances including polar bear hairs found on the painting placed its creation in Pollock’s home. However, Francis V. O’Connor, editor of the Pollock catalogue, says that this does not definitively establish that it was Pollock who created it there and argues that the shapes, compositional devices, and linear rhythms of this painting bear no relationship to those of any other work by Pollock. When it comes to attribution, it shouldn’t be one or the other but connoisseurs and forensic experts working together.
It shouldn’t be one or the other, but both working together
