Found Pollock painting may be worth $10M
Jackson Pollock PHOENIX spent nearly all of his youth in Arizona and California. He even left a tiny bit of himself in Phoenix, close to what is now Sky Harbor International Airport.
The 20th-century artist, internationally known for abstract, splatter and “drip” paintings, became a sensation in the New York art world starting in the 1940s until his death in 1956.
So how is it that one of Pollock’s paintings might have found its way into a Sun City attic?
Josh Levine, owner and founder of J. Levine Auction & Appraisal, said that he received a phone call from a Sun City resident, asking his firm to look at Los Angeles Lakers memorabilia that was signed by longtime star Kobe Bryant.
What they found in addition seemed to be a proverbial treasure chest of 20th-century modern art, including works that appear to be created by Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Cora Kelley Ward and Pollock.
Did he have a Pollock in hand? The possibility captured Levine’s interest. Knowing how common fraud is in the art world, he says he spent more than $50,000 on forensics reports and private investigators to trace the lineage of the piece.
Levine walked through the connection from Pollock to the Sun City homeowner, whose name is not being released. Levine said he was a patient at an assisted-living facility and was being represented by a person with power of attorney over his estate.
The forensics report, done by Peter Paul Biro, said that the paint on the alleged Pollock work contained no pigments or binding that was introduced after Pollock’s death.
This revelation, combined with information provided by private investigators hired by Levine, left no doubt in his mind that he was in possession of the real deal.
“I’m brave enough to call it a Jackson Pollock and put my entire reputation on it,” Levine said.
Levine, who is auctioning the Pollock piece at his auction house in Scottsdale on June 20, expects it to sell for at least $10 million.
“The owner of the painting had no idea what he had. He said to me, ‘I didn’t even know who he (Pollock) was until you told me about him,’ ” Levine said.