Blue Poles

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

SHORTLISTED FOR THE AGE BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2026

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 entrée 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.

'Superb . McIlroy is a gifted writer who finds clear lines of storytelling as he unpacks an intricate story . Australia has needed this book for a long time' THE AGE

'A terrific book, a must-read for the year' READINGS

'An engaging read and a fine testament to a moment in time that is scandalous and triumphant in equal measure' THE AUSTRALIAN

'Well-crafted and thoroughly absorbing' INSIDE STORY

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