Early self-portrait by Lee Krasner
Style icon: Lee Krasner
woman of substance (and style), of chic, European sensibilities (even through lack of financial stability for most of her married life) -- the "silent", unspoken genius. While there is an aura of ennui, of chaos, self-destruction and America enmeshed around the figure of Jackson Pollock, Krasner is put-together, practical, canny and composed. As she selflessly promoted her husband's art and nurtured his creativity, Krasner also made time to continue her own painting. I admire this steely-eyed determination. In the words of Coco Chanel, "Elegance is refusal." Lee seems to innately bring the saying to life, often poised in a self-knowing, individual stance in photos, never dwarfed beside the looming character of her husband. Her fashion savvy
indicates a parisian, artistic sense of cool, whether in a man's shirt and slacks, or a full skirt paired with Grecian sandals -- she is always a class act.
I had a recent encounter with the milieu of both husband and wife, the Pollock-Krasner House located in The Springs.
It was my second visit to the site, the first being made many years ago in adolescence. On my first visit, I recall being transfixed by the mythic character of Pollock, the peeled-back floorboards in his studio, and the ghostly ashes of many a cigarette; pointing out, as if negative space in a painting, the absences where the man would have stood in life. Upon a second visit, Pollock faded into the distance, and Lee presumed her silent reign. The home and studio there were a hearth, maintained and kept in order by Lee. Organic, sea-shapes line the sills of the bedroom in the house. It is her presence that charges the grounds, her wit and wisdom, her style and outlook.
The Art of Refusal: Lee Krasner in (above) Pollock's studio and (below) her own studio.
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