---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the late 30s the name Pollock was…"
description: "\"In the late 30s the name Pollock was totally unknown and unheard of.\" — Lee Krasner"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/lee-krasner-22132_artist_in-the-late-30s-the-name-pollock-was-tot_2261927.png"
---

#  In the late 30s the name Pollock was totally unknown and…

![“In the late 30s the name Pollock was totally unknown and unheard of.” quote by Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/lee-krasner-22132_artist_in-the-late-30s-the-name-pollock-was-tot_2261927.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/lee-krasner-22132_artist_in-the-late-30s-the-name-pollock-was-tot_2261927.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/lee-krasner-22132_artist_in-the-late-30s-the-name-pollock-was-tot_2261927.png)

> “In the late 30s the name Pollock was totally unknown and unheard of.”

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Pollock was obscure in the 1930s, highlighting how artistic recognition can emerge from obscurity.

**In simple terms:** Pollock was unknown before later fame.

Key Takeaway

Recognize talent before it’s popular.

Themes

art recognition history obscurity legacy

Mood

reflective optimistic

Type

historical analytical

When to use this quote

- gallery opening
- art school
- critical review
- collector interest

Key Concepts

cultural shift artist development market dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- How do we discover hidden talent today?
- What role does timing play in artistic success?

A Different Perspective

Later fame may retroactively color perception of early work.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/)

## Related quotes

> [I may die unknown, unheard,incomplete but not my thoughts, they will serve and survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/i-may-die-unknown-unheard-incomplete-but-not-my-thoughts-they-will/)

Senoraroy

> [“How will you go about finding that thing the nature of which is totally unknown to you?" (Plato)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/how-will-you-go-about-finding-that-thing-the-nature-of-which-is-3/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [I was totally unknown in the television and film industry in Canada.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-bee/i-was-totally-unknown-in-the-television-and-film-industry-in-canada/)

[Samantha Bee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-bee/)

> [How will you go about finding that thing the nature of which is totally unknown to you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-will-you-go-about-finding-that-thing-the-nature-of-which-is/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-stranger-totally-unknown-to-us/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [“This is the beginning of a road whose end is totally unknown and totally known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-woodman/this-is-the-beginning-of-a-road-whose-end-is-totally-unknown-and/)

[Marion Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-woodman/)

> [“For even if we know very little that is certain about spirit or soul, the true nature of the body, of materiality, is totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-von-humboldt/for-even-if-we-know-very-little-that-is-certain-about-spirit-or-soul/)

[Wilhelm Von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-von-humboldt/)

> [The significant element that is common to Rivera, Siqueros, Picasso, Pollock, Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo is the expression of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-cannon/the-significant-element-that-is-common-to-rivera-siqueros-picasso/)

[Billy Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-cannon/)

> [If the choice is between buying another building or a Pollock, I'd go for the Pollock every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/if-the-choice-is-between-buying-another-building-or-a-pollock-i-d-go/)

[Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/)

> [I know the Pollock novel. Read it last year and liked it. Daniel Woodrell is awesome. I especially like the book Winter's Bone, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/i-know-the-pollock-novel-read-it-last-year-and-liked-it-daniel/)

[Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/)

> [The 10 or 12 artists I have known really well all my life are at least as competitive as professional athletes. They may express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-10-or-12-artists-i-have-known-really-well-all-my-life-are-at/)

[Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/)

> [Somebody can paint with a fine brush like Monet and do millions of little dots or somebody can splatter it up there like Kandinsky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-wilson/somebody-can-paint-with-a-fine-brush-like-monet-and-do-millions-of/)

[Patrick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-wilson/)

> [As was the case in Requiem for a Dream, Pollock, A Beautiful Mind, House of Sand and Fog, The Hulk and Dark Water, Connelly's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-queenan/as-was-the-case-in-requiem-for-a-dream-pollock-a-beautiful-mind-house/)

[Joe Queenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-queenan/)

> [“I can't help thinking of Jackson Pollock, who poured, splattered and lashed the canvass with strings of paint. His process was about snaring not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-lieu/i-can-t-help-thinking-of-jackson-pollock-who-poured-splattered-and/)

Jocelyn Lieu

> [Pollock really invented something. No one painted like him - or de Kooning or Still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/pollock-really-invented-something-no-one-painted-like-him-or-de/)

[Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/)

## More by Lee Krasner

> [We get used to a certain kind of colour of form or format, and it's acceptable. And to puncture that is sticking your neck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/we-get-used-to-a-certain-kind-of-colour-of-form-or-format-and-it-s/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [All my work keeps going like a pendulum; it seems to swing back to something I was involved with earlier, or it moves between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/all-my-work-keeps-going-like-a-pendulum-it-seems-to-swing-back-to/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [You were told how much space so it was a matter of whether you could send in two paintings or three paintings, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/you-were-told-how-much-space-so-it-was-a-matter-of-whether-you-could/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [The Jumble Shop would be one place where we'd sometimes accumulate down in the Village. I think it might be just a place that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/the-jumble-shop-would-be-one-place-where-we-d-sometimes-accumulate/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [With Jackson there was quiet solitude. Just to sit and look at the landscape. An inner quietness. After dinner, to sit on the back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/with-jackson-there-was-quiet-solitude-just-to-sit-and-look-at-the/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [One could go on for ever as to whether the paint should be thick or thin, whether to paint the woman or the square,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/one-could-go-on-for-ever-as-to-whether-the-paint-should-be-thick-or/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [My own image of my work is that I no sooner settle into something than a break occurs. These breaks are always painful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/my-own-image-of-my-work-is-that-i-no-sooner-settle-into-something/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [I like a canvas to breathe and be alive. Be alive is the point. And, as the limitations are something called pigment and canvas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/i-like-a-canvas-to-breathe-and-be-alive-be-alive-is-the-point-and-as/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [As I say, I as an abstract artist was active politically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/as-i-say-i-as-an-abstract-artist-was-active-politically/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [I think my painting is so autobiographical if anyone can take the trouble to read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/i-think-my-painting-is-so-autobiographical-if-anyone-can-take-the/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [The key is what is within the artist. The artist can only paint what she or he is about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/the-key-is-what-is-within-the-artist-the-artist-can-only-paint-what/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [I think every once in a while I feel the need to break my medium... if I have been doing a very large painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/i-think-every-once-in-a-while-i-feel-the-need-to-break-my-medium-if-i/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [People were very affected by the war. But it didn't mean you stopped painting unless you were called into the Army; then you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/people-were-very-affected-by-the-war-but-it-didn-t-mean-you-stopped/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [I never violate an inner rhythm. I loathe to force anything. I don't know if the inner rhythm is Eastern or Western. I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/i-never-violate-an-inner-rhythm-i-loathe-to-force-anything-i-don-t/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

> [Well, I'd say that the beginning of this thing came through with Art of This Century, Peggy Guggenheim's, where she opened this gallery and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/well-i-d-say-that-the-beginning-of-this-thing-came-through-with-art/)

[Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

[Explore all 28 Lee Krasner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/)

## More Artist quotes

> [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/)

[Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/)

> [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/)

[Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/)

> [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/)

[Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/)

> [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/)

Taf Teh

> [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/)

[St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/)

[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/)

[Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/)

> [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/)

[Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/)

> [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/)

[Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/)

[Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In the late 30s the name Pollock was totally unknown and unheard of.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lee Krasner"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/in-the-late-30s-the-name-pollock-was-totally-unknown-and-unheard-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Artist"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/in-the-late-30s-the-name-pollock-was-totally-unknown-and-unheard-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/lee-krasner-22132_artist_in-the-late-30s-the-name-pollock-was-tot_2261927.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/lee-krasner-22132_artist_in-the-late-30s-the-name-pollock-was-tot_2261927.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/lee-krasner-22132_artist_in-the-late-30s-the-name-pollock-was-tot_2261927.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In the late 30s the name Pollock was totally unknown and unheard of.” — Lee Krasner",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Lee Krasner",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In the late 30s the name...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/in-the-late-30s-the-name-pollock-was-totally-unknown-and-unheard-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/in-the-late-30s-the-name-pollock-was-totally-unknown-and-unheard-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
