Bulgarian authorities discovered a previously unknown painting by Jackson Pollock during an investigation into an international art trafficking ring. According to Bulgarian National Radio, which broke the story, Bulgarian Main Directorate officials were working with a Greek organized crime unit under Europol to dismantle the illegal trade, which stretched from region from Sofia in Bulgaria to Athens and the island of Crete.
While in the process of arresting three Greek citizens and a Bulgarian national as part of the operation, Greek authorities discovered five works by famous artists, while the Bulgarian team found an unknown canvas bearing the Jackson’s faint signature on the front.
Bulgarian news site Novinite.com reported that authorities handed over the painting to experts at the National Art Gallery of Bulgaria, who have since acknowledged that the work, which dates from 1949, is an uncatalogued original by the giant of Abstract Expressionism. The painting is estimated at 50 million euros ($54 million) at auction. No other details have yet been released regarding his description.
Pollock became known for his so-called drip paintings, which stand out from the more geometric works of his compatriots. The artist died in a car accident in 1956 at the age of forty-four, leaving behind a limited body of work.
Petar Todorov, chief secretary of the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs, said he was delighted with the discovery. “To our great joy,” he told Novinite.com, “we have succeeded in establishing and preserving this painting and for the moment the expertise shows that it is an original”.
