How did Number 7A, 1948 - a painting unseen by the public since 1977 achieve a record-breaking sale of over $180 million?
How did Number 7A, 1948 - a painting unseen by the public since 1977 achieve a record-breaking sale of over $180 million?
May 28, 2026
On May 18, Number 7A, 1948 - a large-scale painting created by American artist Jackson Pollock - was sold for $181.185.000, making Masterpieces: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse a blockbuster aunction for Christie’s New York. According to Christie’s, this masterpiece amounted to approximately 29% of the total sales. Moreover, with a record-breaking sale that tripled Pollock’s previous aunction record, Number 7A, 1948 became the fourth most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.
As the name suggests, the art was conceived in 1948 - a period that Pollock focused on the creation of truly abstract paintings. Similar to his other remarkable artworks, the Abstract Expressionist made Number 7A, 1948 using a unique technique called “drip painting”. He refused to use an easel and laid his unstretched canvas on the floor. Then, instead of directly applying the pigment to the surface, he used sticks, trowels and hardened brushes to fling oil paint and enamel onto the canvas. The photographer Hans Namuth once described that Pollock “is not drawing on the canvas so much as in the air above it”.
Therefore, Number 7A, 1948 is dominated by dramatic black drips, swirls and pools; along with small red flecks that Pollock used to “heighten the sense of drama”. Each curve on the artwork reflected his graceful movements during the creative process. For Pollock, painting is a physical act: instead of only using hands, he moved around the canvas and engaged his entire body. He did not only create a piece of art, but also became a part of it. This is the foundation of a style called action painting.
Announced to be the largest of Pollock’s drip paintings still in private hand, Number 7A, 1948 went on for over 7 intense minutes at Christie’s aunction. Millions after millions, phone bidders continued to push the price upward, until the hammer came down at $157 million or $181.185.000 with fees. After Number 7A, 1948 sold for an eye-watering price, Jackson Pollock made his debut to the group of artists whose paintings fetched over $100 million at auction, along with Leonardo da Vinci, Gustav Klimt, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso.
The record-breaking sale once again proved the significance of Number 7A, 1948. This 78-year-old artwork is not only a milestone in the Abstract Expressionist’s career, but also one of the breakthroughs in art history. “In Number 7A, 1948 we witness the reinvention of painting, opening the door to a pure form of expression suitable for the modern postwar world” - said Christie’s lot essay.
Number 7A, 1948 demonstrated the timeless and irreplaceable value of art, transcending even the artist's lifetime. A talented artist died, but the paintings, the gestures and the emotions he left behind continue to echo, enduring despite the cruelty of time.
