Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner to Star in Dual Blockbuster at the Met

One of art history’s greatest couples will be given equal weight this autumn when The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents “Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous.” It is the first major New York exhibition devoted to either artist in the past 20 years. The show brings together works from over 80 institutions and personal collections, domestic and international. Structured into 12 thematic chapters, this exhibit traces an artistic dialogue between painter Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner from the 1930s through their deaths.

“With its distinctive premise and scope, ‘Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous’ exemplifies The Met’s commitment to reexamining modern art through rigorous scholarship and fresh perspectives,” said Met Museum Director and CEO Max Hollein, later adding, “This project affirms Krasner and Pollock not only as defining figures of their moment, but as artists whose work continues to shape and inspire future generations.”

The golden couple of Abstract Expressionism had a tumultuous marriage well-portrayed in the 2000 biopic Pollock, starring Ed Harris as Jackson Pollock and Marcia Gay Harden as Lee Krasner. They met in 1942 when both had work in a group exhibition, and married in 1945. The relationship was strained by Pollock’s alcoholism and infidelity, ending when Pollock died in a car crash in 1956. Krasner lived nearly three decades after him, continuing to extend her varied practice. Today, Pollock’s violent drip paintings and other works command prices in the eight- and nine-figure range.

Krasner remained in Pollock’s shadow for some time, with renewed interest in recent decades. “Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous” will give her work and the duo’s creative journeys parity. Associate Curator Brinda Kumar reflected on the shared nature of the exhibit, saying, “‘Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous’ approaches these artists not as a single story, but as two practices unfolding in proximity over time.” She continued, “The exhibition examines how Krasner and Pollock shared a commitment to testing the possibilities of abstraction—through shifts in scale, material, and form—and how those investigations continued to evolve along distinct trajectories.”

“Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous” will be on view at the The Met Fifth Avenue form October 4, 2026 to January 31, 2027.