Jackson Pollock's Number 1A, 1948 is currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Scientists have identified the origins of the blue colour in one of Jackson Pollock’s paintings with a little help from chemistry, confirming for the first time that the abstract expressionist used a vibrant, synthetic pigment known as manganese blue.

Number 1A, 1948 showcases Pollock’s classic style: paint has been dripped and splattered across the canvas, creating a vivid, multicoloured work. Pollock even gave the piece a personal touch, adding his handprints near the top.

The painting, currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is almost 2.7 metres wide. Scientists had previously characterized the reds and yellows splattered across the canvas, but the source of the ri

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