By Stephen Beech

Children's paintings share key characteristics with famous artworks by expressionists such as Jackson Pollock , according to new research.

Scientists found that adults paint richer, more varied trajectories than children.

But the 20-year study also discovered that well-known works by expressionist painters, including Pollock's pour-painting, have "child-like" characteristics.

American Pollock was a leading figure in the abstract expressionist movement, noted for his "drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a horizontal surface, before his death in a car crash, aged 44, in 1956.

American researchers set out to discover if we can reliably tell if an artwork has been created by children or adults.

Study senior author Professor Richard Taylo

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