Researchers solve decades-old color mystery in iconic Jackson Pollock painting

Scientists have identified the origins of blue color in one of Jackson Pollock’s paintings with a little help from chemistry. In the table entitled “Number 1a, 1948”, the scientists had already characterized the reds and the yellows splashed on the canvas, but the source of the rich turquoise was elusive. In a new study, the researchers took on blue paint scrapers and used lasers to measure the way its molecules vibrated. They identified it in manganese blue. This is the first confirmed proof of Pollock using this specific shade. Research was published Monday in the Revue Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.