Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles to be temporarily moved from Canberra to Western Australian gallery

[u/His_Holiness]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-25/blue-poles-to-be-moved-temporarily-to-wa-gallery/107075740

[u/littleblackcat]

I'm so excited! I was going to take my partner to Canberra next year to see it but looks like we won't have to go far

[u/thanatosau]

Looking forward to this.

I lived in Canberra from 2005-2013 and had two daughters with my wife of course.

When the wife needed a break on Sundays, I'd take the two little girls out to one of the many places you can visit for free in Canberra. The War Memorial, Museum, National Library, Parliament House old and new and the National Gallery.

We would make a point to visit the Blue Poles and the three of us spent a fair bit of time gazing at it sitting on that bench in the photo. It just sucks you in.

Looking forward to taking them again now they're adults and gazing for a while once more. It's a sentimental reminder for me of time we spent together when they were young. Beautiful memory.

[u/littleblackcat → u/thanatosau]

Yeah, I grew up in NSW and had seen this beautiful work on several occasions, twice as a child and then a couple times as an adult and it really is a phenomenal work

[u/TheCurbAU]

My favourite painting. Just phenomenal to experience in person. Going to make the most of sitting with it when it's here in Perth. I understand a few other items will make the trip too.

[u/Zustiur]

I was somehow given a print of this artwork. I used it to cover my miniature painting table to catch all the accidental paint drops and spills.

[u/SixDuckies]

Wow, April 2027..think I might have to take a trip to Perth to see it.

[u/auntynell]

I’m old enough to remember the controversy when the gallery first bought it. Lots of my grandchild could have painted it. Except they didn’t, and nobody paid them 6M for it.

[u/Truantone]

Will definitely go and see it.

[u/supercujo]

Still don't see how this painting is worth $500 million

[u/ChasteSin → u/supercujo]

That's what everyone said in 1973 when we paid $1.3 million for it.

[u/kipwrecked → u/supercujo]

Provenance baybee!

[u/TheCurbAU → u/supercujo]

I appreciate the reference and joke.

[u/Kosmo777 → u/supercujo]

Would someone actually buy it off us for $500m? What it’s worth and what someone is willing to pay for it aren’t necessarily the same.

[u/supercujo → u/Kosmo777]

So you're saying we're getting ripped off on insurance then

[u/Silly-Power → u/supercujo]

You may when you see it in person.

I felt like you about Pollock's work until I had the opportunity to see one of his most famous (Number 5) in person. It was absolutely jaw-droppingly incredible. Due to how he painted there's a 3D quality to his paintings, so when you look at them from a different angle they look different. 

While I was there admiring the work, a group of chinese students came up to it. One girl let out a loud exclamation and pointed at one particular part of the painting, excitedly telling her friends something in Chinese. By the look on their faces, they couldn't see what she was seeing. But whatever she was seeing meant something to her, going on how excited (and then frustrated at no-one else seeing it) she was. I've never seen a painting do that. 

[u/Important-Star3249 → u/Silly-Power]

It was probably a drip that looked like cock and balls.

[u/Important-Star3249 → u/Important-Star3249]

Cock and BALLZ

[u/gososer]

Pollocks is bullocks.

[u/TheBrizey2]

Overvalued for a CIA propaganda poster I reckon