Europol discovers unknown Jackson Pollock painting in Bulgaria

In Sofia, during a police operation, an unknown painting by the American expressionist Jackson Pollock, The she wolf, was discovered. According to RBC with reference to BNR and 24chasa, the investigative actions were carried out by the Bulgarian General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Greek intelligence services under the leadership of Europol.

The special services checked the activities of a group engaged in the smuggling of cultural property. Searches were carried out, in addition to Sofia, in Athens and on the island of Crete, five paintings by “other well-known authors” were also seized there; detained one citizen of Bulgaria and three citizens of Greece.

The value of the found Pollock painting can reach up to 50 million euros if sold at auction and up to 10 million euros if sold on the black market.

In the lower right corner of the picture is Pollock’s signature, and on the reverse side is the history of the canvas. According to 24hours, the picture is from 1947, BNR says 1949. The painting was presented to the actress, who sold the painting in 1958, after which she changed several more owners, ended up in Romania, Greece, and then in the capital of Bulgaria.

Initially, law enforcement agencies opened a case on the concealment of Pollock’s painting, considering it stolen, but the audit showed that the painting was not wanted. The case was reclassified as an article on a crime against cultural property.

The prosecutor’s office said that the initial analysis showed the possible authenticity of the painting due to the coincidence in colors and materials with other works by Pollock. Additional research will be carried out.

Paul Jackson Pollock – artist, ideologue of abstract expressionism. He lived in the first half of the last century (1912-1956), developed the “splattering” method, which consisted in creating a canvas by spraying paints onto the canvas, without touching the surface with a brush.