Pollock's 'Mural' restoration nearing completion

• One of the main influencing "founding fathers" of Post War Abstract Expressionism in the United States was Jackson Pollock, hence one of the elements of his great fame and the astronomical values his paintings have. Perhaps one of his most famous paintings is this painting entitled "Mural" which belongs to the University of Iowa.
  
  
  Pollocks influence on both "schools" or centers of production in the Bay Area (Berkley) and in New York cannot be understated and influenced generations of artists. Fine Art Conservation Laboratories consistent work on Post War Abstract Expressionist paintings over the years have included most of the notable artists from the Berkley School.
  
  
  
  
  
  FILE - An Oct. 17, 2002, file photo is of the University of Iowa's painting titled: "Mural" by Jackson Pollock. The 70-year-old painting has been in the conservation department of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles where it will go on display in March before a 10-month display in Sioux City, Iowa. The 8-foot by 20-foot piece was removed from the University of Iowa Museum of Art because the building was damaged by flooding in 2008. Photo: Deb Barber, AP

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An extensive 19-month effort to study and restore a Jackson Pollock painting is nearly finished, officials say as they prepare to have the famous piece displayed in California and Iowa this year.

The 1943 painting "Mural" has been in the conservation department of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles since the summer the 2012, the Iowa City Press-Citizen reported (http://icp-c.com/1l0s9k6 ). Restoration has included stabilizing the piece's physical structure, which had been sagging, and removing a varnish added in the 1970s.

"The painting started sagging very early in its life, probably as Pollock was painting it, because he probably himself didn't make strong enough of a stretcher for such a large painting," said Yvonne Szafran, head of the Getty's paintings conservation department. "That's keeping in mind this was the largest painting he had painted up until this point, and maybe the largest painting he ever does paint — it's certainly the widest."

The restoration work involved examining slivers of paint under a microscope and using imaging technology to virtually see layers of color. The research has dispelled the myth that Pollack created the famed artwork in a 24-hour session, as well as determined that the artist used some house paint on the piece.

University of Iowa Museum of Art Director Sean O'Harrow called the restoration, which was done pro bono, the most important modern art conservation effort in recent years.

The 8-foot by 20-foot painting was removed from the University of Iowa Museum of Art before the building was damaged by flooding in 2008. The painting is owned by the university, which received it through a donation in 1951 by art collector Peggy Guggenheim. It is insured for $140 million and is considered one of the most important modern American paintings in history.

The painting will go on display at the Getty in March before a 10-month stint at the Sioux City Art Center beginning in June.

Officials hope to take the painting on an international tour with other Pollock works. It would return to Iowa City once a new space is built for the university's 14,000-piece art collection. The touring plans are still in its early stages.

"While we build a new museum, we thought it would be the one, great opportunity to engage the world before it comes back to Iowa City," said O'Harrow.