On 17 November 2026, Christie's New York will offer Jackson Pollock's Untitled (Red Painting 1-7), painted circa 1950, in its 20th Century Evening Sale. It is one lot made of seven paintings, and its story is one of the more unusual in postwar American art.
According to Christie's, the work was originally painted on a continuous length of canvas. It was later separated into seven elements, and four of them were first exhibited at the Sidney Janis Gallery in New York in November 1958, shown there as Red Panel A–D. Over the following decades the panels travelled separate paths: one went to Marlborough Fine Art in London and on to collections in Italy and Germany, another to a collection in Detroit, and the rest remained with Lee Krasner and later the Pollock-Krasner Foundation.
In the late 1980s, the German curator and dealer Heiner Bastian brought the seven paintings back together, and they have stayed together ever since. Each panel is oil and enamel (one is oil alone) on canvas, roughly 20 inches high, and several carry Lee Krasner's inscription on the reverse.
The sale arrives during a strong season for the artist. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous is on view through 31 January 2027, examining the two artists' careers side by side.
A set like this asks a simple question: is a painting one object or seven? On 17 November, collectors will answer it together. We will be watching with interest.
The Wall Art Gallery
Sources:
- Christie's lot page, Untitled (Red Painting 1-7) [7 Works], 20th Century Evening Sale, New York, 17 November 2026 (provenance, exhibition history, lot essay): https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6614775
- Christie's, "Eight artists having major museum moments this fall": https://www.christies.com/en/stories/artist-museum-moments-november-2026-ba00dc3a1af34a5b9410e3921a64f031
- The Met, Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/krasner-and-pollock-past-continuous