Jackson Pollock was without a doubt one of the twentieth century’s most controversial painters. He started out painting abstracts in the style of Pablo Picasso but soon branched out, establishing the “drip” method, which entails dripping or flinging paint directly onto the canvas. For this, he was both praised and demonized; still, he persisted on his own chosen path.

While art was his life, alcohol ruled it. At age 44, Pollock died while driving under the influence down a winding road. It was only after his death that Jackson Pollock gained mainstream notoriety and became one of America’s most celebrated painters. This was certainly made clear in 2015 when one of his pieces, known as Number 17A, sold for $200 million, making it the fifth most expensive painting ever sold.