Could the last Pollock retrospective in the States really have been in 1967? Even the French and Germans had one more recently (1981). At MoMA, where Kirk Varnedoe, assisted by Pepe Karmel, will present about 200 works, Americans will have to start from scratch. Does the real action only begin in 1947, or will we now be just as fascinated by Pollock’s first act, anchored by the huge Peggy Guggenheim mural of 1943? And maybe we’ll discover an equally fresh finale, 1950–56, centered on the offbeat accents of Blue Poles. This three-part drama promises to confirm both the spine-tingling reality of the textbook classics and to resurrect an unfamiliar artist who could paint as well as he poured. Nov. 1, 1998–Feb 2, 1999; travels to the Tate Gallery, London, Mar. 4–May 31, 1999.

— Robert Rosenblum