By Jake Gallagher

Decades before kids were tossing Sherwin Williams samples onto their best (or is it worst?) pair of dad jeans in an effort to look edgy, there was the originator, Jackson Pollock. Pollock’s paint stains weren’t some Tumblr-inspired backyard arts and crafts project gone off the rails, they were battle scars from a never ending fight with the canvas. Perpetually clad in either pure white, pitch black or dark blue, Pollock chose clothes for their utility, not their looks. And yet, ironically, after a day in the studio, his paint-splattered garments were as much works of arts as anything he ever did on canvas. In both his art and his style, Pollock was a man who knew how to keep things original, and didn’t mind getting dirty along the way.

The classic Jackson Pollock outfit:

• Pointer Chore Jacket
• Campbellsville Apparel Undershirt
• Left Field NYC Cone White Oak Greaser Jeans
• Alden Algonquin Bluchers
• Gallons of paint

Jake Gallagher is a writer and student currently living in Manhattan. He focuses on back stories and the historical side of menswear at his site Wax-Wane.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.