Before he was known for his world-famous drip-and-splash paintings, Jackson Pollack cleaned monuments for the New York City Parks Department.
NYC Parks researchers discovered Pollock's employee card while digging through its archives Jan. 12, NYC Parks commissioner Mitchell Silver announced Friday.
Pollock, who moved to New York City from Los Angeles in the fall of 1930, was a member of the Parks Department monuments field staff in 1935, the city agency said.
As a stone cutter, he joined a crew of workers who were sent around the city to clean public monuments. The agency says not long after Pollock started, he was demoted to a "stone carver's helper" without explanation.
It is believed that he helped with the 1930's restoration of the Firemen's Memorial in Riverside Park.
Born in 1912, the Wyoming native is widely credited as one of the driving forces behind the abstract expressionist movement. He would have celebrated his 105th birthday Saturday.
He gained notoriety with his series of splatter paintings, created by pouring or dripping paint onto a flat canvas.
