T IMELINE : Abstract Expressionism ``On the floor I am more at ease, I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around in it, work from the four sides and be literally `in' the painting.' Jackson Pollock, 1947. Pollock, Jackson (1912-56). ... He began to study painting in 1929 at the Art Students' League, New York, under the Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton. ... 1942 (240 Kb); Oil on canvas, 73 1/4 x 49 in; Philadelphia Museum of Art . ...