Early Life and Influences – A Pittsburgh Boy’s Artistic Awakening Paul Jackson Pollock, born Paul Wilhelm Pollak on January 28, 1912, in Cody, Wyoming, was the youngest of five children in a family rooted in Iowa. His parents, LeRoy and Stella May Pollock, were of Irish and Scots-Irish descent, immigrants who had settled in Tingley, Iowa, seeking opportunity. This humble beginning, far removed from the bustling art scene of New York City, would profoundly shape his artistic trajectory. Early exposure to a diverse range of influences – from his father’s practical nature to his mother's appre…