By Sian L in Culture — 26 Sep 2026

Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles will be shown in Western Australia for the first time in 2027

The National Gallery of Australia is lending Blue poles to the Art Gallery of Western Australia from 30 April to 5 September 2027, and entry will be free.

Jackson Pollock, Blue poles, 1952, National Gallery of Australia. Image: Art Gallery of Western Australia

One of Australia's most famous, and most argued-over, paintings is heading west. Jackson Pollock's Blue poles (1952) will go on show at the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) in Perth from 30 April to 5 September 2027, the first time it has ever been exhibited in the state. The loan from the National Gallery of Australia was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on 25 August 2026, and entry will be free.

Why it is a big deal

The Australian Government bought Blue poles in 1973 for A$1.3 million, then a record price for an American painting, and the purchase set off a national debate about public money and modern art. AGWA says the work is now valued at more than A$500 million and is the most viewed artwork in the National Gallery's history.

Nearly five metres wide, the painting's eight blue-black vertical forms sit over dense layers of drips and splashes. It toured Australia in 1974 but never reached Western Australia, and it has rarely travelled abroad, with appearances at MoMA in New York and at the Tate and the Royal Academy of Arts in London. According to the Prime Minister's office, this will be its first loan to an Australian venue since 2003.

"Welcoming Blue poles to Western Australia is an extraordinary moment for our State," said AGWA director Colin Walker. "To finally bring it to AGWA is both a privilege and a triumph."

National Gallery director Dr Nick Mitzevich said: "When Jackson Pollock's Blue poles entered the national collection, it signalled ambition, confidence and belief in the importance of art to national life."

The loan is part of the National Gallery's Sharing the National Collection program, supported by the Australian Government under the Revive national cultural policy. According to the Prime Minister's office, as of 30 June 2026 the program had made more than 327 loans to 42 galleries and cultural venues in every state and territory, reaching more than 2.1 million people, with some venues reporting visitor increases of up to 51 per cent. It previously brought more than 50 Andy Warhol works to Wanneroo Regional Gallery in 2024, which the government says lifted visitation by 750 per cent within four months.

"The national collection belongs to every Australian," Albanese said. Arts Minister Tony Burke added: "The greatest works in the world shouldn't only be seen in private collections."