life:

As the single most recognizable practitioner of abstract expressionism — the movement that put America and, specifically, post-WWII New York at the very center of painting’s avant-garde — Pollock was a genuine art star. But he soon abandoned the radical “drip” technique that had earned him both fame and, among some art critics, vilification, and spent the last few years of his life battling the twin demons of depression and alcoholism.

Here, LIFE presents rare outtakes from photographer Martha Holmes’ 1949 shoot with Pollock — images that offer a unique portrait of the artist’s home life in the Hamptons (with wife and fellow painter Lee Krasner) and the singular working method that made him an art-world icon.