History:
The rural homestead at 830 Springs-Fireplace Road in Springs, East Hampton, that is now the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center dates back to the late 19th century. The land was purchased in 1878 by James S. Corwin, a local fisherman, who built a house on the 1 ¼ acre lot. (A collar tie in the attic bears the date 1879). In 1888, Mr. Corwin sold the property to Adeline H. King, who sold it two years later to David Howard, another fisherman. His son John Howard and his family lived in the house until 1926, when David Howard sold the property to John Quinn, who worked for the town highway department. His son Howard Quinn inherited it in 1933, and after his death in 1944 his estate put it on the market.
Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner were shown the property by Edward Cook, a local realtor acting for the Quinn estate. It was for rent with an option to purchase. The couple moved in on November 5, 1945. (They had been married two weeks earlier at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan.) After several months of negotiations, Jackson’s dealer and patron Peggy Guggenheim agreed to lend them the $2,000 down payment, which enabled them to get a $3,000 mortgage from the local East Hampton bank. The deed was transferred the Pollocks on April 15, 1946. They later bought adjacent land, eventually owning five acres.
