WI: Jackson Pollock survives his accident?

Jackson Pollock, the artist, died in a car accident in August 1956 while driving drunk.

So, as it says on the tin, what happens if either the accident doesn't happen or if it does and he lives?
 
Having only a general knowledge of his work and having seen the Ed Harris biopic, I'm gonna say that, had the accident never happened, Pollock would have continued painting in roughly the same style that he had become known for, and would have remained relatively obscure as a public figure.

In contrast to the Pop artists later on, it seems to me that most of the Abstract Expressionists retained a fairly low profile, and didn't become widely known for how they lived. As an example, prior to seeing the movie, I was unaware of just how criminally irresponsible Pollock had been in his last hours(for all practical purposes, he was a murderer). Whereas I had long known less consequential facts about Andy Warhol(the shooting, etc).

So, he paints, drinks, f*cks, and maybe lives long enough to have Bill Clinton hang a presidential medal of something-or-other around his neck.

NOW, IF THE ACCIDENT STILL HAPPENS BUT HE SURVIVES...

He's obviously gonna have a shitload of legal problems, especially if the other passengers are still killed, because there is no way he is not criminally responsible for their deaths. He's definitely gonna be hated by the families of the victims, and that section of the conservative intelligentsia who despised Abstract art to begin with are gonna hold him up as Exhibit A for cultural degeneracy. I'd wager that his respectable career is basically over, though I'd be interested to hear over cases of people who killed others while driving recklessly in the same era. My understanding is that in those days, drunk driving was not QUITE as big a deal as it is now.

TL/DR...

No accident: He lives out his life without much public fanfare, apart from his work.

Accident still happens but he lives: He's Bill Cosby with a body count.
 
The one thing that I might differ on would be whether he just keps painting. IIRC, he was starting to go intosculpture at the end as well. It'd be cool to see what he did with that.
 
Would Jackson Pollak's injuries be mild enough to let him return to painting?
Would he be allowed to continue painting while prison?
Would proceeds of art sales go directly to pay medical bills for the other wounded?
 
Top