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Thursday, December 17, 2015

"Three Figures On A Trampoline," 1956 Ceramic Wall Plaque by Pablo Picasso


Three Figures On A Trampoline, 1956; Partially glazed white earthenware convex wall plaque, painted in ivory and brown, from the edition of 500, with the 'Madoura Plein Feu' and 'Empreinte Originale de Picasso' stamps verso; Size - Plaque 7 1/2 x 7 1/2"; Catalogue Raisonne: A.R. 375; Unframed.

To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE

During the late 1940s, Pablo Picasso spent the summers on the Cote d'Azur in the South of France. There the artist visited Vallauris for the annual pottery exhibition in 1946. He was impressed by the quality of the Madoura works and was introduced to the owners, Suzanne and Georges Ramié. The Ramiés welcomed the famous artist into their workshop and gave him access to all the tools and resources the he needed in order to work in the medium of ceramics. In exchange, the Ramié family would produce and sell his limited edition ceramic works and this relationship spanned 25 years. It was also at the Madoura factory in 1953 that Picasso met Jacqueline Roque, who would become his second wife in 1961.


Photograph of the back of the Picasso Wall Plaque.

The Market for Picasso ceramics has been steadily rising as outlined by a recent article:

"Over the past 10 years, the market for Picasso ceramics has steadily grown, with seasoned collectors and new buyers alike vying for Picasso's editioned and unique ceramics at auction. This market is stable, with a steady high sell-through rate around 89% (87% in 2004, 89% in 2005, 87% in 2011, and 90% in 2012), and prices that are still lower than the rest of Picasso's work. The broad range of estimates and sales prices help make this market attractive to many collectors, but also explain the high average sales prices, which are skewed by a few exceptional pieces. In the previous two years, more than 60 exceptional ceramic works sold for over US$100,000: 34 in 2011 and 29 in 2012 (vs. six in 2004 and 2005)." - The Story Behind Picasso Ceramics, by Fanny Lakoubay and Conner Williams, 2013


Close up of the 'Madoura Plein Feu' and 'Empreinte Originale de Picasso' stamps verso.

"Three figures on a trampoline," 1956 is a stunning composition of both movement and form. Pablo Picasso has transformed the art of the textured surface of this ceramic plate by depicting a series of three figures on a trampoline. Each is suspended in mid-air, each in varying positions, and each figure complementing the other in an equally balanced and innovative composition.

Friday, December 4, 2015

"Eric Emerson (Chelsea Girls)," 1982 by Andy Warhol


Eric Emerson (Chelsea Girls), 1982; Screenprint in colors on Somerset Satin White Paper; Numbered H.C. 15/24 and signed Andy Warhol in pencil lower right; Published by Anthology Film Archives, New York; Printed by Porter-Wiener Studio, New York; Size - Sheet 30" x 22", Frame 39 1/2 x 34 3/4"; Catalog Raisonne: Feldman/Schellmann: II.287; Framed matted and floated on acid free mats, with a black wood exterior frame, and UV plexiglass.

To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE

Eric Emerson was an American musician, dancer, and actor; and was best known for his roles in films by pop artist Andy Warhol and as a member of the seminal glam punk group, The Magic Tramps. He was born on June 23, 1945 and grew up in New Jersey where he became trained as a classic ballet dancer. After seeing Emerson dancing at The Dom in April 1966, Andy Warhol asked Emerson to be in one of his underground films. Emerson made his film debut in the now famous 1967's Chelsea Girls, and soon became a Warhol Factory regular. Emerson would go on to star in other Warhol films; most notably, Lonesome Cowboys, San Diego Surf, and Heat.

Emerson began his musical career with the band, The Magic Tramps. The band, which began in Hollywood in 1969, relocated to New York City in 1971 after Eric joined as lead vocalist. The Magic Tramps played gigs at Max's Kansas City, a favorite hangout among the Warhol Factory regulars. In 1971 Emerson appeared in Jackie Curtis' play Vain Victory: Vicissitudes of the Damned, with Ondine, Holly Woodlawn, and Candy Darling; and with music by The Magic Tramps and Lou Reed.


Close up of the Eric Emerson portrait.

Eric Emerson had two children and his first was a daughter, Erica born in 1967; that was a result of a long relationship with Elda Gentile a founding member of the band The Stilettoes. The two also had a son, Branch Emerson. In 1970 Eric began a relationship with model and actress Jane Forth, who appeared Warhol's films Women in Revolt, L'Amour, Trash, and Bad. Together, they had a son, Emerson Forth.

On May 28, 1975, Emerson's body was found next to his bicycle, near the West Side Highway, in Manhattan. Emerson's death is listed officially as a hit and run and to date, no one has been arrested or charged in connection with his death. Following a weekend-long wake hosted by Max's Kansas City owner Mickey Ruskin, Emerson was laid to rest in Wharton, New Jersey.

In the book Making Tracks, the famous musician Debbie Harry provided an account of the circumstances surrounding Emerson's death:

"One night we were over at Eric's apartment working on a tape of "Heart of Glass" on his Teac fourtrack tape recorder, when he suddenly staggered out of the kitchen looking ashen. He looked even more distraught and sad when we left. Being satisfied drove him crazy in the end, because he had everything so he didn't care about anything anymore. He used to go out jogging every day, and did feats of physical endurance like strapping twenty-pound weights to each ankle and then bicycling up to the Factory. The next day we were sitting around the house just after we woke up when Barbara called with the bad news. "Oh, Eric got hit by a truck." He had been a good friend and inspiration to so many people. We didn't quite understand what had happened, but we went up to a party/wake held for him and saw a lot of people from the earlier glitter days. Eric's death definitely marked an end to the glitter period. We still miss him."


Close up of the number and of the Andy Warhol pencil signature.


Framed "Eric Emerson (Chelsea Girls)," 1982 by Andy Warhol.

A short clip of Eric Emerson singing, wearing leather chaps and completely covered in glitter, in Jackie Curtis' Vain Victory: the Vicissitudes of the Damned at La Mama Experimental Theater Club in May 1971 on opening night. The clip was restored from 1/2" B&W videotape, and was the original counter-culture hit play starring Jackie Curtis, Ondine, Holly Woodlawn, and Candy Darling.


This is a very rare original serigraph portrait of Eric Emerson by the great Pop Artist Andy Warhol derived from source material of a film clip from the Warhol movie "Chelsea Girls," 1966. The print was published in "A Portfolio of Thirteen Prints," containing works by thirteen different artists in order to commemorate the conversion of New York City's Second Avenue Court House into the new home of the Anthology Film Archives, the first museum dedicated to avant-garde film and video. The choice by Warhol to use a film clip of Eric Emerson from Warhol's own cult film was a brilliant decision.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

"Flowers," 1964 Hand Signed and Dated Lithograph by Andy Warhol


Flowers, 1964; Offset lithograph in colors on paper; Signed Andy Warhol and dated 1965 in pencil bottom right; From an edition of approximately 300; Printer: Total Color, New York; Publisher: Leo Castelli Gallery, New York; Literature: Feldman & Schellmann, 11.6; Size; Sheet 23" x 23"; Unframed.


In the June 1964 issue of Modern Photography, there was a featured photograph of seven hibiscus flowers taken by executive editor Patricia Caulfield. It was printed three times in a glossy foldout to show the color variation of different chemical processes. When Andy Warhol saw the images he was  undoubtedly drawn to the serial format. To use the image for his paintings and prints, he cropped Caulfield’s photograph into a perfect square and manipulated the flowers so that only four of the original seven fit into a new square format. His unauthorized use of the published photograph caused Caulfield to sue him in 1966 (the matter was settled out of court). However, from that time on Warhol based his art on photographs that he took himself.


Close up of the signature and the date in pencil.

The Flowers, Marilyn Monroe, and Campbell's Soup Cans are generally thought to be the most iconic and well known of all of Warhol's choice for subject matter. They were also early choices from the 1960's during the heyday of POP Art. This is a great early, hand signed, and dated Andy Warhol; and would make a wonderful addition to any art collection.

#Warhol #AndyWarhol #popart #untitledartgallery #PatriciaCaulfield #Flowers #ModernPhotography

Friday, November 20, 2015

"Three figures on a trampoline," 1956 Ceramic Wall Plaque by Pablo Picasso


Three figures on a trampoline, 1956; Partially glazed white earthenware convex wall plaque, painted in ivory and brown, from the edition of 500, with the 'Madoura Plein Feu' and 'Empreinte Originale de Picasso' stamps verso; Size - Plaque 7 1/2 x 7 1/2"; Catalogue Raisonne: A.R. 374; Unframed.


During the late 1940s, Pablo Picasso spent the summers on the Cote d'Azur in the South of France. There the artist visited Vallauris for the annual pottery exhibition in 1946. He was impressed by the quality of the Madoura works and was introduced to the owners, Suzanne and Georges Ramié. The Ramiés welcomed the famous artist into their workshop and gave him access to all the tools and resources the he needed in order to work in the medium of ceramics. In exchange, the Ramié family would produce and sell his limited edition ceramic works and this relationship spanned 25 years. It was also at the Madoura factory in 1953 that Picasso met Jacqueline Roque, who would become his second wife in 1961.


Back of the Picasso Wall Plaque.

The Market for Picasso ceramics has been steadily rising as outlined by a recent article:

"Over the past 10 years, the market for Picasso ceramics has steadily grown, with seasoned collectors and new buyers alike vying for Picasso's editioned and unique ceramics at auction. This market is stable, with a steady high sell-through rate around 89% (87% in 2004, 89% in 2005, 87% in 2011, and 90% in 2012), and prices that are still lower than the rest of Picasso's work. The broad range of estimates and sales prices help make this market attractive to many collectors, but also explain the high average sales prices, which are skewed by a few exceptional pieces. In the previous two years, more than 60 exceptional ceramic works sold for over US$100,000: 34 in 2011 and 29 in 2012 (vs. six in 2004 and 2005)." - The Story Behind Picasso Ceramics, by Fanny Lakoubay and Conner Williams, 2013


Close up of the 'Madoura Plein Feu' and 'Empreinte Originale de Picasso' stamps verso.

"Three figures on a trampoline," 1956 is a stunning composition of both movement and form. Pablo Picasso has transformed the art of the textured surface of this ceramic plate by depicting a series of three figures on a trampoline. Each is suspended in mid-air, each in varying positions, and each figure complementing the other in an equally balanced and innovative composition.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

"Paysan et Maja, pl. 74, from Series 156," 1971 Etching by Pablo Picasso


Paysan et Maja, pl. 74, from Series 156, 1971; Etching on wove paper; Signed in pencil Picasso lower right, numbered 19/50 in pencil lower left; dated 11-3-71 in the plate lower center; Published by Edition Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris; Size - Plate 8 1/8 x 5 7/8", Sheet  12 7/8 x 10", Frame 19 x 16"; Framed sheet floated and matted, black wood exterior frame, and plexiglass; Catalogue Raisonne: B. 1929; Ba. 1938.



Close up of the Picasso pencil signature.

The 156 Series, created in 1970 - 1972 was completed within just over a year of his death. Based on the number, you would think that there would be 156 prints in the series, however there are actually 155. A single print was either lost or the total miscounted.

John Richardson, Picasso’s principal biographer, describes the themes of Picasso’s late drawings and prints as follows:

“As a result of an ulcer operation in November 1965, Picasso had given up traveling and become something of a recluse.  Except for his wife Jacqueline, her daughter Catherine, the Bresnus [his chauffeur and the chauffeur’s spouse] and a few professional associates (notably the Crommelynck brothers who worked on his prints), he saw very few people.  To extend the cast of characters in his imagery, Picasso was obliged to invoke figures from his past as well as from his pantheon of favorite painters.  Hence, former mistresses, Barcelona whores, harlequins and circus folk from the Rose period rub shoulders with personages from the work of Raphael, Rembrandt, Goya, Ingres, Degas and van Gogh, and sometimes the artists themselves.  Thanks to these revenants, Picasso managed to merge the past with the present."


Close up of the edition number, 19/50.

Picasso's involvement with his artwork was total and during this latter part of his life, while living in the South of France, he worked almost exclusively in printmaking. He persuaded the Crommelynck brothers, whom he had worked with in Paris, to set up a print studio near him and he worked furiously on the printing plates until his death. The 156 series of prints can be considered his last great outpouring. He worked intensely and the series was very personal containing subject matter relating both to Picasso's life experiences and his imagination. Many of the prints are highly erotic and in them the woman are dominent and the men are mere voyeurs; reflecting his own sexual impotence. Many believe that these later prints are among Picasso's greatest and most personal, as he had no need for money at this stage in his life and so was not constrained by the idea of commercial success.


Framed "Paysan et Maja, pl. 74, from Series 156," 1971 Etching by Pablo Picasso.

This wonderful etching by Picasso depicts a Paysan (male peasant) and a Maja (female peasant who distinguished themselves by their sense of style in dress and by their movements). The Paysan is nude except for his hat and the Maja is topless, wearing only an elaborate patterned dress and high heel shoes. Her face is also exaggerated with overly applied makeup. The couple are a contrast in forms and both appear casual; however there is a tension created by their presence for the viewer; that can only partially be justified by their nudity. This is a great original etching that is individually numbered and it is hand signed in pencil by Pablo Picasso.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

"Electric Chair," 1971 by Andy Warhol


Electric Chair, 1971; Screenprint in colors on wove paper; Signed Andy Warhol and dated 71 in ink on the verso; Stamp-numbered 131/250 with the Copyright Factory Additions and Edition Bischofberger Zürich inkstamps verso; Published by Bruno Bischofberger, Zürich, Switzerland; Size - Sheet 35 1/2" x 48", Frame 41" x 53 1/4"; Framed floated on a white mat, black wood exterior frame, and plexiglass; Catalog Raisonne: Feldman/Schellmann: II.78.

To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE

In 1962, Andy Warhol started a series of silkscreened paintings of death and disasters that were derived from source material taken from print media and included: photographs of suicides, plane and car crashes, and tragedy-stricken celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy. He depicted the Sing Sing electric chair in several groups of black paint silkscreen on white grounds throughout the 1960s. The first was in 1963; the same year that New York’s Sing Sing State Penetentiary performed its last two executions by electric chair (capital punishment was banned in the United States from 1963-1997). In many of the works the electric chair was screened multiple times onto a single canvas and according to Warhol, the replication of the image was intended to “empty” it of meaning. 


Close up of the Andy Warhol signature and date, 71.

For Warhol's 1968 retrospective at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, he produced a series of prints whose subject again was the electric chair. However, in these prints he made some variations compared to those created earlier. He cropped the image to bring the electric chair to the foreground and it was screened in a variety of colors, other than just black. He occasionally printed off-register double images or in the case of this work listed for sale, the negative or after image.


Close up of the Copyright Factory Additions and Edition Bischofberger Zürich inkstamps and the edition number 131/250, verso.

This negative image of the electric chair is the most stark and the most dark of the series. The work suggests an alternate space and produces an after effect, that seems to relate back to the electric chair  once it is activated. The colors chosen for this specific piece are a rich aubergine, pink, and silver; and the work is a very powerful and dynamic work by the famed Pop artist.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

"Raphaël et la Fornarina XXIV, pl. 317, from Séries 347," 1968 Etching by Pablo Picasso


Raphaël et la Fornarina XXIV, pl. 317, from Séries 347, 1968; Etching on wove paper; Signed in pencil Picasso bottom right, dated 8-9-68 in the plate, center; One of 17 artist's proofs aside from the numbered edition of 50; Published by Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, 1969; Ex. Collection: Marina Picasso (Lugt 3698) with her stamp verso; Framed using two acid free mats, a silver/gun metal wooden exterior frame, and UV conservation clear glass; ed; Size - Plate 5 3/4 x 8 1/4", Sheet  11 x 13 5/8", Frame 17 3/4 x 19 1/2"; Catalogue Raisonne: B. 1797; Ba. 1814.


Pablo Picasso, at the age of 87, created 347 etchings during a span of only six months. This prolific output is quite amazing given his age and the short time period; however his technical skill and artistic faculties were still extraordinary and the series is highly regarded for it's artistic creativity and merit.


Close up of the etching.

While discussing his 347 Series with his friend, Roberto Otero, to whom he had shown some of these etchings, Picasso said, “Of course, one never knows what’s going to come out, but as soon as the drawing gets underway, a story or an idea is born. And that’s it. Then the story grows, like theater or life—and the drawing is turned into other drawings, a real novel. It’s great fun, believe me. At least, I enjoy myself no end inventing these stories, and I spend hour after hour while I draw, observing my creatures and thinking about the mad things they’re up to. Basically, it’s my way of writing fiction.” (Roberto Ortero, Forever Picasso: An Intimate Look at his Last Years, New York, 1974, p. 170)


Close up of the Picasso pencil signature.

Six months later, Picasso said the following about the prospective publication of the 347 series to Otero:
“You know, Louise Leiris is about to exhibit my latest engravings. And there’s one series that is quite innocent—I mean, quite natural. Well, you can imagine what they are about: Raphael and La Fornarina—his famous model—making love. Well, there’s no need to exaggerate—it’s not all sex, Raphael is painting in many of them, too—but Michelangelo is also there, spying on them from behind the draperies or under the bed. And sometimes the Pope is peeping through the keyhole, or some other important character is lurking about.” (Roberto Otero, pp. 178-9)


Close up of the date 8.9.68 and the sequence number of the etching made on that day, II.

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known simply as Raphael, was born on either April 6 or March 28, 1483 and died at the age of 37 on April 6, 1520. He was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance and although he never married, in 1514 he did became engaged to Maria Bibbiena, Cardinal Medici Bibbiena's niece. Raphael died six years later without ever having married. He was said to have had many affairs, but a permanent fixture in his life in Rome was "La Fornarina," whose name was Margherita Luti, the daughter of a baker (fornaro) named Francesco Luti from Siena who lived at Via del Governo Vecchio. Raphael painted her nude portrait entitled "La Fornarina (The Baker's Daughter)" between 1518 and 1520 and the work is currently in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Palazzo Barberini, Rome.

The story of Raphael's legendary love for his model inspired another artist Ingres to paint a portrait (around 1814) depicting Margherita Luti sitting on Raphael's lap as he gazes at the "La Fornarina" portrait painting in progress; having apparently taken a break from his work to make love to his beautiful model. In the background was painted a drawn back curtain revealing a view of the Vatican through the window and behind the easel a hand is holding a copy of Vasari's "Life of Raphael." The man with the book behind the easel is Ingres himself, reading between the lines of Raphael's relationship with his model.

In 1968, Pablo Picasso pays homage to both Raphael, and in particular Ingres, within the 347 etching series. There are no less then 25 works depict the alleged story of the infamous 16th century affair between Raphael and his famous muse. This work for sale is the 24th of the "Raphael and Fornarina" series and depicts a love scene between the artist and his model. While engaged, Raphael clasps his paint brush in one hand and his artists pallet in the other. In addition, the theme of voyeurism is explored; under the bed can be seen, peeking out and watching cautiously, the face of another famous Renaissance artist Michelangelo. In addition, Piero Crommelynck, the Master Printer and friend of Picasso, strolls into the bedroom looking very straight laced has he peels back a curtain and looks onto the scene of eroticism unfolding before him. 


Close up of the Marina Picasso collection ink stamp (Lugt 3698).

Pablo Picasso and his first wife Olga Khokhlova had one son, Paulo Picasso. Paulo, who died on June 5, 1975, was married to Emilienne Lotte. They had two children: Pablito (born on May 5, 1949 - and who committed suicide on July 2, 1973) and Marina (born on November 14, 1950). In January 2015 it was reported that the granddaughter of legendary Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, Marina Picasso was selling off a selection of her famous grandfather's artwork, as well as his famous French villa for an expected $290 million. This work for sale is from Marina Picasso's collection and bears her ink stamp (Lugt 3698), and the work is a rare proof from the famed Raphaël et la Fornarina section of the 347 series. The work is hand signed in pencil, but like all of the 17 proofs, it is not numbered. This is an extraordinary original Pablo Picasso etching with a Picasso family provenance.


Image of the full sheet.


Saturday, November 7, 2015

"Balloon Dog (Yellow)," 2015 by Jeff Koons


Balloon Dog (Yellow), 2015; Metallic porcelain multiple by Bernardaud in Limoges, France; Numbered ?/2300, published by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; With original box, certificate of authenticity, and plastic stand, Mint condition, never displayed; Size: 10 1/2" x 10 1/2" x 5"; Unframed.

To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE

"I was always intrigued by porcelain, by both the economic and the sexual aspect of the material."
-Jeff Koons

Jeffrey "Jeff" Koons (b. 1955) is an American artist who lives and works in New York, NY. He is known for his reproductions of banal objects, such as balloon animals, that he produces in stainless steel with reflective mirror-finish surfaces. On November 12, 2013, his "Balloon Dog (Orange)" sold at Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York City for $58.4 million;  becoming the most expensive work by a living artist sold at auction. In addition, Koons tops the list for highest aggregated sales over the past tens years at $646,151,557!

Koons was involved in a custody battle with his ex-wife Ilona Staller, over her taking their child Ludwig to Italy. Conceived in 1993, Koons began a series of works that he entitled "Celebration." The works of art within the series played homage to the much anticipated return of his son from Rome. "Celebration" consists of large-scale sculptures and paintings of balloon dogs, Valentine hearts, diamonds, and Easter eggs. According to Koons, “I was trying to communicate to my son, when he’s older, just how much I was thinking about him all the time.”

Balloon Dog (Yellow) is the latest edition in a series of limited edition artworks by Jeff Koons, that are direct reference to his iconic and monumental sculptures from the highly acclaimed "Celebration" Series. The well regarded high-end French porcelain company Bernardaud was chosen to produce the plate, incorporating a miniature version of his famous yellow steel Balloon Dog set against a silver  highly reflective finish disk.

Jeff Koons:
"Balloon Dog is a very optimistic piece, its a balloon that a clown would have maybe twist for you at a birthday party. But at the same time there's the profoundness of an archaic sculpture. The piece has an interior life while the reflective exterior surface affirms the viewer through their reflection. The porcelain only accentuates the sexuality of the piece. For Balloon Dog (yellow), it's been a pleasure working with Bernardaud, who proudly work with only the finest materials, innovative processes, and artisan talent. Their experience in porcelain dates back 150 years." ©Jeff Koons

According to the Bernardaud release, the new Balloon Dog (Yellow):
"Simulates the mirror-polished stainless steel of the monumental sculpture with its metallic yellow finish," which is then affixed to a shiny porcelain plate. "This highly complex project required the skill and expertise of modelers, decorators, and glazers within the workshop of the company, and new technologies were created in order to meet the artist's requirements."

Handling instructions for Balloon Dog (Yellow):

1. Due to the delicate metallic luster of the piece, do not handle the piece with your bare hands and use latex gloves as to not create any marks.

2. Only the back and rim of the piece can be touched with gloves hands. Fingerprints can be removed from the surface with water and a soft cotton cloth. Do not use any detergent.

3. Display (or store) the Balloon Dog (Yellow) out of direct sunlight.

4. Bernardaud or your retailer will not be responsible for any damage or mishandling on the Balloon Dog (Yellow) after it has been sold.

It is interesting to note that Jeff Koons has threatened, under copyright, several companies selling balloon dog forms. He claimed that a bookstore in San Francisco, CA infringed his proprietary rights by selling bookends in the shape of balloon dogs. Koons eventually abandoned that claim after the lawyer representing the bookstore filed a complaint for declaratory relief stating, "As virtually any clown can attest, no one owns the idea of making a balloon dog, and the shape created by twisting a balloon into a dog-like form is part of the public domain."

Friday, November 6, 2015

"Tricolor," 1973 by Robert Motherwell


Tricolor, 1973; Lithograph on Arches cover paper, with full margins; Signed Motherwell and numbered 95/125 in pencil lower right; Initialed RM and dated 73 in the stone upper right; Published by ULAE, New York; Printed at Mourlot, Paris; Catalogue Raisonne: Belknap 24; Size - Image 12 x 9", Sheet: 22 x 14"; Unframed.


Robert Motherwell (1915 – 1991) was an American painter, printmaker, writer, and editor. He was one of the youngest of the New York School (a term he coined), which also included the artists Philip Guston, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko.

Motherwell was the most educated of all of the abstract expressionist. He was from a well educated and wealthy family, and received a BA in philosophy from Stanford University. It was at Stanford that Motherwell was introduced to modernism through his extensive reading of symbolist and other literature, especially Mallarmé, James Joyce, Edgar Allan Poe, and Octavio Paz. Literary reference became a major theme of his later paintings and drawings. However, his father urged him to pursue a more secure career and Motherwell states that the reason he went to Harvard was because he wanted to be a painter: "And finally after months of really a cold war he made a very generous agreement with me that if I would get a Ph.D. so that I would be equipped to teach in a college as an economic insurance, he would give me fifty dollars a week for the rest of my life to do whatever I wanted to do on the assumption that with fifty dollars I could not starve but it would be no inducement to last. So with that agreed on Harvard then—it was actually the last year—Harvard still had the best philosophy school in the world. And since I had taken my degree at Stanford in philosophy, and since he didn't care what the Ph.D. was in, I went on to Harvard."

However, it was in 1940 that Motherwell would make an important decision. He moved to New York to study at Columbia University, where he was encouraged by the great critic/writer Meyer Schapiro to devote himself to painting rather than scholarship. Shapiro introduced the young artist to a group of exiled Parisian Surrealists including Max Ernst, Duchamp, and Andre Masson; and arranged for Motherwell to study with the Swiss artist Kurt Seligmann.

Matta introduced Motherwell to the concept of “automatic” drawings. Wolfgang Paalen would also have a profound impact on Motherwell, and his resulting drawings showed more plane graphic cadences and swelling ink-spots that referenced possible figurations. Motherwell would pass this information onto American painters such as Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, and William Baziotes; whom Motherwell befriended in New York shortly after a trip to Mexico. In 1991, shortly before he died, Motherwell remembered a "conspiracy of silence" regarding Paalen´s innovative role to the genesis of Abstract Expressionism and to the New York School.


Close up of the pencil signature and the edition number.

Robert Motherwell: "What I realized was that Americans potentially could paint like angels but that there was no creative principle around, so that everybody who liked modern art was copying it. Gorky was copying Picasso. Pollock was copying Picasso. De Kooning was copying Picasso. I mean I say this unqualifiedly. I was painting French intimate pictures or whatever. And all we needed was a creative principle, I mean something that would mobilize this capacity to paint in a creative way, and that's what Europe had that we hadn't had; we had always followed in their wake. And I thought of all the possibilities of free association—because I also had a psychoanalytic background and I understood the implications—might be the best chance to really make something entirely new which everybody agreed was the thing to do."

In 1942 Motherwell began to exhibit his work in New York and in 1944 had his first one-man show at Peggy Guggenheim’s “Art of This Century” gallery. Also in 1944 MoMA became the first museum to purchase one of his works. From the mid-1940s, Motherwell was the leading spokesman for avant-garde art in America, and his circle of friends included William Baziotes, David Hare, Barnett Newman, and Mark Rothko.

Throughout the 1950s Motherwell taught painting at Hunter College in New York and at Black Mountain College in North Carolina where his students included Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg, and Kenneth Noland. During this time, he was a prolific writer and lecturer, directed the influential Documents of Modern Art Series, and edited The Dada Painters and Poets: An Anthology, published in 1951. Also, during the 1950's Motherwell's collages began to incorporate material from his studio such as cigarette packets and labels that would become records of his daily life. He was married from 1958 to 1971, to Helen Frankenthaler, a successful abstract painter in her own right.


Close up of the initials and the date in the lithographic stone.

Collage, as an 20th century innovation art form, was first employed by Pablo Picasso. However of all the printmaking artists of the last century, Motherwell made the most of collage as an editioned art form. Motherwell selected (based on their aesthetic composition and color) various wine, cheese, paper, or cigarette labels that printmaking studios then faithfully reproduced on acid-free paper. This allowed Motherwell to eliminate the possibility for disintegration common with found materials, and thereby ensure long-term archival quality. Creating the collage effects in these prints was done by tearing or cutting the re-printed papers around templates that had been designed by the artist, and then pasting the resulting works onto the print surfaces. Other types of collage materials utilized special papers chosen by Motherwell or even proofs from previously editioned prints that contained certain images or textures.

Robert Motherwell made his first prints in 1943 and returned to printmaking in the early 1960s at the invitation of the ULAE print studio. His later work with Tyler Graphics, Gemini G.E.L., and printers working in his own studio, evolved into an impressive body of nearly 460 prints influencing countless artists with his innovative ideas and printmaking techniques. The bulk of his work is comprised of gestural images (Elegies), a few are linear compositions (Opens), and a considerable number of prints that contain some element of collage.

This work for sale, "Tricolor" from 1973 was published by ULAE, New York and printed at Mourlot, Paris. The red ground is marred by white automatism lines and the reproduced collage element is a fragment of a Korn's lithographic ink label. This is one of the rare hand signed and numbered impressions but there were also three thousand impressions that were not hand signed, without margins, and not numbered; but rather simply signed and dated in the stone. Those three thousand impressions were published in XXe Siecle, Vol. XL, No. 40, in June 1973. "Tricolor" is a wonderful example of Motherwell at his best and a great example of his brilliant use of collage. The red ground is textured and lush, and forces the collage element forward thereby creating a strong figure to ground relationship.