"Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan)" From Ads, 1985 by Andy Warhol

Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan) From Ads, 1985; Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board; Signed Andy Warhol and numbered 190/190 in pencil lower right; Published by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., NY; Size - Sheet 38" x 38", Frame 43 1/2" x 43 1/2"; Framed floated on a white mat, white wood exterior frame, and plexiglass; Catalog Raisonne: Feldman/Schellmann: II.356.

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"The neatest Christmas gift of all!
You can twist it... You can twirl it... You can bend it... You can curl it... The new revolutionary collar on Van Heusen Century shirts won't wrinkle... ever!"
Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was a conservative American politician who served as the 40th President of the United States; he was elected for two terms from 1981 to 1989. Prior to his presidency, he served as the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975, following a career as an actor and was also the President of the Screen Actors Guild.

Ronald Reagan, while traveling with the Chicago Cubs and acting as their radio announcer in California, took a screen test in 1937 that led to a seven-year contract with Warner Brothers Studios. He spent the first few years of his Hollywood career in the "B film" unit and his first screen credit was the starring role in the 1937 movie "Love Is on the Air." By the end of 1939 he had appeared in 19 films, including "Dark Victory" with Hollywood legends Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. Before the film "Santa Fe Trail" with Errol Flynn in 1940, he was cast in the role of George "The Gipper" Gipp in the film "Knute Rockne, All American". "The Gipper" would forever become his lifelong nickname.

Although Reagan referred to "Kings Row" as the film that "made me a star;" he was unable to capitalize on the success because he was ordered to active duty with the U.S. Army two months after its release. Reagan was never again able to regain "star" status in motion pictures. Soon he would shift into politics, beginning his career as a liberal Democrat; but then by the 1950's becoming more and more a conservative Republican. Ronald Reagan would reach the ultimate political job as President of the United States of America in 1981.

Close up of the number and signature.

Presidents make wonderful subject matter for artists, and Ronald Reagan was no exception. What was lacking from other artist's portraits of Reagan was any reference to his long career in Hollywood. Andy Warhol, while working on his Ad Series; would make a direct reference to Reagan's prior career as an actor in motion pictures. Warhol had a history of portraiture and had made portraits of former presidents Kennedy, Nixon, and Carter. What was to be different for the Reagan portrait was the source material. Warhol, for both the paitings on canvas and the limited edition prints, had decided to use a photograph of an old shirt ad that was part of a promotional campaign for Ronald Reagan's 1953 film, "Law and Order."

In this wonderful serigraph, Warhol casts Reagan in a circa-1953 advertisement for wrinkle-free Van Heusen Century shirts. The text of the ad reads, "You can twist it... You can twirl it... You can bend it... You can curl it... The new revolutionary collar on Van Heusen Century shirts won't wrinkle... ever!" A smiling Ronald Reagan is off the left of the image and the text seems to play off of Reagan’s nickname, the “Teflon President.” This title had been given to him by Democratic congresswoman Patricia Schroeder, because it seemed that no negative criticism of him ever seemed to stick. 

Publisher stamp on the verso.

Andy Warhol had his start in the art world by becoming a commercial advertising artist. This early career would always influence his art and in 1985 Warhol created a series of ten works that he called Ads. It is interesting to note that Warhol chose three famous actors James Dean, Ronald Reagan, and Judy Garland to feature in this suite. The ten prints are:

Rebel Without a Cause (James Dean) – based on the Japanese poster version of the movie

The New Spirit  (Donald Duck) – based on an original Donald Duck drawing

Mobil – based on Mobil Oil Corporation trademark logo

Volkswagen – based on an advertisement by Volkswagen of America

Van Heusen – based on advertisement by Van Heusen featuring the actor at the time, Ronald Reagan

Apple –advertisement for Macintosh computers featuring the Apple logo

Paramount – original version of Paramount logo

Blackglama (Judy Garland) – advertisement for Blackglama Furs featuring Judy Garland

Life Savers – based on Lifesavers advertisement

Chanel – Chanel perfume bottle image trademarked by Chanel, Inc.

Framed "Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan)" From Ads, 1985 by Andy Warhol.

"Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan)" is a wonderful portrait of a former President, while integrating Andy Warhol's advertising history into the work. Reagan's influence in politics continues today, as the Republican party references him constantly; and this portrait references his long career in front of the camera.

#RonaldReagan #AndyWarhol #Warhol #VanHeusen #popart #untitledartgallery #WarholAds #SignedWarhol

Claes Oldenburg - "Twirling Fork with Meatball and Spaghetti," 1993

Twirling Fork with Meatball and Spaghetti, 1993; Relief print on Kozo paper; Initialed CO and dated '93 in pencil bottom right and numbered 38/50 in pencil lower left; Published by Michael Ovitz, Los Angeles; Catalog Raisonne: A. & P. 247; Framed matted and floated with acid free mats, a wood frame, and plexiglass; Size - Sheet 24" x 18", Frame 30" x 24".

The famed Pop Artist Claes Oldenburg has always been attracted to food as subject matter.  From his large scale and soft sculptures, to his work in the print medium; his interpretations of food have become some of the most recognizable works of art from the last century.  Often lacking in the discussion of his work is his extraordinary skill as a draftsman.  His lines are so beautifully rendered that they can convey movement or scale with an ease and a simplicity.  In this work, the fork is not stagnant but rather in motion. The first word in the title of this work is "twirling" and this is instantly seen with the lines around the top of the fork, as well as the way in which the food on it's tines is rendered.  The meatball and spaghetti are all a whirl, as the fork is spinning in order to keep the food all together!

Close up of the edition number.

"I am for an art that takes its form from the lines of life itself, that twists and extends and accumulates and spits and drips, and is heavy and coarse and blunt and sweet and stupid as life itself."

Claes Oldenburg. 

Close up of the initials and the date.

Photograph of the framed Oldenburg, "Twirling Fork with Meatball and Spaghetti," 1993.

#Oldenburg #ClaesOldenburg #TwirlingFork #Popart #meatballandspaghetti #untitledartgallery

"Blackglama (Judy Garland)" from Ads by Andy Warhol

Blackglama (Judy Garland) From Ads, 1985; Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board; Signed Andy Warhol and numbered 184/190 in pencil lower left; Published by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., NY; Size - Sheet 38" x 38", Frame 45 1/2" x 45 1/2"; Framed floated on a black linen mat, white gold wood exterior frame, and plexiglass; Catalog Raisonne: Feldman/Schellmann: II.351.

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

Judy Garland (Frances Ethel Gumm) is an American Icon, she was an acclaimed singer, stage performer, and actress; and she is most known for her performance in The Wizard of Oz, 1939 and in particular her performance of the song Over the Rainbow, which won an Academy Award. She appeared in over two dozen films, nine with Mickey Rooney that were referred to as "backyard musicals." The combination of Garland and Rooney was a hit with the public and the two were sent by the MGM studio on an across the country tour culminating with multiple performances by the duo.  Judy Garland had two daughters, Lorna Luft and Liza Minnelli and one son Joey Luft. Liza Minnelli went on to become a star in her own right, she was a singer, dancer, actress, and stage performer. She was also a friend of Warhol, appearing with him along with Halston and Bianca Jagger at the famed Studio 54 New York nightclub.

Andy Warhol was always drawn to the golden age of film, and in particular to the stars of the silver screen. He created portraits of some of the most important stars of his time including Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Troy Donahue, and Lana Turner. In 1978 Warhol created canvas portraits of Liza Minnelli and in 1979, Warhol created large canvas portraits of Judy Garland.

Close up of the signature and the number

Warhol had gotten his start in the art world by becoming a commercial advertising artist. This early career would always influence his art and in 1985 Warhol created a series of ten works that he called Ads. It is interesting to note that Warhol chose three famous actors James Dean, Ronald Reagan, and Judy Garland to feature in this suite. The ten prints are:

Rebel Without a Cause (James Dean) – based on the Japanese poster version of the movie

The New Spirit  (Donald Duck) – based on an original Donald Duck drawing

Mobil – based on Mobil Oil Corporation trademark logo

Volkswagen – based on an advertisement by Volkswagen of America

Van Heusen – based on advertisement by Van Heusen featuring the actor at the time, Ronald Reagan

Apple –advertisement for Macintosh computers featuring the Apple logo

Paramount – original version of Paramount logo

Blackglama (Judy Garland) – advertisement for Blackglama Furs featuring Judy Garland

Life Savers – based on Lifesavers advertisement

Chanel – Chanel perfume bottle image trademarked by Chanel, Inc.

The Great Lakes Mink Association (GLMA) was formed in 1941 by mink breeders in the Great Lakes region of the United States who had bred a black-furred mink which they characterize as "the richest, deepest, most lustrous dark mink with the lightest, most flexible leather." GLMA then trademarked it as Blackglama and began a long-running advertising campaign with the tagline being "What becomes a legend most?" Blackglama featured a series of very famous celebrities modeling their furs including in 1968, Judy Garland. Warhol must have not only adored the glamorous image of Judy Garland in a black fur coat but also the tag line "What becomes a legend most?;" because he included it in the final completed artwork.

Blackglama original ad and source material © Blackglama

Framed Blackglama (Judy Garland) using a white gold Deco wood frame.

#JudyGarland #AndyWarhol #Warhol #Blackglama #popart #untitledartgallery #WarholAds #SignedWarhol

Joan Miro - "Maravillas Con Variaciones Acrósticas En El Jardín De Miró (Wonders With Aristocratic Variations In Miró's Garden), 1975" II/V

Maravillas Con Variaciones Acrósticas En El Jardín De Miró (Wonders With Aristocratic Variations In Miró's Garden), 1975; Lithograph on Japon paper; Signed Miró in pencil, lower right and numbered II/V in pencil, lower left; Framed using two acid free mats, a black and gold wood frame, and UV conservation clear glass; Size - Image: 21" x 29 1/4"; Sheet 21" x 29 1/4"; Frame: 35" x 43"; Catalog Raisonne: Mourlot 1067, Cramer 211.

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

Matisse said of Miro, "Without a single line the piece would fall," referring to Miro's wonderful and skillful use of balance.  The best works by Joan Miro are always perfectly balanced compositions in both form and color.  This work entitled, "Maravillas Con Variaciones Acrósticas En El Jardín De Miró (Wonders With Aristocratic Variations In Miró's Garden)" created in 1975 is an excellent example of Miro's technical skill.  To the untrained eye, the image at first appears as a jumble of random gestures and children's scribbles; however a little closer look reveals the genius at work.  The red, green, brown, yellow, and blue wax lines are applied both thick and thin and both the forms and colors are chosen quite specifically for maximum visual impact.  The overlying thick black wash lines provide depth of field by forcing the wax colored lines back into the background, creating a figure to ground relationship.

Close up of the Miro pencil signature

Close up of the Roman number, II/V (2/5)

The application of the black overlying lines also ties the work together and further balances the work.  Imagine simply removing any element from the composition and you will realize that it becomes heavy on one side or the other.  For instance, if you remove the green lines in the bottom right that form an angle, that part of the composition feels empty and therefore the upper and lower left sections become heavy and the work falls off balance.  This illustration can be used for just about every element, to demonstrate Miro's skill.  This particular work is very rare, as it's edition is only five and this is the number two from the series.  

Photograph of the framed lithograph

#miro #joanmiro #lithograph #art #artcollecting #mirosgarden #surrealism #untitledartgallery #matisse #art #artcollecting

Arman - "Color Strokes (Paintbrushes), 1991" - Mixed Media Sculpture

Color Strokes (Paintbrushes), 1991; Accumulations of paint brushes and acrylic paint strokes in polyester, framed in black plexiglass with black plexiglass base; Incised with Arman signature and incised numbered 16/20 bottom right; Recorded in the Arman Studio Archives under number APA# 8400.91.084; Measurements: Sculpture 26 1/2 x 12 1/2 x 2 3/4", base 7 16 x 3/4".

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

New Realism was an art movement that started in France in 1960 with Pierre Restany writing it's original manifesto which proclaimed: "Nouveau Realisme -new ways of perceiving the real."  This group of artists was interested in new ways in which to create art, and in the process subvert the status quo.  The artist Arman was one of the original founding members and he was known for his "accumulations" and for his destruction/recomposition of ordinary objects.  For what he called his "Coupes (cuts)" he featured objects with a strong "identity" such as musical instruments, with the violin being his most famous subject matter.  These objects were then transformed by slicing, smashing, or burning them in order to further activate the form and therefore present them in an entirely new state.  

Back of the sculpture

The 1940's were dominated by the first American Art movement, abstract expressionism.  The group of artists were divided into two camps, the abstractionists which preferred color and simple forms to carry the work; and the expressionists which were interested in the line created as the result of movement or gesture.  The expressionist group were further divided into artists that preferred the Jackson Pollock way of working, with no brush (ie. brushstrokes) and simple expressionist movements; and the Willem de Kooning way of working, which was using bold brushstrokes that could be seen in the completed work.  The entire movement was oppossed to the traditional European formal painting, where the goal was not to have a single brushstroke seen.  By the time the 1960's rolled around, the PoP Art movement was dominated by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein; both of whom preferered to not even use a brush, but rather the silkscreen in order to make sure that the completed works had a very mechanical and commercial feel.  This way of making art assured that not only were brushstrokes not seen, the artwork itself suggested a totally commercial means of production.

Close up of the sculpture

Roy Lichtenstein produced paintings of large brushstrokes as subject matter and Andy Warhol went even further by making the subject matter of his paintings the actual supplies used to make art.  Warhol's idea was a painting of the supplies used to make a painting, an open watercolor kit with brushes and the dried colored pigment discs.  Arman would go even further with this sculpture.  He has  suspended paintbrushes and the brushstroke created by them, into a sculptural acrylic block.

Arman incised signature and number

This work "Color Strokes (Paintbrushes), 1991" is an iconic work by Arman.  It features a series of thirteen black handled paint brushes loaded in green, black, yellow, red, or orange paint that have made a single brush stroke and then embedded into a block of polyester resin.  The work is signed by Arman and numbered from the edition of only 20.  The unique presentation, of a brushes and brushstrokes floating in space; allows the viewer to see the objects from multiple views.

#arman #acrylicsculpture #NouveauRealisme #newrealism #RoyLichtenstein #AndyWarhol #popart #WillemdeKooning #colorstrokes #paintbrushes #untitledartgallery

Ilya Bolotowsky - Four Framed Works of Art

Red Tondo, 1979; Serigraph on BFK Rives Paper; Signed Ilya Bolotowsky in pencil lower right and numbered 16/225 in pencil lower left; Framed with an acid free mat, black wood exterior frame, and UV conservation clear glass.

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

Ilya Bolotowsky was born to Jewish parents in St. Petersburg, Russia on July 1, 1907.  He was mentored by the famous Dutch painter Piet Mondrian who had created the art movement neoplasticism; a belief in the possibility of ideal order in the visual arts.  Bolotowsky was quick to adopt Mondrian's use of horizontal and vertical geometric pattern as well as his use of primary colors supported by neutrals.  He immigrated to the US and settled in New York in 1923.  He was one of the first artists to work in hard edge geometric abstraction and he also taught at the famed Black Mountain College from 1946 to 1948.  One of his most famous students was Kenneth Noland.

Yellow Square, 1979; Serigraph on BFK Rives Paper; Signed Ilya Bolotowsky in pencil lower right and numbered 16/225 in pencil lower left; Framed with an acid free mat, black wood exterior frame, and UV conservation clear glass.

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

Ilya Bolotowsky is a very good artist for a number of reasons.  His choice and use of color is exceptional.  Light values of colors are chosen very specifically, and the juxtaposition of one color to another creates very powerful effects; that cause the eyes of the viewer to move about the art in a very specific way.  Structure is also critical with geometric patterns as the work can fall very quickly unless it is balanced and controlled, not just with color but with form.  Bolotowsky focuses on the use of primary colors red, blue and yellow and their varying light values.  White and black are critical to the compositions because of the need for symmetry; and the use of thick or thin in order to achieve compartmentalization of color fields.  He also has a wonderful skill of harmonization of his works through the use of soft neutrals.  The resulting compositions are absolutely breathtaking, and they integrate into any environment.  

Blue Diamond, 1979; Serigraph on BFK Rives Paper; Signed Ilya Bolotowsky in pencil lower right and numbered 16/225 in pencil lower left; Framed with an acid free mat, black wood exterior frame, and UV conservation clear glass.

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

When I was showing art several years ago at the Palm Beach Art Fair, I had with me a wonderful work by Bolotowsky.  A gentleman came into my booth and pointed to the Bolotowsky and said, "Ilya Bolotowsky, I knew him when he lived in New York.  When I was younger I used to deliver vodka to him in his apartment building.  It was one of those old buildings with the elevator that, once you entered or exited, you had to pull the large metal door behind you.  I was forever reaching Ilya's apartment and finding that he had left his elevator door open, and I told him 'Ilya, you are going to get drunk one day and fall down this elevator shaft if you do not remember to close this door!'  Well, that is exactly how he died."

Pink Diamond, 1979; Serigraph on BFK Rives Paper; Signed Ilya Bolotowsky in pencil lower right and numbered 16/225 in pencil lower left; Framed with an acid free mat, black wood exterior frame, and UV conservation clear glass.

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

A recent well reported news report occurred here in North Carolina.  A Bolotowsky painting bought at a North Carolina Goodwill store for only $9.99 was eventually auctioned at Sotheby's in September 2012 for $34,375!

#Bolotowsky #IlyaBolotowsky #colorfield #KennethNoland #BlackMountain #PietMondrian #untitledartgallery

Kenneth Noland - Coach Bag With Circle Painting

Coach Tote Bag With Circle Painting 1977, 2002; Serigraph on canvas Coach bag; Stamp signed, dated, and numbered Kenneth Noland 1977, No. 303/500 lower left; Published by Coach Inc.; Framed using an acid-free linen liner, a black wood fillet, and a black wood frame; Size: Image 11 1/2" x 11 1/2"; Bag 15" x 15" x 1"; Frame 20 1/4" x 20 1/4"

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

In October of 1952 Helen Frankenthaler, after a trip to Nova Scotia, had a breakthrough with a painting entitled "Mountains and Sea."  The painting was abstract and rather than painting the landscape that she saw on her trip, the work portrayed the experience itself.  The abstract image was painted using a "soak stain" technique, whereby unprimed canvas duct is painted using oil paint that had been heavily thinned with turpentine.  The effects of the technique reinforced the abstract nature of the landscape painting; and when the artists Kenneth Noland and Morris Louis saw it in her studio in New York, their own painting styles were forever changed.

On the train ride back to Washington DC, Noland and Louis realized that Frankenthaler's painting was their key to finding their own paths.  Each made the decision to disregard all his own prior work and begin fresh.  Noland stated, "We were interested in Pollock but could gain no lead from him.  He was too personal.  But Frankenthaler showed us a way - a way to think about and use color."  Morris Louis found is structure for his color field paintings first with the unfurl series; and soon after Kennth Noland found his, with the circle paintings.  "I knew what a circle could do.  Both eyes focus on it.  It stamps itself out, like a dot.  This, in turn, causes on's vision to spread, as in a mandala in Tantric art," Kenneth Noland.

Close up of the signature, date, and edition number.

The circle paintings in the 1960's were Noland's first color format; but would be followed over the years by chevrons, strips, plaids, and irregular paintin series.  Noland would return to these early formats in the 1990's using opaque and bold acrylics, however the soak stain technique from the 1960's are by far his greatest achievement.

Unframed limited edition Kenneth Noland Coach Bag with Circle Painting.

This very rare serigraph on canvas tote bag (15 х 15 х 1 in. (38.1 x 38.1 x 2.54 cm.) is stamped with Kenneth Noland's signature and date, 1977, and the limited edition of 500 is individually stamped on the front.  The work was created in 2002 in an edition of 500, and published by Coach, Inc.  The painting used by Noland was created by him in 1977 using his wonderful soak stain technique, and because Coach used this painting to make the bag in 2002; the work is given double dates in the description.  The painting is a wonderful circle painting, with a dark brown center target, an unpainted circle composed of unpainted canvas, followed by a rich purple, then another unpainted canvas circle.  The outer circle is a classic construct by Noland; such that, the inner aspect of the circle is incomplete, and it's format is maintained by a thin line.  The entire composition of the work allows for a brilliant color balanced by form interaction!

Framed limited edition Kenneth Noland Coach Bag with Circle Painting.

#Noland #KennethNoland #colorfield #circlepainting #Coach #handbag #untitledartgallery