Nina Chanel Abney was born in Chicago and currently lives and works in New York. Abney is known for her bold use of colours to represent a more violent every day consciousness that people of colour endure due to acts of racial abuse. Her work is included in collections around the world. Her first solo museum exhibition, Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush, curated by Marshall Price, Nancy Hanks Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, was presented in 2017 at the Nasher Museum of Art, North Carolina.
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Suite of five relief prints,
2. ANUSZKIEWICZ, Richard. Of the Same Brilliance
Provenance: Sidney Janis Gallery, New York; Acquired from the above by the present owner, circa 1965. Liquitex on board, 1964, signed and dated ‘richard anuszkiewicz 1964’ (on the reverse), 61.3 x 91.4 cm. (24 1/8 x 36 in.)
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CALDER,
L’Acier du Constructeur
Although widely known as a sculptor, the American artist Alexander Calder was also a prolific printmaker. This lithograph, spotlights Calder’s Futurist style, a style that is more closely associated with his sculpture and highlights his talent across mediums. It accurately captures Calder’s precision, but also his freedom in terms of composition. Large geometric strokes across the plate, alongside a lopsided palette of red, black and white takes Calder’s iterations of Futurism, which are so often found in his sculpture, and creates a print that encapsulates his spirit.
Lithograph in colours, circa 1965, on BFK Rives paper, signed in pencil, a proof aside from the edition of 75, published by Mourlot, Paris, 55.9 x 75.6 cm. (22 x 29¾ in.)
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Lithograph in colours, 1969, on BFK Rives paper, signed in pencil, a proof aside from the edition of 75, published by Maeght, Paris, 74.9 x 54.6 cm. (29½ x 21½ in.)
Calder received many accolades throughout his life, including the American Medal of Freedom, and deservedly so. His great influence on Futurism, Constructivism, Minimalism and American art in general is widely accepted, but perhaps most notably is the recognition he has received from within the art world. Amongst several honorary doctorates from top U.S universities, is a U.N. Peace Medal, Honorary Citizenship of Chicago and major awards such as the Grand Prix National des Art et Lettres. Calder was truly a 20th Century Master.
[ref: 109098]
5. CALDER, Alexander. Composition
Provenance: Collection Marie-Paule and Jean Leymarie, Paris; Thence by descent.
Gouache on paper, 1969, signed, dated and dedicated ‘a Marie Paule + Jean Leymarie Calder 69’ lower right, 57 x 77 cm. (22½ x 30¼ in.). This work is registered in the archives of the Calder Foundation, New York, under application number A28172.
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6. CHAGALL, Marc. Autour de la flûte enchantée
“For me there is nothing on earth that approaches those two perfections, The Magic Flute and the Bible.” –Marc Chagall (quoted in Emily Genauer, Chagall at the ‘Met’ (New York: Tudor Publishing, 1971).
In 1965, the same year as Autour de la flûte enchantée was produced, Sir Rudolf Bing, the director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, commissioned Chagall to design both the set and costumes for their rendition of Mozart’s 1791 opera
The Magic Flute. The artist embraced this commission wholeheartedly, and his visual language, steeped in fantasy, beautifully mirrored the blend of allegory and humour found in Mozart’s final and most cherished opera. The present work draws strong inspiration from the opera commission and may well have been produced as a preparatory work for the opera house’s set design.
Provenance: Estate of the artist.
Tempera, gouache, black pencil, coloured ink and mixed media on paper, 1965, signature stamp of the estate ‘Marc Chagall’ lower right, 62 x 50.5 cm. (24⅜ x 19⅞ in.). This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Meret Meyer, on behalf of the Comité Chagall.
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Lithograph in colours, 1964, on Arches paper, signed in pencil, numbered from the edition of 200, printed by Mourlot, published by the French Tourist Bureau, Paris, 65.3 x 101.6 cm. (25 3/4 x 40 in.) Mourlot. Charles Sorlier 10.
[ref: 113287]
8. CHAGALL, Marc. Grand Profil et Nu Rose
Grand profil et nu rose is a delightful and whimsical work by Marc Chagall. Created around 1977, the painting showcases Chagall’s signature style, which combines the visual language and perspectival devices of Cubism, Fauvism, and Surrealism.
This work on paper features a central figure in profile embracing a figure below. The composition is dynamic and full of movement, containing a group of angels that float around the upper sections of the page. Chagall’s use of colour is particularly striking, with the bold pinks and greens contrasting with the more muted greys and blues.
Chagall’s work often explores themes of love, religion, and the artist’s own personal history, and Grand profil et nu rose is no exception. The painting projects a joyful and playful spirit, reminiscent of other works created by the artist in the late 1970s. It carries a dreamlike quality, beckoning the viewer into a realm of fantasy and imagination.
Grand profil et nu rose showcases Chagall’s lasting impact on Modern art, with its vibrant palette and imagery promising to captivate and inspire generations to come – a testament to the artist’s timeless creativity.
Provenance: Estate of the artist
Gouache, tempera, pastel and coloured ink on Japan paper, c. 1977, signature stamp of the artist’s estate ‘Marc Chagall’ lower right, 64.5 x 49 cm (25⅜ x 19¼ in.). Accompanied by a certificate from Meret Meyer, on behalf of the Comité Chagall, dated 15 December 2021.
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9. CHAGALL, Marc. L’Ame du Cirque
In this vibrant and energetic depiction of a modern circus scene, we can see the artist’s exploration between our reality and a subconscious, dreamlike state. Chagall drew inspiration from the theme of the circus throughout his life. As a child in Russia, he had been fascinated by the travelling acrobats he saw at village fairs. After he moved to Paris, the famous art dealer Ambroise Vollard regularly accompanied him to the circus, where Chagall would sit in the audience and sketch. The chaotic and colourful atmosphere of the circus captivated Chagall as did the fact that in the circus all aspects of life were represented, from the comic to the tragic. The circus performers, with their outlandish costumes and garish make-up, were ideal characters to populate Chagall’s dreamlike compositions. He later said, ‘for me a circus is a magic show that appears and disappears like a world.’
Lithograph in colours, 1980, on Arches paper, signed in pencil, numbered from the edition of 50, published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, image: 59.7 x 94.9 cm. (23 ½ x 37 3/8 in.), sheet: 75.6 x 116.8 cm. (29 ¾ x 46 in.) M. 982.
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10. CHAGALL, Marc. Maternité Rouge
Chagall met his first wife and childhood love, Bella Rosenfeld in 1910, before his first departure from Russia; she was a constant in both his life and his work thereafter, even after her death in 1944. In 1916, the couple had their first child, Ida. In this work, the woman in the vibrant red dress, depicted holding a young child and looking up to the cockerel in the sky, is thought to represent Bella holding Ida and the cockerel they look towards symbolises Chagall’s alter ego. Using Paris as the setting for this work is significant as it was a city full of fond memories for Chagall, who became captivated by it’s beauty when he first moved there from 1910-14. It is a sentimental place for him as he and his wife and daughter also lived in Paris together from 1923-40. Bella, who was the subject of many of Chagall’s works, is believed to also be represented in the image of the lovers, seen in the bottom left corner of the piece.
Lithograph in colours, 1980, on Arches paper, signed in pencil, numbered 36/50 from the edition of 50, published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, image: 94 x 59.7 cm. (37 x 23 ½ in.), sheet: 116.2 x 74.9 cm. (45 ¾ x 29 ½ in.) M. 984.
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11.
CHAGALL, Marc. Le Couple au Crépuscule
The title of this work translates to ‘the couple at twilight’ and depicts a romantic encounter of two lovers with a full moon illuminating the gradually darkening sky. The artist’s first wife and childhood love, Bella, who was the subject of many works throughout the artist’s career, is believed to be represented here with Chagall, as well as in the pair of flying lovers in the sky. Upon closer inspection, we can notice two smaller floating figures, one painting on a canvas and the other playing the flute and the horse in Chagall’s work is believed to represent the artist himself. Amongst the vibrant colours used in this piece is ‘Chagall blue’, the characteristic shade of blue that dominated his paintings.
Lithograph in colours, 1980, on Arches paper, signed in pencil, numbered 34/50 from the edition of 50, published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, image: 94 x 69.9 cm. (37 x 23 ½ in.), sheet: 115.6 x 75.6 cm. (45 ½ x 29 ¾ in.)M. 972.
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12. CHAGALL, Marc. Les Deux Rives
‘Les Deux Rives’ depicts a dream-like Parisian landscape. From the height and centrality of the bridge, one can view the iconic Seine River flowing between the two banks, or ‘les deux rives’. Flowing across the city, the Seine separates Paris into the Rive Droite and Rive Gauche, the right and left banks. Having spent the formative and central years of his artistic career in Paris, from 1910-14 and again from 1923-40, Chagall became captivated with its beauty and featured aspects of the city extensively in his works. The human and animal figures in this piece are typical of Chagall’s imagery and predominantly recur throughout his work. The artist’s first wife and childhood love, Bella, was also the subject of many works, believed to be represented in the image of the lovers, while the horse is often thought to have been used by the artist to represent himself.
Lithograph in colours, 1980, on Arches paper, signed in pencil, numbered 48/50 from the edition of 50, published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, image: 94 x 69.9 cm. (37 x 23 ½ in.), sheet: 115.6 x 75.6 cm. (45 ½ x 29 ¾ in.)M. 974.
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13. CHAGALL, Marc. Le Bouquet Rose
This piece comprises some of Chagall’s more well-known and loved compositional elements. Taking up the majority of the image is a beautiful bouquet of flowers, which is admired by a woman in a vibrant, red dress in the foreground. The presence of the cockerel, thought to symbolise the artist’s alter-ego, appears to look longingly up at the small town in the distance. We know this town to be Saint Paul de Vence, a mecca for many artists such as Matisse, Picasso, Magnelli, Léger, in the hills above the French Riviera. Chagall returned to this town many times throughout his life and just before turning 80, he had a home built there in1966. Upon his death in 1985, Chagall was buried in the cemetery of Saint Paul de Vence, further highlighting the significant impression this place had on the artist’s life.
Lithograph in colours, 1980, on Arches paper, signed in pencil, numbered 33/50 from the edition of 50, published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, image: 94 x 69.9 cm. (37 x 23 ½ in.), sheet: 116.8 x 75.6 cm. (46 x 29 ¾ in.) M.979.
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14. CHAGALL, Marc. Les Lilas
This piece comprises some of Chagall’s more well-known and loved compositional elements. At the centre of the image is a monumental bouquet of lilacs in a vase, surrounded by floating figures and animals. The presence of the horse and the cockerel allude to the artist’s selfrepresentation, with the former often thought to depict himself and the latter to symbolize his alter-ego. At the left of the bouquet are distant traditional wooden Russian dwellings typical of Chagall’s childhood home in Vitebsk (now in Belarus), which the artist made the subject of his art from his very earliest creations. According to Jean-Michel Foray, the former director of the Marc Chagall Museum in Nice, however, we shouldn’t push too hard in trying to ‘decrypt’ what the scenes mean: ‘We cannot interpret them, because they are simply part of Chagall’s world, like figures from a dream.’
Lithograph in colours, 1980, on Arches paper, signed in pencil, numbered from the edition of 50, published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, image: 92.1 x 60.3 cm. (36 ¼ x 23 ¾ in.), sheet: 115.6 x 74.9 cm. (45 ½ x 29 ½ in.)M. 975.
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15. FRANCIS, Sam. Untitled SFP94/99
Provenance: Estate of the artist.
Acrylic on canvas, 1994, stamped with the Sam Francis Estate logo on the reverse, 55.9 x 35.9 cm. (22 x 14 1/8 in.). This work is included in the Sam Francis Foundation’s Online Catalogue Raisonne Project and is registered in the Archives of the Sam Francis Foundation under number SFP94-99 and SFF/1781SFF.1781.
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16. FRANKENTHALER, Helen. Orient Express #6
Helen Frankenthaler came of age in the midst of the avant-garde art scene in New York in the 1950s. From an early age she had a profound interest in understanding how painting worked and delighted in deconstructing Old Masters, creating her own lyrical abstract responses to them. Frankenthaler became a leading member of the second generation Abstract-Expressionists and although influenced by first generation artists like Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) and most significantly, Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), her own painterly style was a departure from theirs, expanding the possibilities of abstraction and eventually transitioning into Colour Field painting. Orient Express #6 is exemplary of her individual approach to painting with the use of thinned paint applied to pastel coloured paper from all sides to create floating fields of colour with interjections of bright pigments and open surface space.
Provenance: Estate of the Artist; Gagosian Gallery, London; Christie’s London, Sale 20664; Private Collection.
A unique work, 1977, acrylic on paper, signed and dated ‘Frankenthaler ‘77’ in pencil, 61 x 99 cm. (24 x 39 in.)
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The following three pieces are part of Keith Haring’s ‘Growing’ series, consisting of five prints created in 1988 after the artist was tragically diagnosed with AIDS. Reflecting on the fragile state of the world at the time, this is an optimistic series alluding to his hopes for a world of socio-political harmony and unity.
17. HARING, Keith. Growing #2
Here the artist uses his typical vibrant colours and bold outlines to guide the viewers eye around his figures which have been morphed into one singular being. In their interconnectedness, Haring’s figures grow together, devoid of distinctions between sex, gender, race, or class.
Screenprint in colours, 1988, on Lenox Museum Board, signed and dated in pencil, numbered 16th from the edition of 100, published by Martin Lawrence Limited Editions, New York, with their blindstamp, 75.9 x 101.9 cm. (29 7/8 x 40 1/8 in.)Littmann p. 90.
[ref: 112007]
18. HARING, Keith. Growing #3
Throughout his career, Haring was strongly influenced by Australian Aboriginal and Aztec artistic motifs, which can be seen in the symmetrical compositions of his figures, rhythmic patterns and the flat, vibrant colour blocks he uses.
Screenprint in colours, 1988, on Lenox Museum Board, signed and dated in pencil, numbered 16th from the edition of 100, published by Martin Lawrence Limited Editions, New York, with their blindstamp, 75.9 x 101.9 cm. (29 7/8 x 40 1/8 in.)Littmann p.91. [ref: 112006]
Screenprint in colours, 1988, on Lenox Museum Board, signed and dated in pencil, numbered 16th from the edition of 100, published by Martin Lawrence Limited Editions, New York, with their blindstamp, 75.9 x 101.9 cm. (29 7/8 x 40 1/8 in.)Littmann P.91.
[ref: 112008]
apocalypse suite
The darker undertones hidden beneath Keith Haring’s playful and graffiti-like art have always been present, long before the creation of the present work in 1988, where cynicism was at its most powerful and confrontational. His earlier works depict themes of violence, monsters, nuclear radiation, fallen angels and the crucifixion. This series was completed in the year that Haring was tragically diagnosed with AIDS, a period when the precariousness of life left visible imprints on his art. In 1988, he said that ‘all of the things that you make are a quest for immortality. Because you’re making these things that you know have a different kind of life’. When the dream for immortality is cut short, the artist created darker reflective imagery with greater urgency than ever before.
Screenprint in colours, 1988, on Museum Board, signed, dated and numbered from the edition of 90 in pencil (there were also 20 artist’s proofs and 5 hors commerce sets), published by George Mulder Fine Arts, New York, with the artist and publisher’s copyright inkstamps on the reverse, 96.5 x 96.5 cm. (38 x 38 in.).
Klaus Littmann pp. 98-109.
[ref: 112011]
Screenprint in colours, 1988, on Museum Board, signed, dated and numbered from the edition of 90 in pencil (there were also 20 artist’s proofs and 5 hors commerce sets), published by George Mulder Fine Arts, New York, with the artist and publisher’s copyright inkstamps on the reverse, 96.5 x 96.5 cm. (38 x 38 in.)Klaus Littmann pp. 98-109.
[ref: 112012]
Screenprint in colours, 1988, on Museum Board, signed, dated and numbered from the edition of 90 in pencil (there were also 20 artist’s proofs and 5 hors commerce sets), published by George Mulder Fine Arts, New York, with the artist and publisher’s copyright inkstamps on the reverse, 96.5 x 96.5 cm. (38 x 38 in.)Klaus Littmann pp. 98-109.
[ref: 112013]
Screenprint in colours, 1988, on Museum Board, signed, dated and numbered from the edition of 90 in pencil (there were also 20 artist’s proofs and 5 hors commerce sets), published by George Mulder Fine Arts, New York, with the artist and publisher’s copyright inkstamps on the reverse, 96.5 x 96.5 cm. (38 x 38 in.)Klaus Littmann pp. 98-109.
[ref: 112014]
Screenprint in colours, 1988, on Museum Board, signed, dated and numbered from the edition of 90 in pencil (there were also 20 artist’s proofs and 5 hors commerce sets), published by George Mulder Fine Arts, New York, with the artist and publisher’s copyright inkstamps on the reverse, 96.5 x 96.5 cm. (38 x 38 in.)Klaus Littmann pp. 98-109.
[ref: 112015]
Screenprint in colours, 1988, on Museum Board, signed, dated and numbered from the edition of 90 in pencil (there were also 20 artist’s proofs and 5 hors commerce sets), published by George Mulder Fine Arts, New York, with the artist and publisher’s copyright inkstamps on the reverse, 96.5 x 96.5 cm. (38 x 38 in.)Klaus Littmann pp. 98-109.
[ref: 112016]
Screenprint in colours, 1988, on Museum Board, signed, dated and numbered from the edition of 90 in pencil (there were also 20 artist’s proofs and 5 hors commerce sets), published by George Mulder Fine Arts, New York, with the artist and publisher’s copyright inkstamps on the reverse, 96.5 x 96.5 cm. (38 x 38 in.)Klaus Littmann pp. 98-109.
[ref: 112017]
27. HIRST, Damien. Tryptophan, from 12 Woodcut Spots
Tryptophan is a woodcut print from Damien Hirst’s 12 Woodcut Spots series, created in 2010. The square composition features three rows of three spots, each identical in size and shape but differing in colour. Throughout Hirst’s extensive body of work, each spot painting showcases a unique combination of colours.
The 12 Woodcut Spots series is a distinct exploration of colour and form, characteristic of Hirst’s style.
This series is reminiscent of Hirst’s Pharmaceutical paintings, which span his career and are among his most prolific works. The titles in this series are randomly selected from the Sigma-Aldrich catalogue ‘Biochemicals for Research and Diagnostic Reagents’, which Hirst first encountered in the early 1990s.
Woodcut in colours, 2010, on Somerset paper, signed in pencil, numbered from the edition of 48 on the reverse, published by The Paragon Press, London, 102 x 102 cm. (40¼ x 40¼ in.)
[ref: 114229]
28. HOCKNEY, David. Paper Pools Pool Made with Paper and Blue Ink for Book
Lithograph printed in colours, 1980, signed and dated in pencil, numbered from the edition of 1000, printed and published by Tyler Graphics, Ltd., Mount Kisco, New York, with their blindstamp, 26.6 x 22.9cm. (10½ x 9 in.)(Tokyo 234).
[ref: 112098]
29. HOCKNEY, David. Panama Hat with a Bow Tie on a Chair, from The Geldzahler Portfolio
Etching and aquatint, 1998, on Somerset Satin White paper, signed and dated in pencil, numbered from the edition of 100 (there were also 15 artist’s proofs), printed by Maurice Payne, co-published by the artist and the Estate Project for Artists with AIDS, New York, 75 × 57.2 cm. (30 × 22 in.)
[ref: 111971]
A Garden of Love
‘A Garden of Love’ comprises of six colour variations of Robert Indiana’s emblematic, square ‘LOVE’ composition. ‘LOVE’ is one of the most recognisable images of the American Pop Art movement and was a pioneering piece of hard-edged abstraction - an approach to painting that became widespread in the 1960s and is characterised by areas of flat colour with sharp, clear (or ‘hard’) edges. ‘A Garden of Love’ is just one of a number of adaptions of the original 1964 design. ‘LOVE’ has been translated into different languages, alphabets, and mediums – most famously into a series of vibrant, large scale public sculptures.
First created in 1964 for the Museum of Modern Art’s Christmas card that year, ‘LOVE’ quickly became the most popular greetings card the museum had ever produced and was later adapted for the design for a national stamp. The straightforward and socio-political overtones of the message of ‘LOVE’, are irrevocably emblematic of 1960s optimism and even became associated with the anti-war movement in America during this time which Indiana strongly supported. The artist makes reference to the ‘flower power’ generation, from which the concept of ‘LOVE’ first sprang, by naming each of the colour variations in ‘A Garden of Love’ after a type of flower: Tulip, Lily, Zinnia, Rose, Phlox and Lilac.
The five examples here are screenprints in colours produced in 1982 on Fabriano paper, signed, dated, titled, and inscribed ‘AP’ in pencil; each one of 15 numbered artist’s proofs, aside from the edition of 100, printed by Domberger KG, Filderstadt, with the blind stamp, published by Prestige Art Limited, Mamaroneck, New York, 68 x 68 cm. (26¾ x 26¾ in.) Sheehan 126-131.
item 30
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35. JOHNS, Jasper. Savarin 4
The subject of Savarin dates to 1960, the year Jasper Johns made a life-size painted bronzed sculpture based on a Savarin coffee can that he used to hold paintbrushes in in his studio. He returned to the image in 1977, creating a lithograph of the Savarin can for a poster announcing a retrospective of his work at the Whitney Museum.
Lithograph, on Richard de Bas paper, 1978, signed and dated in pencil, numbered from the edition of 42, published by ULAE, West Islip, New York, with their blind stamp, 65.7 x 50.2 cm. (26 x 19.8 in.)
[ref: 100512]
Colour offset lithograph, 1964, on wove paper, signed and dated in pencil, a proof aside from the edition of 300, published Leo Castelli Gallery, Inc., New York, with full margins, 43.8 x54.6 cm. (17 1/4 x 21 1/2 in.)Corlett II.4.
[ref: 110740]
37. LICHTENSTEIN, Roy. Entablature II, from Entablature Series
Screenprint in colours with embossing and collage of gloss copper and mat pink metallic foil, 1976, on Rives BFK paper, signed and dated in pencil, numbered from edition of 30 (there were also 9 artist’s proofs), published by Tyler Graphics, Ltd., Bedford Village, New York (with their blindstamp), 74 x 114 cm (29 1/8 x 44 7/8 in.)Corlett 139; T.335.
[ref: 110676]
38. LICHTENSTEIN, Roy. Still Life, from The Geldzahler Portfolio
Serigraph in colours, 1997, on 300 gram Somerset textured paper, signed and dated in pencil, numbered from the edition of 75 (there were also 15 artist’s proofs), printed by Noblet Serigraphie, Inc., published by The Estate Project for Artists with AIDS, New York, 75 x 56.2 cm. (30 x 22 in.)Corlett 310.
[ref: 111973]
39. MIRO, Joan. Stars and Dancers (Astres et Danseurs)
Exhibited: Miró, New York, 1947; Miró, Hayter and Atelier, Academy Art Museum, 2021. Illustrated on page 22 of the show catalogue.
Provenance: Private collection, Washington, DC, USA.
A rare and unique etching with hand-colouring, 1938, on vellum, signed in red ink by the artist, numbered ‘2/4’, one of four numbered impressions on velum, aside from the standard edition of 30, with the printer’s tack holes at the extreme sheet edges, co-published by Pierre Loeb and Pierre Matisse, Paris and New York, sheet: 29.2 x 41.5 cm. (11 1/2 x 16 3/8 in.) Dupin 19.
[ref: 110698]
40. PICASSO, Pablo. Nature morte sur une table devant une fenêtre ouverte
This piece was gifted to Geneviève Laporte (1926–2012), Pablo Picasso’s lover from 1951-53. It is a fine example of Picasso’s earlier cubist style and the viewer is able to identify several iconographic elements specific to Cubism within the image like the guitar, the bottle, the fruit bowl and table. By varying the tones of brown and beige, Picasso creates the illusion of volume in a 2-D space, a Cubist concept he continuously explored and developed throughout his work at this time. Like many of his compositions, Picasso returned to this image often between 1919-1920, creating over 20 variations as gouaches on paper and coloured stencils.
The Estate of Genevieve Laporte (gifted by the artist); Private Collection, London.
Coloured stencil, 1920, on laid paper, signed lower right, numbered from the edition of 100, image: 26.8 x 21.9 cm (10.5 x 8.6 in.), sheet: 30.1 x 24.9 cm (11.8 x 9.8 in.) Zervos, Vol. III, No. 417.
[ref: 112043]
41. PICASSO, Pablo. Tête de Femme
While Pablo Picasso never claimed to be a Surrealist, his earlier Cubist works certainly laid the groundwork for such a movement to exist. By the time André Breton’s ‘Surrealist Manifesto’ was published in 1924, Picasso was creating art with a similar surrealist style. The present work demonstrates Picasso’s ceaseless desire to present an alternative to realism. The artist challenges our perception of portraiture and reality by capturing the woman’s face in a simultaneous profile and frontal-facing perspective. As the viewer, our eyes delight in the challenge to understand this surreal vision of a multifaceted woman, made up of elegant curving, intersecting lines.
Provenance: The Estate of Genevieve Laporte (gifted by the artist); Private Collection, London.
Lithograph, 1925, on Japanese Imperial paper, signed lower right, an artist’s proof gifted directly to Genevieve Laporte from Picasso’s private collection, aside from the edition of one hundred, printed by Engelmann, Paris, published by D.H. Kahnweiler, Galerie Simon, Paris, image: 12.7 x 11.8 cm. (5 x 4.6 in.), sheet: 28 x 22.5 cm. (11 x 8.9 in.)Bloch 73; Baer 240; Mourlot XX; Cramer Books 14.
[ref: 112045]
42. PICASSO, Pablo. Portrait de Marie-Thérèse de face (Portrait of Marie-Thérèse from the Front)
Drypoint and etching with aquatint, 1934, on Richard de Bas laid paper, stamp-signed in black ink and numbered from the edition of 50 in pencil (there were also 16 artist’s proofs in Roman numerals), published in 1981 by Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, 50.8 x 40 cm. (20 x 15 3/4 in.)Bl. 276, Ba. 417.
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43. PICASSO, Pablo. David et Bethsabée (d’après Cranach)
This work is a unique proof gifted to Geneviève Laporte (1926-2012), Picasso’s lover during the 1950s. In 1951, Picasso and she began an affair which lasted for two years and during this time the artist gifted a number of his works to her. A poet and writer herself, Laporte published her book ‘Sunshine at Midnight: Memories of Picasso and Cocteau’ in 1973 in which she recounts Picasso gifting her the current work:
‘He [Picasso] also pulled out a lithograph to show me, a David and Bethsabée after a painting by Cranach. The date on the first proofs appeared in reverse because for once, said Picasso, he had forgotten that it had to be written back to front on the zinc. The plate shows Bethsabée richly dressed, seated in a garden and stretching out her foot to be washed by a serving woman, while David peers down at her with lust in his eye, from a terrace above… The proof Picasso showed me was pulled on a sheet of paper which had a silken feel. ‘It’s Chinese paper,’ Picasso told me. They don’t make much of it anymore. This is the only proof of this state.’ He looked at me, while I, fascinated by the lithograph, remained silent. Then Picasso said with a smile: ‘Tell me, as you used to do, what you think of it.’ I remained speechless, tongue- tied by the beauty and force radiating from this black and white linear image… he put it on the table, took a red pencil and wrote: Pour Geneviève Laporte (épreuve unique). Then he added the date and remarked: ‘It’s for you. Take care of it, because your print is unique.’ Then he disappeared into a cupboard and returned with a very simple white wooden frame. Picasso himself put the lithograph into this frame and Marcel brought it round to my apartment that evening.’
(Laporte, Geneviève. Sunshine at Midnight: Memories of Picasso and Cocteau, 1973, Weidenfeld ad Nicolson, London, p.89-90.)
In the late 1940s Picasso entered his ‘old master period’, spending the next decade studying and reworking masterpieces of the past to rewrite them in his own visual language. This work is based on a painting by the German Renaissance painter and printmaker, Lucas Cranach the Elder and depicts the biblical King David gazing upon the beautiful Bethsabée as she bathes. Noted for the use of contour and absence of chiaroscuro in his works, Cranach was a highly skilful and much revered printmaker. Picasso greatly admired the Master Printmakers who had come before him, highlighting the importance of the medium in Picasso’s own work.
Provenance: The Estate of Genevieve Laporte (gifted by the artist); Private Collection, London.
Lithograph, 1949, on Velin Arches paper, inscribed, dated and signed lower left in red chalk ‘Pour Geneviève Laporte (épreuve unique) 26.5.51 Picasso’, a rare unique print, dedicated to Geneviève Laporte, his lover during the 1950s, aside from the six artist’s and printer’s proofs, image: 64.5 x 47.7 cm. (25.4 x 18.8 in.), sheet: 70 x 50 cm. (27.5 x 19.7 in.)Mourlot 109 (State 10a or 10 bis); Bloch 442; Hatje Cantz 214.
[ref: 112038]
44. PICASSO, Pablo. Portrait de Femme II
This abstract, three-quarter profile is of Picasso’s second wife, Jacqueline Roque. Picasso adored Jacqueline so much that, for seventeen of the twenty years the couple spent together, Roque was the only female Picasso painted. In this lithograph, Picasso bestows Roque with an elegant, sphinx-like appearance.
Lithograph, 1955, on Arches wove paper, signed in pencil by the artist, numbered from the edition of 50, printed by Mourlot, Paris, published by Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, sheet: 66.4 x 50 cm. (26⅛ x 19¾ in.)Bloch 780; Mourlot 272.
[ref: 107075]
45. PICASSO, Pablo. Bouquet dans
un Vase
When Picasso moved to the Côte d’Azur in the 1950s he found it harder to produce etchings and lithographs as both required specialist equipment, however it was not long before he met the local printmaker Hidalgo Arnéra who introduced him to the linocut process. Together the artist-printmaker duo created the groundbreaking ‘reduction method’ of linocutting, where only a single piece of linoleum was required to print each colour one wanted to use. During this decade, Picasso’s linocuts are characterised by their wonderfully rich colours and bold patterning as shown here in ‘Bouquet dans un Vase’. The classical motif of a still-life is simplified to suit the sweeping, fluid lines of Picasso’s modernist linocut. Inspired by his surroundings in Vallauris, Picasso limited his palette to terracotta colours to emulate the sun-baked villages of the South of France and the hues of his clay ceramics which he was producing at the same time.
Linocut in colours, 1959, on watermarked Arches paper, signed in pencil, an artist’s proof aside from the standard edition of 50, printed by Imprimerie Arnéra, published by Galerie Louise Leiris, 75.1 x 62.1 cm. (29½ x 24½ in.)Bloch 0914; Baer 1242 third state of three, III.b (of C).
[ref: 107708]
Provenance: Succession Picasso; Maya Widmaier-Picasso; Private Collection.
Linocut in colours, 1959, on Arches paper, signed in pencil, one of 20 proofs reserved for the artist and publisher, aside from the edition of 50, published by Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, printed by Arnéra, Vallauris, 62 x 75 cm. (24 3/8 x 29 1/2 in.) Bloch 916.
[ref: 114201]
47. PICASSO, Pablo. Fumeur à la Cigarette Blanche
Printing is a collaborative process and throughout Picasso’s life he worked with, and took instruction from several Master Printmakers. With each printing medium he learnt, he adapted and built his own stylistic vocabulary into the process. In 1963, entering what was to be the last working decade of his life, he worked with the printmaking brothers Aldo and Piero Crommelynck producing hundreds of etchings in the village of Mougin in the South of France – these were most notably the finest of his career. Aged 86, this present work depicts the fantastical vision of a man that holds the vigour that Picasso now believed he lacked. Holding a lit cigarette, this charming caricature with his arresting gaze and puckered lips, has a personality to reflect Picasso’s cheerful use of colour.
Etching and aquatint in colours, 1964, on Richard de Bas wove paper, signed in pencil and numbered 41/50 from the edition of 50, printed by Pennequin for Atelier Crommelynck, published by Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, 56 x 40.5 cm. (22 x 16 in.) Baer 1169; Bloch 1169.
[ref: 109235]
48. POONS, Larry. Untitled
Provenance: The Artist; Bernard Jacobson Gallery.
Acrylic on canvas, 1979, 96.5 x 20.3 cm. (38 x 8 in.)
[ref: 100841]
49. POONS, Larry. 81G-5
Exhibited: Group Show, Summer Exhibition. July- August 2007. Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London.
In 2004 Larry Poons decided that the orientation of the painting to be the opposite to that of the arrow indicated on reverse.
Provenance: The Artist; Bernard Jacobson Gallery.
Mixed Media on canvas, 1981, signed, titled, and dated verso, 248.9 x 71.12 cm. (98 x 28 in.)
[ref: 100833]
50. POONS, Larry. 82G-10
Provenance: The Artist; Bernard Jacobson Gallery.
Acrylic on canvas, 1982, 124 x 36.3 cm. (48 5/8 x 14 ¼ in.)
[ref: 100829]
51. POONS, Larry. 82H-14
Provenance: The Artist; Bernard Jacobson Gallery.
Acrylic on canvas, 1982, 87.6 x 49.3 cm. (34 ½ x 19 3/8 in.)
[ref: 100830]
52 POONS, Larry. 84BS-2
Provenance: The Artist; Bernard Jacobson Gallery.
Acrylic on canvas, 1984, 34.4 x 23.5 cm. (13 ½ x 9 ¼ in.)
[ref: 100828]
POONS, Larry. 89AS-1
Exhibited: Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, Larry Poons: New Paintings 12 September - 10 October 2007.
Provenance: The Artist; Bernard Jacobson Gallery.
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 1989, 25.4 x 120.02 cm. (10 x 47 ½ in.)
54. POONS, Larry. 01AS-3
Exhibited: Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, Gallery Mixed Show, 1 April - 2 May 2009.
Provenance: The Artist; Bernard Jacobson Gallery.
Acrylic on canvas, 47.6 x 59 cm. (18 3/4 x 24 1/4 in.)
[ref: 100834]
[ref: 100827]
55. STELLA, Frank. Moby Dick, from The Waves Lithograph, linoleum cut and screenprint in colours with handcolouring, marbling and collage, 1989, on T.H. Saunders and Somerset wove papers, signed in pencil, dated and numbered from the edition of 60 (there were also ten artist’s proofs), published by Waddington Graphics, 170.3 by 139.3 cm. (67 by 54⅞ in.) Axsom 194.
[ref: 114195]
56. STELLA, Frank. Coxuria, from The Geldzahler Portfolio
Screenprint in colours, 1977, on White Lana mouldmade paper, signed and dated in pencil, numbered 69th from the edition of 75 (there were also 15 artist’s proofs), printed by Tyler Graphics, Ltd., published by The Estate Project for Artists with AIDS, New York, 76 × 55.8 cm. (29 15/16 × 21 15/16 in.) Axsom 249.
[ref: 111969]
57. VALDES, Manolo. Profil (Marc Chagall)
Contemporary Spanish painter Manolo Valdés (b. 1942) began his career in the 1960s as one of the founding members of Equipo Cronica, a group of artists that utilised aspects of American Pop Art in their form of protest art against the dictatorship of General Franco in Spain. The group were also inspired by the way Pop Art challenged the traditional history of art and what it constituted, leading Valdes to appropriate images from across art history to explore in his own body of work.
Here, Valdés re-imagines the sitter from Fra Filippo Lippi’s painting Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement (c. 1440). Considered to be one of the defining works of Italian Renaissance portraiture, Valdés combines this classical artwork with a collage fragment of a painting by the Modern Master Marc Chagall. Valdés works to revitalise these familiar images from art history by taking them out of their original context. Here Valdés has inflated the figure’s size, abstracting form and minimising the original detail, while incorporating rough mark making and collage.
Etching, aquatint, drypoint and collage in colours, 2008, on handmade paper, signed in pencil, numbered from the edition of eight, 122.7 x 92.5 cm. (48¼ x 36½ in.)
[ref: 106978]
58. WARHOL, Andy. In the Bottom of My Garden
Before Warhol became the famous American Pop Artist we know him as today, he spent his early career working as a commercial artist creating graphic designs for magazines and ad campaigns. In the latter half of the 1950s, Warhol created and self-published a number of charming, illustrated books, including the present work. ‘In the Bottom of My Garden’ is adorned with cheerful cherubs and plump fairies frolicking across the pages in a whimsical fashion and the elaborate calligraphy was written by his mother Julia Warhola, who had won awards for her handwriting. Each image is created using the artist’s trademark blotted-line technique and is beautifully hand coloured by Warhol with a bright, limited palette of watercolours. By collaborating with his Mother, this work becomes an important autobiographical work for Warhol, who notoriously tried to hide all evidence of the artist’s hand in his later Pop creations.
A complete hand-coloured set, c. 1956, 21 offset lithographs including the title page, 19 coloured in hand, on thin wove paper, with ‘The Estate of Andy Warhol’ and ‘Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ ink stamps and numbered in pencil ‘PM 13.0150’ on the back paper board, each sheet: 22 x 28 cm. (8 3/4 x 11 in.) Feldman & Schellmann IV.86A-105A. [ref: 112432]
Colour offset lithograph, 1964, on wove paper, signed and dated in pencil, from the edition of approximately 300 signed and dated prints, printed by Total Color, New York, published by Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, to coincide with a Warhol exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, November 21- December 17, 1964, 58.4 x 58.4 cm. (23 x 23 in.) Feldman and Schellmann II.6.
[ref: 110742]
60. WARHOL, Andy.
Electric Chair
Electric Chair is part of Warhol’s substantial ‘Death and Disaster’ series, which he started in 1962, early examples of which depicted car crashes and suicides as illustrated in newspaper images. With this series Warhol began to explore the effect of reproducing such images repeatedly across a canvas, testing his hypothesis that, as he suggested in 1963, ‘when you see a gruesome picture over and over again, it doesn’t really have an effect’.
Warhol began using the image of the electric chair in 1963, the same year as the two final executions in New York State. Over the next decade, he repeatedly returned to the subject, reflecting the political controversy surrounding the death penalty in America in the 1960s. The chair, and its brutal reduction of life to nothingness, is given a typically deadpan presentation by Warhol.
The image of an unoccupied electric chair in an empty execution chamber becomes a poignant metaphor for death. In subsequent iterations of the electric chair image, Warhol experimented with colour and composition. In 1971 he produced a series of ten electric chair screenprints on paper. Here, the images are more tightly focused on the chair itself, such that it occupies a larger proportion of the pictorial space, and each has been printed in a bold colour such as yellow, pink, blue and orange.
Screenprint in colours, 1971, on wove paper, signed and dated in ball point pen on the reverse, numbered from the edition of 250 (there were also 50 Artist’s proofs) with a rubber stamp on the reverse, printed by Silkprint Kettner, Zurich, published by Bischofberger, Zurich, with the Andy Warhol stamp on the reverse, 90.2 x 121.9 cm. (35 1/2 x 48 in.) Feldman & Schellmann II.81.
[ref: 113077]
61. WARHOL, Andy. Details of Renaissance Paintings: Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1482
In 1984, Warhol’s work took a new direction when he began the Details of Renaissance Paintings series, moving away from portraits of celebrities. Comprised of cropped images of Old Master paintings depicted in Warhol’s characteristic vibrant and kitsch style, the series strips each work of its original intent and instead focuses on their value as symbols of popular culture. Furthermore, the relative ease with which the silkscreen printing process allowed multiplication of the image deliberately mocks the painstaking process of creating the original masterpiece. In this print, Warhol places the Roman goddess Venus firmly in the present, a poignant statement on the mass consumption of artistic masterworks.
Screenprint in colours, 1984, on Arches Aquarelle paper, signed and numbered from the edition of 70 (there were also 18 artist’s proofs), printed by Rupert Jasen Smith, New York, published by Editions Schellmann & Kluser, Munich/New York, 82 x 111.5 cm. (32¼ x 44 in.) Feldman & Schellmann II.319.
[ref: 112529]
This piece is a unique screenprint edition created by the artist in 1984. It features a semi-dome with an ostrich egg hanging from it. This piece is a detail from a painting by the early Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca, which in its entirety depicts a religious scene with the enthroned Virgin Mary and Child surrounded by Saints. This screenprint is the first in the Details of Renaissance Paintings series; Warhol’s choice to crop the figurative scene of the Virgin and Child from his rendition can be seen as bold. It’s not uncommon for Warhol to shock viewers by transforming classical art into postmodern interpretations. In this version, however, the viewer can appreciate the architectural details of the semi-dome and the centrally positioned egg.
A unique screenprint in colours, 1984, on Arches Aquarelle paper, signed and numbered in pencil, numbered from the edition of 36 unique Trial Proofs, 81 x 112 cm. (32 x 44 in.) Feldman and Schellmann II.316A. [ref: 114228]
63. WARHOL, Andy. St George and the Dragon, Paulo Uccello, 1460, from Details of Renaissance Paintings, Warhol’s interpretation of Paolo Uccello’s masterwork exemplifies the innovative fusion of classic art with modern Pop sensibilities. Similarly to other works in his “Details of Renaissance Paintings” series, Warhol’s rendition isolates and magnifies specific elements of the artist’s work. He crops in on the damsel and the dragon in Ucello’s masterpiece, and omits the central figure of St. George. This choice shifts the narrative from the saint’s valour to a more ambiguous interaction between the maiden and the beast, perhaps reflecting on the nature of fear and beauty. By cropping and altering the composition, Warhol not only updates the artwork but also comments on the nature of storytelling and representation. His version strips the narrative to its core elements, allowing the subjects to stand alone, devoid of context, much like modern celebrities or consumer goods. This approach is quintessentially Warhol—a blend of historical reverence and contemporary critique.
Screenprint in colours, 1984, on Arches Aquarelle paper, signed and numbered in pencil, numbered from the edition of 50, co-published by Editions Schellmann & Klüser, New York and Munich, 81 x 112 cm. (32 x 44 in.)Feldman and Schellmann II.325.
[ref: 114227]
64. WARHOL, Andy. Grace Kelly
Andy Warhol’s portrait of Grace Kelly is an homage to golden-age Hollywood glamour. The portrait, based on a still from Kelly’s 1951 debut film ‘Fourteen Hours’, depicts her looking defiantly at the camera, with her face tightly cropped to fill the entire foreground. Warhol has added his characteristic lines to the image, transforming photo into drawing, and overlaid it with block colours that serve to enhance the contours and shadows of Kelly’s iconic face.
Fixated on the theme of celebrity tragedy, Warhol completed the edition in 1984, two years after Grace Kelly’s death at age 52. He produced the portfolio as a fundraising effort for the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, Kelly’s birthplace, and just hours from his own hometown of Pittsburgh.
Screenprint in colours, 1984, on Lenox Museum Board, signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 225 (there were also 30 artists proofs), printed by Rupert Jasen Smith, New York, published by Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 101.6 x 81.3 cm. (40 x 32 in.) Feldman and Schellmann II.305.
[ref: 111886]
65. WOOD, Jonas. Untitled
Lithograph, screenprint and woodcut in colours, 2009, on Coventry wove paper, signed and dated in pencil, numbered from the edition of 50, published by Cirrus Editions with their blindstamp and inkstamp, 101.6 x 67.6 cm (40 x 26½ in.)
[ref: 110651]
66. WOOD, Jonas. Untitled
Lithograph, screenprint and woodcut printed in colours, 2009, on Coventry wove paper, signed in white pencil, dated and numbered, with the blindstamp of the publisher, Cirrus Editions, and with their inkstamp on the verso, 101.8 x 72.8 cm (40⅛ x 28⅝ in)
[ref: 110652]
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TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The condition of all artworks has been described; all items in this catalogue are guaranteed to be complete unless otherwise stated.
NB: The illustrations are not equally scaled. Exact dimensions will be provided on request.
Edited by Jeffrey Kerr
Photography by Natasha Marshall
Design by Roddy Newlands