Ironic icons THE ART OF WILLIAM ANTHONY
by sam jedig 1
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<< cover painting
MATISSE GIRL
2009 Oil on wood 12 x 14” Collection: Nicole Lafayette Young, N.Y.
Credits Drawings and Paintings Copyright© 2013 William Anthony
Author Sam Jedig Foreword Copyright© 2013 by Jacob Lillemose Editor Mette Flink ISBN 87-90538-37-4 all righs reserved©
Photographs by: Kristine Bramsen, STUDIE-E, Copenhagen David Plakke, N.Y. Jack Feibush, N.Y. Christopher Henry, N.Y. Jason LeBlond, N.Y. Bart de Koning Gans, N.Y. Sam Jedig, Kirke Sonerup Printing by PrinfoTrekroner a/s Printed in Denmark 2013 Editions: 1.000, 30 books include original drawings Design and typeset: Flink. CoordinatedGraphicDesign Distributed by: Stalke Galleri Englerupvej 62 Kirke Sonnerup 4060 Kirke Saaby Denmark www.stalke.dk
Ironic icons THE ART OF WILLIAM ANTHONY
by sam jedig
Ironic icons THE ART OF WILLIAM ANTHONY
by sam jedig
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I remain totally charmed by their [Anthonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawings] irrelevance, their sly idiot cunning, their i ncisive social commentary in the delicious disguise of incompetence.â&#x20AC;?
Leo Steinberg Letter, 1990
William Anthony at his studio Photo: Kristine Bramsen, 2012
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William Anthony Photo: Jack Feibush
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ironic icons By Sam Jedig
The not-so Divine Comedy Foreword by jacob Lillemose
”There is in the human condition a basic absurdity as well as an implacable nobility.” – Albert Camus
“I’ve been accused of vulgarity. I say that’s bullshit.” – Mel Brooks
Who ever said that modern art was not supposed to be funny? Not William Anthony, that is for sure. While humor remains somewhat under recognized in the annals of modern art, Anthony’s oeuvre of more of than 50 years nevertheless proves that it constitutes a distinct artistic intelligence, profound and outrageous at the same time. In his drawings and paintings critical commentary on contemporary culture and subtle reflections on the concept of art blend with naughty, if not downright perverse fantasies in a skewed satire. They pose a witty and pointed comic challenge to our perception of the world as we known it through images, twisting and turning conventions, parodying clichés and subverting preconceptions. Whether they are appropriations of the works of classic and modern masters, covers for gay magazines, posters for Broadway shows, illustrations of the Bible (the only one Warhol could understand according to Warhol himself), W.W. II history and Western mythology, or cartoonish takes on social events or even his private life, Anthony goes to work on the images with his characteristic unorthodox and original pencil. In his eyes and hands no image, type, style or period, is too sacred to be exposed to a process of continuous interpretive mutation. He depicts the familiar in surreal, dumb, childish, grotesque, silly, vulgar, and disturbing ways that make you smile or laugh out loud while seriously wondering about the sanity of the world and of the artist.
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Iconic irony Anthony identifies with a particular form or tradition of images, of image making and function of images, namely that of the icon, which is underlined by his recent paintings on wooden panels. Like the classical religious icons, Anthony’s icons are relatively tiny in format and their simple motives make references to imagery with a strong presence in the collective imagination of contemporary visual culture. However, their aesthetics and ethics differ quite significantly from these ancient gold-coated objects used as aids in praying. They are ironic icons in the sense that they make fun of the imagery that we “believe in” and “guide” us. Instead of portraying transcendental ideals they present us with the banalities, stupidities and faults of man, down to earth and below the waist. Right in our faces. SMAK! The spiritual and aesthetic authority of the icon is replaced by the irony of the human condition, stripped down to its naked bodily existence and its misguided behaviors and self-conceptions. The irony of Anthony’s icons is not a cool postmodern indifference or nihilism. On the contrary, it is an expression of honesty. From a perspective without illusions they depict man, this stereotypical creature with a grin of his face, as he really behaves, thinks, and looks behind the ideals of his narcissistic mirror; how he gets in his own way all the time and does not make a whole lot of sense. That is the irony Anthony deals with in his icons. Better believe it. Don’t try this at home Anthony’s characteristic style of drawing, which he also practices in his paintings, is not taught in art schools. Actually, it originates from a book he wrote back in the mid 60s entitled A New Approach to Figure Drawing where he – inspired by his student’s mistakes – used exaggerated and disproportioned figures as examples of how not to draw. But what happened was that, “this satirical how-not-to took on an insane life of its own in my work”, as he later put it in an interview. The mistakes liberated Anthony from the restrictions of the classical technique and concept of drawing and allowed him to embrace a new personal style that is way out of line and proud to be so. As accidentally and inadvertently as this style came into being Anthony has developed and refined it to (im)perfection. Aesthetically, it holds the naiveté and simplicity of childrens’ drawings that play around with image making with an unmistakably touch of an adult’s skilled determination to abandon all rules, except from the rule not to follow rules. It is a stylistic deadpan joke told with such force and conviction that it is impossible to discard it as a matter of bad technique. The idiosyncratic logic of representation cannot be judged according to the classical ideals of depicting the human figure in
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the art. It is beyond that, mocking the aesthetic of the anatomically correct and soulful as an aesthetic of delusions and boredom. Man is not, or actually never was, an ideal figure, neither physically nor mentally; rather he has always been full of faults, inabilities, and pretty much two-dimensional and Anthony’s style reflects this. It resists absorption by the culture of beautiful and “correct” images, working instead on the far side of this culture, where puerile ideas and deviant desires that would even make Sigmund Freud feel at a loss of words guide the pencil. Pop Art revisited and twisted Springing from a pop cultural sensibility akin to that of his near-contemporaries Warhol and Lichtenstein (both big fans of Anthony and two of Anthony’s declared sources of inspiration) Anthony’s art is action-packed with a diversity of references to other images, from movies, photographs, magazines, paintings, and cartoons, you name it. In this sense, Anthony is a thoroughbred pop artist, but his works do not come in fancy and flashy colors. In fact, they could not give a rat’s ass about the shiny side of pop. They rather thrive in the dirty and trashy elements of pop and associate with street kids like Twombly, Basquiat, Rivers, and Kitaj. Anthony’s dedication to and involvement with the unpolished is also reflected in his choice of grotesque, dramatic and absurd subjects closely (if not explicitly) related to German Expressionism, Bacon and Hieronymus Bosch. However, when all these prominent references are mentioned, it is essential to note that Anthony does not fit into any unequivocal art historical contextualization. There is a particular indeterminability and timelessness to his art. Like the daily newspapers comics, it continues indefinitely, in its own disharmonic loony tune with the crooked and crazy way of the world (of images) without significant aesthetic changes, yet it still maintains an undeniable innovative freshness and unpredictability. You easily become familiar and fall in love with Anthony’s universe, but at the same time it keeps charmingly surprising and delightfully alienating you by expanding its territory, covering new land that you never imagined existed. One can say that in a world where God’s authority and promises seem ever more questionable laughing at the ludicrous and inexplicable existence is the closest to transcendence man can get. To provoke this laughter seems to be the function of the ironic icons of St. William Anthony. They will not guide you the way to a higher ground, but they will take you on a hilarious detour at eye level filled with revelations, unlike anything else in the world of images. Off we go. By Jacob Lillemose
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PHARAOHESS
1966 Oil wash and pencilon canvas paper 10 x 8â&#x20AC;?
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green earth
1961 Oil wash & pencil 19¾ x 26”
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effie
1961 Oil on masonite 10¾ x 7¼”
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sade
1968 Oil 10 x 7â&#x20AC;?
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samson and delilah
2011 Oil on wood 12 x 14â&#x20AC;? 21
Amundsen and his men, on the way to the south pole, stop for one of their usual meals â&#x20AC;&#x201C; one of their faithful sled dogs 1994 Oil and pencil 20 x 34â&#x20AC;? Collection Peter Johnzon, Stockholm
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detail
For their degenerate art show the nazis hired actors to stand at the entrance ridiculing the paintings and sculptures, to indicate to museum visitors the proper response to the work 2006 Oil 14 x 33â&#x20AC;? Collection: Niels Lillemose, DK
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magritte mirror
Mademoiselle Magritte
2009 Oil on wood 9¼ x 8¾” Collection: Sam Jedig, Kirke Sonnerup, DK
2004 Pencil, pastel and charcoal 9½ x 8”
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magritteing of minds
1985 Oil and pencil 28 x 36â&#x20AC;? Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y. Gift of Stuart and Niraj Katz, Laguna Beach, CA. 25
Earthly delights was largely inspired by Hieronymus Bosch. Also here are Italian artist Piero Manzoni, famous for selling cans of his own shit; a naked couple flustered by something emerging from a giant Boschian artichoke. American Lynda Benglis is known for a nude self-portrait where she is about to make appropriate use of huge dildo; Ana Mendieta, Cuban-American artist, uplifts her breasts with a pane of glass; and Nabokovâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lolita with her signature lollipop and heart-shaped glasses, snuggling with her dear friend Humbert Humbert.
Artichoke extrusion, after bosch 2008 Oil on wood 14 x 12â&#x20AC;?
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earthly delights
2008 Oil on wood 24 x 27â&#x20AC;? Collection: Stefan and Kirsten Mordhorst, Bjerringbro, DK 27
Roy room
2006 Pencil & rubber stamp 22 x 30â&#x20AC;? Collection: Dorothy Lichtenstein, N.Y. 28
ART APPRAISAL
2000 Oil 12 x 20” Collection: Jackie Leone
TAKKA TAKKA
1966 Gouache and casein 5¾ x 7 ¾” Collection: The Whitney Museum of American Art, NY. Anonymous gift 29
twelve little warhols
2011 Oil on wood 8¼ x 8¾”
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ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
2009 Pencil and watercolor 5 ½ x 5” Collection: Sam Jedig, Kirke Sonnerup, DK
UN CRI DE COEUR
2007 Oil on wood 18¾ x 14½" Collection: Tom Meyer, Highlands, North Carolina
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girls on munch’s bridge 2012 Oil on wood 20 x 18¾”
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Hamiltonian
2005 Pencil, charcoal and pastel 27â&#x2026;&#x203A; x 36 ž
Collection: Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb
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rené reversal
1996 Oil & pencil 19 x 32”
redon repartee
2005 Pencil & pastel 6½ x 9”
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boudin bust-out
2011 Oil on wood 15 x 21½”
Rich girl Kathy Boudin, making bombs in daddy’s luxurious townhouse, blows the place up.
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“... perverse, charming drawings...” Gregory Batcock, Art and Artists, Nov. 1971
”… among the milestones of funk…uproarious… ” JOSEPH MASHECK, Artforum, May 1981
“Rave review...” Roy Lichtenstein for Anthony’s 1988 book BILL ANTHONY’S GREATEST HITS, 1988
“... a precocious enfant-terrible.” Laurie Anderson, ARTNews, Sept. 1971
“... a sophisticated visual comedian who plays the fool to hilarious and often profound effect.” Ken Johnson, New York Times, Oct. 11 2002
“... laugh-until-it-hurts drawings...” Nancy Princenthal, Art in America, 2004
“...the drawing’s composition is superb and grim, the dark humor is unmistakenly adult.” Joos Pollmann, de Volkskraut, Rotterdam, May 3 2001
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THE RED STUDIO
1994 Oil, pencil and rubber stamp 64½ x 71” Collection: Richard Gerrig and Tim Peterson, Stony Brook, N.Y.
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diana and callisto
1997 Oil & pencil 20 x 20Ë? Collection: Kristian Von Hornsleth, DK
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Following page Ingres’ harem 2011 Oil on wood 9 x 22”
the dream
1998 Oil & pencil 22 x 32” Collection: Stefan and Kristen Mordhorst, Bjerringbro, DK
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MISS LICHTENSTEIN SMILES THROUGH HER TEARS
2006 Pencil and gouache 4¾ x 5½” Collection: Dorothy Lichtenstein, N.Y.
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SELF PORTRAIT
Published 1.12.2012 ed4400 32 x 24 mm
SOUP
published 6.12.2011 ed1000 53 x 37 mm
Mailart from William Anthony to Sam Jedig 2012 16,3 x 23 cm
PLAYTHING
Published 1.12.2009 ed2200 24 x 32 mm
Mailart from William Anthony to Sam Jedig 2010 16,3 x 23 cm
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It must seem to some that Sam Jedig developed his artstamp.dk project with Bill Anthony in mind. Since 2009 Sam has designed and produced more than a dozen artstamp.dk stamps with Bill. Bill proudly calls them his mini-icons. They are extremely popular among artstamp.dk aficionados. Artstamp.dk
Mailart from William Anthony to Sam Jedig 2012 16,3 x 23 cm
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ENOUGH IS ENOUGH 2009 ED3300
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picasso pair
2011 oil on masonite 13½ x 10¾”
PICASSO COUPLE
PUBLISHED 6.12.2011 ED1470 39 x 30 mm
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BABY DOLL
2010 Pencil and watercolor 4⅛ x 7⅞”
BABY DOLL
PUBLISHED 6.12.2011 ED1260 30 x 39mm
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woof
2009 pencil 8⅛ x 5¾”
embracable you
2011 Oil on wood 5 x 5¾”
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the judgement of paris reversal 2006 Pencil and Pastel 22 x 30â&#x20AC;?
Collection: Magrethe BjĂśrklund, Roskilde, DK
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THE WOMEN OF PORTUGAL: A PRANKSTER GOT ON TV IN PORTUGAL AND TOLD WOMEN TO GO THEIR WINDOWS TOPLESS AND RECEIVE A FREE MAMMOGRAM BY SATELLITE, MANY DID 2007 Oil on Wood, Eight part serial painting, Each 17 x 11” Collection: Sam Jedig, Kirke Sonnerup, DK
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eighteen ethels [Detail]
1994 Oil, pencil & rubber stamp 22 x 30â&#x20AC;?
phalanx
1989 Oil & pencil 12 x 16â&#x20AC;?
Collection: Eric Jackson, Newport Beach, CA
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BACON BASTARDS
1999 Oil 14 x 26”
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”… hilarious… in a deliberately juvenile line.” MARJORIE WELISH, Arts, Sept. 1971
“… charm and wit… ” PHILLIPE DE MONTEBELLO, Letter 1988
“… as weird and wonderful as gargoyles… ” GEORGE PLIMpTON for anthony´s 1978 book BIBLE STORIES
“... Anthony (is)... a cult figure...” Vivien Raynor, New York Times, Nov. 5 1995
“WAR IS SWELL is swell.” jasper johns regarding Anthony’s 2000 book WAR IS SWELL
“...There is an anxious Cèzannian formality lurking behind funky facture...” David Humphrey, Arts, Oct. 1988
“… a terrific show…” ROBERTA SMIth, New York Times, jan. 11 2008
“...his works are characterized by... wisdom and love of life.” Ragna Sigurdardottir, Morgunbladid, Reykjavik, May 29, 2003
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statement
2008 Oil on wood 14 x 12â&#x20AC;?
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the effects of masturbation on boys: insanity
the effects of masturbation on boys: blindness
2002 Oil on wood 19 x 14½”
2002 Oil on wood 19 x 14½”
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titslapper
1980 Oil 38 x 26â&#x20AC;?
Collection: John M. Churchill, Camden, Maine
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goya grotesque
2008 oil and pencil on wood 15¼ x 18½”
cai-uses
2008 Black and colored pencil and watercolor 13 x 9⅞”
After Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang.
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THE VENERATION OF THE COWS from back to godhead magazine 2012 Oil on wood 18 x 36”
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SHIP of FOOLS Passengers here include a pornstar displaying to camera, a typical artist´s reaction to criticism; a Mayan priest performing a sacred Mayan ritual—runnning a thorny vine through a hole in his tongue; and Eve reaching for this apple. Also, a hippy girl licks a toad which sweats psychedelic sweat; a fool gambles away his money; fanatic Ahab hopes to harpoon the elusive white whale: and an Englishman with typical Brit taste buds enjoys a delicious meal of Spam. The Artist shows himself to be no less a fool than anyone else, decorates the sail with his self-portrait.
king solomon, egged on by his shiksa girlsfriends, worships a phony idol, vaguely after da cortona 2009 pencil and oil on mylar 17¾ x 33”
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ship of fools
2001 oil and rubber stamp 36 x 48â&#x20AC;?
Collection: Jessie Dennis McNab, NY
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ANNOUNCING SPAM
chateau marmont ad, in toto
1995 Oil and Pencil 30 x 20”
1994 Pencil 10¾ x 7¾”
Collection: Graham and Angela Anthony
Collection: Mette Flink, Frederiksberg, DK
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LOS PECADOS
1993 Pencil 9⅝ x 6¾”
WIFE FOR SALE
1994 oil 18 x 14”
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FRAGONARD FOLLY
1999 oil on wood 11⅛ x 24”
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production number
2009 Pencil and watercolor 20⅛ x 33¼”
Collection: Graham and Angela Anthony
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Fate magazine, hypnotism and sex issue
a woman with a letter from her lover hears her husband approaching – after fragonard
2012 oil on wood 17 x 14¾”
2007 oil 13 x 11”
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Following page
Guadalcanal
2001 Oil 20 x 50”
heart’s desire, after balthus
2009 oil on wood 12 x 17⅝”
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ANGRY ADOLPH
2001 Oil 16 x 24”
Collection: Ralph Schaller, NY
double zeros
dornier-17 2007 Oil on wood 22¼ 14¾”
2011 Oil on wood 8¼ x 11¼”
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hitler
1994 Oil and pencil 9 x 12â&#x20AC;?
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a kindly man feeds lettuce to a fawn, after a photograph of this event 2010 Oil on canvas 13 x 23â&#x20AC;?
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fuhrer finale
2007 Oil 22 x 30â&#x20AC;?
Collection: Bertil Jardorf, Copenhagen
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William Anthonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s studio Photo: Kristine Bramsen, 2012
roald role reversal in progress
Photo: Kristine Bramsen, 2012 At William Anthonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s studio
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roald role reversal
2012 Oil on wood 12¾ x 21½”
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FATE MAGAZINE COVER, FEB.-MAR. 1952 ISSUE, VERBATIM
2007 Oil on wood 35⅝ x 41” Collection: Christiane Celle, NY
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s. clay wilsonscape
2011 Oil on wood 16 x 21žâ&#x20AC;?
Fanatically feminist pirates imagined by American underground cartoonist S. Clay Wilson.
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ULYSSES and the SIRENS 2008 Oil on wood 20 x 38â&#x20AC;? Collection: Jessie Dennis McNab, NY
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Boreus and orethyia, after boucher 2009 pencil and oil on mylar 31¼ x 22”
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ensorians
2005 Pencil, pastel & charcoal 22 x 30â&#x20AC;? Collection: Kristian Jacobsen, DK
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OBJECT STOLEN, CIRCA 1965, BY THE ARTIST FROM THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART 2011 Oil, pencil and collage on wood 10 x 14”
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“... an undeniable fascination to it – a sense of obsessiveness mixed with hilarity... an artist sui generis...” Barry Schwabsky, arts Jan. 1992
...I can’t wait for the New Testament. This is the first Bible I could understand. Andy Warhol for Anthony’s 1978 book BIBLE STORIES
”Outrageous! Repulsive! Insults standards of art! Ought to be banned! Congratulations!” ROBERT ROSENBLUM, Berland-Hall Gallery Guest book, 1991
“...(looking at) his art, I find myself magnetically caught up, losing track of time...” David Carrier, artUS, Winter 2007
”An original work on every level.” LARRY RIVERS for Anthony’s 1965 book A NEW APPROACH TO FIGURE DRAWING
”Oh, that must be the work of a retarded person.” GALLERY VISITORS seeing a small pencil drawing by Anthony
”… But like nothing before it (Anthony’s) book (WAR IS SWELL) conveys the sense of cartoon menace that spooked – and possibly saved – a generation.” JIM NELSON, Gentlemen’s Quarterly Feb. 2001
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MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
1990 Pencil 22⅜ x 22 ½”
Commissioned by ARTFORUM Magazine as an ARTFORUM PROJECT. Published in the May 1990 issue. Collection: Jacob Lillemose, Copenhagen
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AU REVOIR, ROBESPIERRE
1991 Oil and pencil 30 x 48â&#x20AC;?
Collection: Tom and Carol Patchett, Santa Monica, CA
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DAVID’S DIPPER
1996 oil and pencil 20 x 30”
After David Hockney. Collection: Richard Gerrig and Tim Peterson, Stony Brook, NY
BELLOWS BOXERETTE
2011 Oil on masonite 16⅛ x 15”
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MATISSE GIRL (THE GIRL ON THE PLATE IN THE RED STUDIO) 2009 Oil on wood 12 x 14” Collection: Nicole Lafayette Young, NY
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GRAHAM GIRLS
2000 Pencil 5 ⅞ x 5 ⅝”
Russian-American artist John Graham like cross-eyed women. Collection: Jakob Christensen, DK
contestant
2011 Oil on wood 12½ x 8¾”
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THE TRIBULATIONS of SAINT ANTHONY After Ensor’s painting of the same title. Among the multitude of things satirized are; horny Fragonard men pushing a nymphette in swing; Warhol (soup canhead); Ensorian character with two animal heads for eyes; Lolita with lollipop; Lichtenstein´s drowning girl: nude upended in the water, after Bosch; Francois Rude´s heroic woman brandishing a sword (from the Arc de Triomphe): the goat Rauschenberg decorated with a tire; the notorious masturbater, Vito Acconci, performing in a box; and a girl pulling down her lower lip to reveal the words “wanna fuck” on her gum (she actually exists); monsters inspired by Grunewald are at bottom center. Anthony modestly portrays himself as Saint Anthony in the large figure left of center.
Ensor and saint anthony
1997 Oil and pencil 20 x 24”
detail
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THE TRIBULATIONS of SAINT ANTHONY 1997 Pencil 21¼ x 44¼”
Collection: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY. Gift of Geoffrey Young, Great Barrington, Massachusetts
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hieronymus bosch says have a good day
2011 Oil on wood 18½ x 22¼”
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SMALL UNIDENTIFIED NON-FLYING OBJECT, AFTER BASKO VAScO 2011 Oil on wood 18 x 15”
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pictures at an exhibition
2012 Oil on wood 12¾ x 20½”
Lower right shows Bertolt Brecht stuffing dirt under his fingernails to affect a working class appearance
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ROTHKO WITH ROMMEL
2001 Oil on wood 23 x 32½”
sinking girl
2011 Oil on masonite 7¼ x 8”
HOMAGE TO GILLRAY
2007 Oil on canvas 12 x 15”
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girls on drugs, after jim shaw
2008 Pencil and pastel 22 x 30â&#x20AC;?
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Raid on a whorehouse 1968 Pencil 21¾ x 45½” Collection: Detroit Institute of Art Gift of James F. Duffy, Detroit, MI
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family of saltimbanques 1996 oil and Pencil 22 x 28â&#x20AC;?
Collection: Ilse and Flemming Rohde Madsen, DK
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THE POET WOLFRAM LOOKING IN ON HIS WIFE WHOM HE HAS IMPRISONED WITH THE CORPSES OF HER LOVERS 2006 Pencil & pastel 22 x 30”
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locusta, accompanied by her maid, tries out the poison destined for britannicus on a slave 2009 oil on wood 13⅛ x 25⅞”
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QUEEN FALEVIA WHACKS THE GHOST OF EPHITRION’S SEVERED HEAD 2012 Oil on wood 14½ x 19”
feminist lore harp wants women to piss standing up, using a paper tube 2003 Pencil & pastel 9¼ x 7”
Collection Sam Jedig, Kirke Sonnerup, DK
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Detail
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CUSTER’S LAST STAND
1984 Oil and pencil 64 x 78”
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cowboy card game, after S. clay wilson 2011 Oil on wood 20 x 28”
cowboy carCass
swingers
2001 Oil on wood 12 x 20”
2010 Oil on wood 16 x 12”
Collection: Sam Jedig, Kirke Sonnerup, DK
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TWO VULTURES CONTEMPLATING MAN DYING OF THIRST IN THE DESERT 2008 Oil on wood 21 x 28¾”
Collection: Mette Flink, Frederiksberg, DK
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LARRY LANGUAGE LESSON, After Larry Rivers 2001 Oil 11 x 10”
Collection: Ruth Biegelson Levitz
POLKE PAIR
2004 Pencil, pastel and charcoal 30 x 22½”
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THE WOMEN OF AVIGNON REAR VIEW
2008 Pencil and watercolor 9 x 10”
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enough is not enough
1998 oil and Pencil 14 x 11â&#x20AC;?
Collection: Sam Jedig, Kirke Sonnerup,DK
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the vestal virgins vote, after gerome 2012 oil on wood 18 x 28â&#x20AC;?
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The Great gatsby 1978 Oil 18 x 14”
Collection: Richard and Lynn Pitz, NY
BUTT MAGAZINE COVER
2008 Pencil and watercolor 10¾ x 8⅛”
Collection: Richard Gerrig and Tim Peterson, Stony Brook, NY
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baldessari beauty
2009 Oil on wood 16 x 12â&#x20AC;?
there is pain in painting 1991 oil and Pencil 20 x 16â&#x20AC;?
Collection: Pat Adams, Laguna Beach, CA
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bank robbery
2009 Pencil and oil on mylar 21⅜ x 33⅞” Collection: National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik
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RAUSCHENGOAT
2007 Oil 12 x 14”
Collection: Bertil Jardorf, Copenhagen
wise woman
2011 Pencil & pastel 6¾ x 4¾”
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SELF-PORTRAIT WITH THE HAND OF CHRIST 2007 Silk-screen and oil on canvas 13 x 8”
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retrospective
2011 Pencil and watercolor 14Âź x 22â&#x20AC;?
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WILLIAM ANTHONY William Anthony was born in 1934 in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey and grew up in Washington State. Anthony studied art briefly with Josef Albers at Yale, where he recieved a B.A. degree in European History in 1958. He also studied with Theodoros Stamos at the Art Students League in New York City. Other studies in San Francisco. He and his wife Norma currently live in Westbeth Artist Housing in New York City.
William Anthony Photo: David Plakke
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ONE-PERSON EXHIBITIONs 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2007 2006 2004 2003 2002 2000 1999 1998 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1989 1986 1985 1981 1978 1975 1973 1971 1963 1962
Stalke Galleri, Kirke Sonnerup, Denmark Christopher Henry Gallery, New York Corridor Gallery, Reykjavik Christopher Henry Gallery, New York Stalke Galleri, Kirke Sonnerup, Denmark Christopher Henry Gallery, New York Stalke Galleri, Kirke Sonnerup, Denmark Christopher Henry Gallery (Retrospective), New York Corridor Gallery, Reykjavik Dorfman Projects Gallery, New York Stalke Galleri (Retrospective), Copenhagen Stalke Galleri, Kirke Sonnerup, Denmark Augen Gallery, Portland, Oregon Kambur Galleri, Hella, Iceland Dorfman Projects Gallery, New York Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica, California Cokkie Snoei Galerie, Rotterdam Hallway Gallery, London Robert Berman Gallery, Santa Monica, California Cokkie Snoei Galerie, Rotterdam Eva Cohon Gallery, Chicago Stuart Katz Gallery, Laguna Beach, California Stuart Katz Gallery, Laguna Beach, California Berland-Hall Gallery, New York Paterson Museum, Paterson, New Jersey Paterson Museum, Paterson, New Jersey Jayne H. Baum Gallery, New York Herlin Gallery, New York Frank Marino Gallery, New York Razor Gallery, New York Konstalongen Kavaletten, Uppsala Fischbach Gallery, New York Westbeth Gallery, New York Hacker Gallery, New York California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco
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william Anthony and sam jedig 2003 Gallery Kampur, Iceland
group shows [SELECTED] 1997
Pat Hearn Gallery, New York Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Rotterdam ANGELUS NOVUS, Gallery Oz, Paris NOTABLE NOTES, DRAWING BY WRITERS AND COMPOSERS, Joseph Helman Gallery, New York SEX/INDUSTRY, Stefan Stux Gallery, New York
1996
Stelling Gallery, Leyden WILLIAM ANTHONY, CHRISTOPHE VIGOUROUX, UWE KIRSCH, Gallery ON, Cologne WILD VLESS/PROUD FLESH, DE Vishal, Harlem, The Netherlands
1995
WHAT,S MY LINE? Horodner-Romley Gallery, New York Brook Alexander Gallery, New York
1994
Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Rotterdam SOLILOQUIES, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, Massaschusettes SINGLE-CELL CREATURES, Katonah Art Museum, Katonah, New York South Bay Contemporary Museum of Art, Long Beach, California Stuart Katz Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
1993
Castelli Gallery, New York POP ART: THEN AND NOW, Roy G. Biv Gallery, Palm Springs California RETURN OF THE CADAVRE EXQUIS, The Drawing Center NY
1992
REVOLUTION, Works Gallery, Costa Mesa, California Stuart Katz Gallery, Laguna Beach, California
1991
BOOK ARTS, Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton , New York
1990
BRUT 90, White Columns, New York FIGURE VIII, Jagendorf-Bacche Gallery, New York
1989
DRAWINGS, Lorence-Monk Gallery, New York
1987
MICRO STRESS, Now Gallery, New York
1985
S.M.S. Magazine published by William Copley, New Museum, New York
1984
WORKS ON PAPER, Herlin Gallery, New York
1982
PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE BY CANDIDATES FOR ART AWARDS, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York (Curated by Jasper Johns) WATER, Frank Marino Gallery, New York
1977
DRAWINGS OF THE 70s, Art Institute of Chicargo
1972
Fischbach Gallery, New York
1963
Drawing: USA:63, Saint Paul Art Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
1961
25TH ANNUAL DRAWING, PRINT AND SCULPTURE EXHIBITION, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, SF GORKY, DeKOONING, MALLARY AND OTHERS, Allan Stone Gallery, New York 116
group shows [SELECTED] 2011
ARTSTAMP.DK Kunsthal Brænderigården, Viborg, Denmark ON VIEW, Stalke Galleri, Kirke Sonnerup, Denmark
2010
RECLINING NUDES, Geoffery Young Gallery, Great Barrington, Massachusetts ON PAPER, Stalke Galleri, Kirke Sonnerup, Denmark
2009
IT´S BLACK, IT´S WHITE, Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Rotterdam
2008
Kambi Gallery, Selfoss, Iceland 5 Amerikanske kunstnere, Skovbo Kunstforening, Ringsted, Denmark
2007
THE FIRST THIRTEEN YEARS, SMART ART PRESS, Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica Stalke Up North, Copenhagen Gallery Sonne, Copenhagen IMAGES OF WAR, Rumiantsev Palace Museum, St. Petersburg
2006
Roberts and Tilton Gallery, Los Angeles POSTERS, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York NEO-SINCERITY, Apex Art, New York
2005
RADICAL VAUDEVILLE, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, Massachusettes HUMOR/COMICS, Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland
2004
Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Rotterdam
2003
Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Rotterdam SUMMER LUST, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, Massachusettes Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica, California
2002
Stalke Galleri, Kirke Sonnerup, Denmark Anthony, Larsen and Rössell, Stalke Galleri, Copenhagen
2001
Dorfman Gallery, New York AUGUST CONFESSIONS, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, Massachusettes
2000
Hallway Gallery, London Matthew Marks Gallery, New York ANTHONY, ROGGEBAND, ROTHUTZEN, Gallerie Maurits van de Laar Acava Gallery, London ANP CITY PROJECT, Galerie S. & H. deBuck, Ghent
1999
Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica, California STICKER SHOCK, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Stalke Galleri, Copenhagen, Denmark
1998
PAPER VIEW, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, Massachusettes Guggenheim Gallery, Chapman University, Los Angeles
jacob lillemose and william Anthony Gallery Stalke, Kirke Sonnerup, Denmark
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MUSEUM COLLECTIONS Art Institute of Chicago Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley Brooklyn Museum Cleveland Museum of Art Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington DC Denver Art Museum Detroit Institute of Arts Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY Hermitage, St. Petersburg Ludwig Museum, Cologne Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY Morgan Library and Museum, NY Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Museum of Modern Art, NY National Gallery of Art, Reykjavik National Gallery, Prague National Museum of Art, Oslo Newark Museum Seattle Art Museum Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC Tacoma Art Museum Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, Virginia Utah Museum of Fine Art, Salt Lake City Upplands Konstmuseum, Uppsala, Sweden Whitney Museum of American Art, NY Worcester Art Museum Yale University Art Museum
self-portrait 1964 rubber stamp 2 â&#x20AC;? high
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SELECTED CRITICISM Alexander Fried, San Francisco Examiner, July 8 1962 James H. Beck, Art News, NY, May 1963 Gregory Battcock, Art and Artists, NY, November 1971 Peter Frank, Art News, NY, March 1973 Marjorie Welish, Art in America, NY, November-December 1978 Joseph Masheck, Artforum, NY, May 1981 Ron Kolm, Cover, NY, Summer 1988 Carl Little, Art New England, Boston, December 1988 Catalogue. Warhol Retrospective, MoMA, NY, 1989 Barry Schwabsky, Arts, NY, January 1992 Cathy Curtis, Los Angeles Times, June 25 1992 Saskia Monshouwer, Vernissage, Amsterdam, June-July 1996 Robert Rosenblum, ON MODERN AMERICAN ART, Abrams, NY, 1999 Joost Pollman, de Volkskrant, Rotterdam, May 3 2001 Jim Nelson, Gentlemen’s Quarterly, NY, February 2001 Ken Johnson, New York Times, Oct. 11 2002 Ragna Sigurdardottir, Morgunbladid,, Reykjavik, May 29 2003 Trine Ross, Politiken, Copenhagen, August 20 2004 Robert Rosenblum, Art News, NY, September 2004 David Carrier, artUS, Los Angeles, Winter 2007 Roberta Smith, New York Times, January 11 2008 Sebastian Quidenbaum, Copenhagen, 2010 Dan Tarnowski, The Brooklyn Rail, NY, April 2012
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william Anthony and Mette flink 2012 At Westbeth’s, New York
BOOKS BY WILLIAM ANTHONY A NEW APPROACH TO FIGURE DRAWING Crown, NY, 1965, Odhams, London, 1967; Bonanza, NY, 1967 BIBLE STORIES The Jargon Society, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1978 BILL ANTHONY´S GREATEST HITS Forword by Robert Rosenblum, The Jargon Society, Wiston-Salem, North Carolina 1988 WAR IS SWELL: A Kids Idiotic Vision of WWll Smart Art Press, Santa Monica, California, 2000 Anthony´s drawings have been commissioned for Artforum, The Paris Review, Art in America, The Reading Room and by Andy Warhol for his Magazine Interview interview.
Anthony’s work is archived at: The Archives of American Art A.S.P.C., Neues Museum, Bremen Tha Fales Collection, Bobst Library, N.Y.U.
DEAR BRENDA PUBLISHED 6.10.2010 ED 2520 30 X 39 MM
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thanks to: Norma Anthony and Ken Milford
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ISBN 87-90538-37-4 All Righs ReservedŠ