Modern Prints
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
In addition to Prints by Warhol.
See also : Prints
In addition to Prints by Warhol.
See also : Prints
1948 Océanie by Matisse
Intro
Henri Matisse is seriously ill but has not lost his manual skill. The Jazz project started for Tériade in 1943 and screenprinted in 1947, based on cut-off papers, maintains his creativity.
The beige walls of his apartment in Montparnasse remind him of the wonderful color of the sunlit beaches in Tahiti. He cuts in a white paper the stylized forms that his assistant Lydia pins on the wall. His aim is to create two tapestry cartoons forming pendants, Océanie - le ciel and Océanie - la mer, respectively populated with white birds and fish.
In 1946 while Matisse was busy on this project Zika Ascher came to visit Paris. A fashion designer based since 1942 in London, Ascher usually works with Henry Moore. He now wants to edit a series of scarves prepared by a plurality of artists. Almost all of them including Matisse respond favorably.
Ascher also convinces Matisse to print his Océanie. Matisse is very demanding but Ascher manages to find a sturdy linen fabric and a pigment that exactly replicates the texture and color of the wall. The figures are picked directly from the wall with a tracing paper. Matisse releases the printing to a Belfast company under the supervision of Ascher in 1948.
Both artworks were edited in thirty screenprints each in an image format around 163 x 373 cm. According to the request of the artist, there was no other color than beige and white. La Mer is made darker than Le Ciel.
The original wall cut-off figures are kept in the Musée Matisse at Le Cateau-Cambrésis, the hometown of the artist.
On April 26, 2018, Sotheby's sold for $ 1.22M the copy 20/30 of La Mer, lot 15. It had belonged to Ascher and was on loan to the MoMA from 1950 to 1953. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The beige walls of his apartment in Montparnasse remind him of the wonderful color of the sunlit beaches in Tahiti. He cuts in a white paper the stylized forms that his assistant Lydia pins on the wall. His aim is to create two tapestry cartoons forming pendants, Océanie - le ciel and Océanie - la mer, respectively populated with white birds and fish.
In 1946 while Matisse was busy on this project Zika Ascher came to visit Paris. A fashion designer based since 1942 in London, Ascher usually works with Henry Moore. He now wants to edit a series of scarves prepared by a plurality of artists. Almost all of them including Matisse respond favorably.
Ascher also convinces Matisse to print his Océanie. Matisse is very demanding but Ascher manages to find a sturdy linen fabric and a pigment that exactly replicates the texture and color of the wall. The figures are picked directly from the wall with a tracing paper. Matisse releases the printing to a Belfast company under the supervision of Ascher in 1948.
Both artworks were edited in thirty screenprints each in an image format around 163 x 373 cm. According to the request of the artist, there was no other color than beige and white. La Mer is made darker than Le Ciel.
The original wall cut-off figures are kept in the Musée Matisse at Le Cateau-Cambrésis, the hometown of the artist.
On April 26, 2018, Sotheby's sold for $ 1.22M the copy 20/30 of La Mer, lot 15. It had belonged to Ascher and was on loan to the MoMA from 1950 to 1953. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1
Le Ciel 27/30
2022 SOLD for € 4M by Christie's
Le Ciel is much rarer than La Mer at auction whatever the reason. The copy from the deceased estate of Jacqueline Matisse Monnier is the 27/30, 164 x 356 cm on a 173 x 364 cm stretcher. It was sold for € 4M from a lower estimate of € 1.2M by Christie's on April 13, 2022, lot 26.
2
La Mer 26/30
2011 SOLD for £ 2.95M by Christie's
The Fondation Beyeler owns the pair 4/30. The number 26/30 of La Mer was sold by Christie's for £ 2.95M on June 21, 2011 from a lower estimate of £ 500K, lot 16. It was then coming directly from the Beyeler estate after having belonged to the Matisse family.
3
La Mer 10/30
2022 SOLD for € 2.1M by Christie's
Jacqueline Matisse Monnier, granddaughter of the artist and daughter of the New York gallerist Pierre Matisse, owned a copy of both elements of Océanie. La Mer is the number 10/30, 165 x 380 cm on a 175 x 382 stretcher. It was sold for € 2.1M by Christie's on April 13, 2022, lot 29.
On June 29, 2021, Sotheby's sold for £ 1.07M the screenprint 19/30 of La Mer, lot 165.
On June 29, 2021, Sotheby's sold for £ 1.07M the screenprint 19/30 of La Mer, lot 165.
1963-1964 Cantos by Newman
Intro
Cantos is the first adventure by Barnett Newman in color printing. He felt lithography as a process to play with colors wherein the layering of the lithographic stones yields variations in tone, just like musicians play their instrument. He stated that "each canto adds its song to the full chorus". By the same time he was obsessively limiting his paintings to black and white.
The final version is a portfolio of 18 lithographs 64 x 50 cm each. These images constitute a gradual expression of colors in flat areas separated by flickering vertical edges, underlined by zips in Cantos I to IV. The sequence of Cantos X to XIII evoke the seasons through the creation of the green by the blending of blue and yellow. The number eighteen is a homophony for 'alive' in Hebrew.
It was printed in 1963-1964 by U.L.A.E. in an edition of 18 plus some artist's proofs.
The final version is a portfolio of 18 lithographs 64 x 50 cm each. These images constitute a gradual expression of colors in flat areas separated by flickering vertical edges, underlined by zips in Cantos I to IV. The sequence of Cantos X to XIII evoke the seasons through the creation of the green by the blending of blue and yellow. The number eighteen is a homophony for 'alive' in Hebrew.
It was printed in 1963-1964 by U.L.A.E. in an edition of 18 plus some artist's proofs.
1
2/18
2023 SOLD for $ 2.1M by Christie's
The full portfolio 2/18 of the eighteen Cantos with full margins, in very good condition, was sold for $ 2.1M by Christie's on April 18, 2023, lot 27.
It is accompanied by the original title and text pages and by the vellum covered box with the artist’s initials embossed on the cover.
It is accompanied by the original title and text pages and by the vellum covered box with the artist’s initials embossed on the cover.
2
15/18
2008 SOLD for $ 2.06M by Sotheby's
The full set 15/18 accompanied by the title page and the artist's preface was sold for 2.06M by Sotheby's on May 15, 2008, lot 126. It is embedded in a handmade box bound in vellum with the artist's initials embossed on the cover.
from 1967 WARHOL
see dedicated page :
1969 Color Numeral Series by Johns
2021 SOLD for $ 1.4M by Sotheby's
The 0-9 set of ten lithographs was made by Jasper Johns in 1963.
His Numeral Series was published in black and white in 1968 in 70 copies. A portfolio was sold for $ 410K by Sotheby's on May 9, 2008.
In 1969 the Color Numeral Series features the ten numerals in full sheet, blended within a magma of rainbow colors that nearly cancels them in most of the figures. The number 7 confronts a famous masterpiece by including a Mona Lisa which is the only figurative element of the set.
The portfolio was edited in 1969 in 40 copies plus 11 artist's proofs. The images are 69 x 53 cm on 97 x 79 cm sheets. The complete Color Numeral Series 17/40 of ten lithographs was sold by Sotheby's on May 12, 2021 for $ 1.4M from a lower estimate of $ 450K, lot 5. These examples are framed. Also framed, the complete artist's proof set III was sold for $ 720K by Christie's on May 12, 2011, lot 149.
The complete set 11/40 of the Color Numeral Series, in very good condition, was sold for $ 820K by Christie's on April 18, 2023, lot 14.
His Numeral Series was published in black and white in 1968 in 70 copies. A portfolio was sold for $ 410K by Sotheby's on May 9, 2008.
In 1969 the Color Numeral Series features the ten numerals in full sheet, blended within a magma of rainbow colors that nearly cancels them in most of the figures. The number 7 confronts a famous masterpiece by including a Mona Lisa which is the only figurative element of the set.
The portfolio was edited in 1969 in 40 copies plus 11 artist's proofs. The images are 69 x 53 cm on 97 x 79 cm sheets. The complete Color Numeral Series 17/40 of ten lithographs was sold by Sotheby's on May 12, 2021 for $ 1.4M from a lower estimate of $ 450K, lot 5. These examples are framed. Also framed, the complete artist's proof set III was sold for $ 720K by Christie's on May 12, 2011, lot 149.
The complete set 11/40 of the Color Numeral Series, in very good condition, was sold for $ 820K by Christie's on April 18, 2023, lot 14.
1973 Flags I by JOHNS
1
59/65
2016 SOLD for $ 1.7M by Christie's
Jasper Johns explores the texture without rejecting the colors. He chooses preexisting themes without reworking their pattern. The US flag is an example of geometric shapes with pure colors. Its recuperation by Johns is both popular and provocative but the public does not perceive the whole extent of its ambiguity.
In 1973 the artist juxtaposes two US flags side by side on one surface with their strips vertically dispositioned. It is an experiment by which he compares an oil coated with a glossy varnish with his signature technique in encaustic wax where the upper layers cover an already dry paint. In both cases the under-layers influence the colors visible at the surface. This large size canvas 133 x 176 cm was sold for $ 7.15M by Christie's in May 1999.
The differences are subtle but Johns endeavors to reproduce them in a multiple. He chooses the silkscreen process but of course the usual four colors are not enough. The Simca Artist Prints Inc company develops with him for his double flag a set of 31 screens to be used in five stages.
Flags I is a technical feat. Johns was able to transfer to a multiple edition the voluntarily irregular layers of his paint. This image 67 x 84 cm on a sheet 70 x 90 cm is printed in 65 copies plus seven artist's proofs.
The best results were recorded by Christie's in a remarkably steady increase: $ 1.45M on November 11, 2015; $ 990K on November 13, 2013; $ 840K on May 11, 2010; $ 620K on April 30, 2008; $ 600K on November 9, 2005; $ 430K on 3 May 2005.
The Flags I 59/65 was sold for $ 1.7M by Christie's on April 26, 2016, lot 107.
In 1973 the artist juxtaposes two US flags side by side on one surface with their strips vertically dispositioned. It is an experiment by which he compares an oil coated with a glossy varnish with his signature technique in encaustic wax where the upper layers cover an already dry paint. In both cases the under-layers influence the colors visible at the surface. This large size canvas 133 x 176 cm was sold for $ 7.15M by Christie's in May 1999.
The differences are subtle but Johns endeavors to reproduce them in a multiple. He chooses the silkscreen process but of course the usual four colors are not enough. The Simca Artist Prints Inc company develops with him for his double flag a set of 31 screens to be used in five stages.
Flags I is a technical feat. Johns was able to transfer to a multiple edition the voluntarily irregular layers of his paint. This image 67 x 84 cm on a sheet 70 x 90 cm is printed in 65 copies plus seven artist's proofs.
The best results were recorded by Christie's in a remarkably steady increase: $ 1.45M on November 11, 2015; $ 990K on November 13, 2013; $ 840K on May 11, 2010; $ 620K on April 30, 2008; $ 600K on November 9, 2005; $ 430K on 3 May 2005.
The Flags I 59/65 was sold for $ 1.7M by Christie's on April 26, 2016, lot 107.
2
36/65
2020 SOLD for $ 1.47M by Christie's
The Flags I 36/65 was sold for $ 1.47M from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on October 6, 2020, lot 32.
3
20/65
2015 SOLD for $ 1.45M by Christie's
The Flags I 20/65 was sold for $ 1.45M from a lower estimate of $ 700K by Christie's on November 11, 2015, lot 154.
The Flags I 1/65 was sold for $ 990K by Christie's on November 13, 2013, lot 114.
The Flags I 1/65 was sold for $ 990K by Christie's on November 13, 2013, lot 114.
1983 Crosshatch by Johns
2015 SOLD for $ 1.56M by Christie's
After his signature pseudo-figurative themes which were the US flag, the target, the map and the numbers, Jasper Johns added from 1972 the crosshatch in repetitive patterns. This technical figure was used by artists to display the shades in their prints.
Not so far from the op art, Johns's hatches are bringing a shimmering effect on a flat surface. The artist stated his deep interest for the absence of meaning of the hatch. As usual the observers tried to find a secret code which probably never existed, in the follow of the search for patriotism in the US flags by the same artist.
As for his previous themes, Johns made his hand on a variety of techniques and supports.
A monotype 77 x 230 cm in bright colors printed in 1983 by ULAE with wide margins on a paper 93 x 243 cm was sold for $ 1.56M from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on November 10, 2015, lot 24 B.
Not so far from the op art, Johns's hatches are bringing a shimmering effect on a flat surface. The artist stated his deep interest for the absence of meaning of the hatch. As usual the observers tried to find a secret code which probably never existed, in the follow of the search for patriotism in the US flags by the same artist.
As for his previous themes, Johns made his hand on a variety of techniques and supports.
A monotype 77 x 230 cm in bright colors printed in 1983 by ULAE with wide margins on a paper 93 x 243 cm was sold for $ 1.56M from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on November 10, 2015, lot 24 B.
