’70s prints & posters sale July 25 salutes era’s top artists
Will Barnet, ‘Woman Reading,’ serigraph, 1970, signed, paper size is 40 x 30in, image size is 35.5 x 27in, from an edition of 300. Estimate: $1,800-$2,500. Jasper52 image
NEW YORK – Art of the 1970s is recalled in vintage prints and posters that will be offered in a Jasper52 auction on Wednesday, July 25. The era’s top artists are represented in the online auction of more than 150 lots. Many of the prints are signed and numbered. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.
For the art of the 1970s, a decade emerging from ’60s pop art, psychedelia and activism, a new flavor of all three arose, taking aspects of each into uncharted territories of iteration, distillation and experimentation.
Visual conversations took place back and forth between many of the top artists who were friends or contemporaries, and a special breed of celebration seemed to be taking place—with command over their medium, their voice and their position in the spotlight, or perhaps with something more akin to the excitement of the fashionable exploits of the era.
Psychedelia and hedonism were still active, as were social justice and artist rebellion. The art of the 1970s and the graphic work that transported it carries a particular edginess channeled through some of contemporary art’s most influential players.
A few of the anticipated top lots are:
– Woman Reading by Will Barnet, which was printed in 1970 on Rives paper by Fine Creations Inc., New York, and commissioned by Poster Originals, New York. The print (above) is pencil signed and numbered. The image depicts the artist’s daughter reading a book.
– Smoker by Tom Wesselmann, signed serigraph (below) published in 1976 by Transworld Art, New York on Museum Rag board. This work is a part of Wesselmann’s evolving series of “Smokers,” originally inspired by the observations of his model for another ongoing series, “Mouth.”
Tom Wesselmann, ‘Smoker,’ serigraph, from an American Portrait by Wesselmann, 1976, , paper size is 26 x 19.5in, image size is16.25 x 16in, signed and numbered 96 out of 175 in pencil by the artist. Spotting on the upper left corner. Estimate: $5,300-$6,100. Jasper52 image
– Changing Sexuality (Triptych) by Richard Lindner, signed serigraph, 1973. The works are produced in 13 colors, silk-screened on three panels, each measuring 46 inches high by 34 inches wide. There were 2,000 unsigned sets printed, in addition to the 100 limited-edition signed sets.
Richard Lindner, ‘Changing Sexuality (Triptych)’ serigraph, 1973, paper size is 46 x 102 in overall, image size 46 x 102in, from an edition size of 100, each panel is signed. Jasper52 image
– Jasper Johns’ Double Flag stars on a poster commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Whitney Museum of American Art. The unsigned lithograph from 1979 is in near-mint condition.
Jasper Johns lithograph for the 50th Anniversary of the Whitney Museum of American Art, ‘Double Flag,’ 1979, unsigned, paper size is 46 x 30in, image size 38 x 28.25in, from an edition size of 5,000. Estimate: $2,600-$3,800. Jasper52 image
– Robert Indiana’s LOVE design, created for the Museum of Modern Art’s Christmas card in 1965, was the basis for the LOVE-Stable serigraph that he designed for Posters Originals in 1971.
Robert Indiana, ‘LOVE-Stable,’1971, unsigned, paper size is 32.5 x 24.2in, image size is 24.25 x 24.25in, unknown edition size. Estimate: $525-$775. Jasper52 image
– Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002), a French sculptor, painter and filmmaker, created a serigraph for the 11th New York Film in 1973. This signed poster measures more than 5 feet high and is from an edition of only 144.
Niki de Saint Phalle serigraph for the 11th New York Film Festival, 1973, signed, paper size is 70.25 x 37.25in, with an image size of 64.25 x 33.5in. Estimate: $2,600-$3,800. Jasper52 image
The Jasper52 online auction of “1970s Art: Prints, Original Posters and More” will begin Wednesday, July 25, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.
