Specialists’ Top Picks: First Impression
Specialist Lindsay Griffith discusses notable works from the July 14-15 auction, First Impression
David Hockney (B. 1937), Ian & Heinz, 1986. Home-made print executed on an office color copy machine on Arches Text paper. Estimate: $3,000 – $5,000
As a dog owner, this is clearly one of my favorite works in the sale for sentimental reasons, but I love the print as an example of one of Hockney’s ‘home-made’ prints. David Hockney developed this technique in the 1980s by thinking about a color copier as a new kind of ‘printing machine,’ one that could combine his love of the camera and a printing press. The copier reproduces the textures of a drawing but the ‘mark’ made here is from a printer. Also, Hockney has reduced the image of the sneaker and the Dachshund to the most basic forms, but they are still immediately recognizable to the eye—something I also think is fantastic.
Claes Oldenburg's Ice Cream Desserts, B
Claes Oldenburg (B. 1929), Ice Cream Desserts, B, 1976. Etching and aquatint with hand-coloring in watercolor on Crissbrook Waterleaf paper. Estimate: $1,000 – $1,500
This print is an example of prints by well-known names that are possible to acquire at such great price points in First Impression. This is a proof, presumably prior to the edition, of a print by Claes Oldenburg that has hand additions over the printed base in watercolor that correspond to how the edition was ultimately printed in colors using aquatint. It’s a great example of the stages involved before a print is editioned formally and the dialogue between artist and printer. The printer for this print was Maurice Payne, who worked with a number of important artists at Petersburg Press.
Robert Longo's Russian Bomb (Semipalatinsk)
Robert Longo (B. 1953), Russian Bomb (Semipalatinsk), 2011. Digital print on wove paper. Estimate: $4,000 – $6,000
We have a superb selection of prints by Robert Longo in this sale, ranging from his classic images from Men in Cities from the 1980s to prints of his more recent imagery such as Russian Bomb and Daddy’s Caddy. His later editions mimic his incredibly detailed drawings in graphite that recall powerful photographs that are well-known in our consciousness. This dynamic and powerful image in black and white feels like a moment frozen in time.
Brice Marden (B. 1938), Grid I, 1971.Etching on Arches paper. Estimate: $4,000 – $6,000
To show the real diversity of artists represented in First Impression, the sale also features an excellent selection of minimalist prints. Grid 1 is an early work in the etching medium by Brice Marden that features a great interplay between positive and negative space in the composition that is related closely to his drawings that use grid formats. The plate of the printed area functions as a compositional element itself and the imperfections in the printed area lend an aspect of chance in contrast to the predetermined nature of the design.
To learn more about our summer sales of Prints and Post-War and Contemporary Art, visit At First Sight