Larry Rivers
Homage to Picasso
1994

Name: Homage to Picasso
Brand: Larry Rivers
Price: 4000 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

paper measures 26.5 x 30 inches. Edition PP 4/4 Painter, sculptor, poet, and musician Larry Rivers was an established figure in the New York School, recognized for creating large paintings merging abstract and narrative elements, as in Washington Crossing the Delaware (1953), where the general leads his men through a space defined by murky oil washes and broad gestural brushwork. Rivers studied in the late 1940s under Hans Hofmann, the artist often regarded as the grandfather of Abstract Expressionism, but he never abandoned figuration, his compositions often including human subjects and text, as in Vocabulary Lesson (Polish) (1964). Rivers’ work is often compared to that of postmodern artists Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, and is considered an important precursor to Pop art. As Andy Warhol once said, “Larry’s painting style was unique—it wasn’t Abstract Expressionism and it wasn’t Pop, it fell into the period in between. But his personality was very Pop.”

Creator:

Larry Rivers (1923 - 2002, American)

Creation Year:

1994

Dimensions:

Height: 36.25 in (92.08 cm)Width: 40.5 in (102.87 cm)

Medium:

Archival Paper

Movement & Style:

Pop Art

Period:

20th Century

Condition:

Gallery Location:

Boca Raton, FL

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU135426842902

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Shop All Larry Rivers

Larry Rivers

Figurative artist Larry Rivers was born in the Bronx in 1923 to Ukrainian Jewish parents, and was named Yitzak Loiza Grossberg. Rivers belonged to the second generation of the New York School of painters, although unlike most of his contemporaries he stayed away from abstraction instead preferring narrative paintings. He began his artistic career playing the jazz saxophone, and when one night his group was introduced as "Larry Rivers and the Mudcats," he decided to keep the name.

After a brief period in the army during World War II, Rivers attended Juilliard School of Music for one year before returning to the jazz saxophone. After he met the painter Jane Freilicher, he decided to devote himself to painting. Rivers attended Hans Hofmann's school for nearly two years. In 1949, he had his first solo show at the Jane Street Gallery, an artist's co-op in the Village. Rivers received favorable reviews and was invited to join the Tibor de Nagy Gallery uptown.

Rivers continued to show annually at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery from 1952 to 1962. In 1963, he joined the Marlborough Gallery, where he stayed until his death. In 1955, The New York Museum of Modern Art acquired his painting Washington Crossing the Delaware, and in 1956 the Whitney Museum purchased Double Portrait of Berdie, two of his more famous paintings. He had periodic museum shows in Europe and the United States throughout his career.

Rivers had two sons, Joseph and Steven, by his first wife, Augusta. In 1961 he married Clarice Price and had two more children, Gwynne and Emma. In the 1970s he had another son with the painter Daria Deshuk.

The subjects of River's figurative paintings were family, history, politics, religion and sex. His work done in oils often included the use of stencils, cutouts, blank canvas and image reversals. He often painted family members including his mother in law, his sons and his ex-wife. Rivers favored historical subjects such as History of Matzah: The Story of the Jews (1984-85), History of the Russian Revolution (1965) and often painted parodies including his Washington Crossing the Delaware. He enjoyed controversial subjects and shocking the public. Lapman Loves It (1966) is a nine-foot electrified assemblage complete with strategically located light bulbs. French Vocabulary Lesson (1961-62) is a nude with body parts labeled in French.

Rivers was also a writer. In 1979 he published Drawings and Digressions with Carol Brightman. In 1992 he published What Did I Do? The Unauthorized Autobiography with Arnold Weinstein.

Find original Larry Rivers prints and paintings on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Lincoln Glenn)