Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10

Ed Ruscha and Billy Al Bengston
Lt. Ed. Artist Book: Business Cards (Signed by Ed Ruscha and Billy Al Bengston)

1968

About the Item

Ed Ruscha, Billy Al Bengston Business Cards (hand signed by Ed Ruscha and Billy Al Bengston), 1968 Mixed Media Artist's Book: Softback monograph with a latigo leather thong, silver gelatin photograph and cards stapled to the the recto of the rear leaf Hand signed on the cover by Billy Al Bengston and Ed Ruscha 8 3/4 × 5 3/4 inches Unframed This is the famous, historic 1968 samizdat artist book collaboration between two beloved California artists: Ed Ruscha and Billy Al Bengston - hand signed by both on the cover. Media: Offset on paper with business card and gold-backed paper stapled on final page; punched and tied with leather cord with silver gelatin print and photo corners adhered to wood-grained Bristol board About the book: First edition published in 1968. SIGNED by Edward Ruscha and Billy Al Bengston on front cover. Fine in paper covers simulating polished wood grain, with monochromatic photographic plate showing both of these handsome young artists shaking hands set-in brackets. Thin rawhide straps bind the contents. 32 pages with black and white illustrations and 2 stapled "business cards" - one being Bengston's card and one being a photograph of Bengston's design of Ruscha's card - the subject and title. Early artist's book limited to 1000 copies. About Ed Ruscha: There are things that I’m constantly looking at that I feel should be elevated to greater status, almost to philosophical status or to a religious status. That’s why taking things out of context is a useful tool to an artist. It’s the concept of taking something that’s not subject matter and making it subject matter. —Ed Ruscha At the start of his artistic career, Ed Ruscha called himself an “abstract artist ... who deals with subject matter.” Abandoning academic connotations that came to be associated with Abstract Expressionism, he looked instead to tropes of advertising and brought words—as form, symbol, and material—to the forefront of painting. Working in diverse media with humor and wit, he oscillates between sign and substance, locating the sublime in landscapes both natural and artificial. In 1956, Ruscha moved from Oklahoma City to Los Angeles, where he attended the Chouinard Art Institute. During his time in art school, he had been painting in the manner of Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning, and came across a reproduction of Jasper Johns’s Target with Four Faces (1955). Struck by Johns’s use of readymade images as supports for abstraction, Ruscha began to consider how he could employ graphics in order to expose painting’s dual identity as both object and illusion. For his first word painting, E.Ruscha (1959), he intentionally miscalculated the space it would take to write his first initial and surname on the canvas, inserting the last two letters, HA, above and indicating the “error” with an arrow. After graduation, Ruscha began to work for ad agencies, honing his skills in schematic design and considering questions of scale, abstraction, and viewpoint, which became integral to his painting and photography. He produced his first artist’s book, Twentysix Gasoline Stations—a series of deadpan photographs the artist took while driving on Route 66 from Los Angeles to Oklahoma City—in 1963. Ruscha since has gone on to create over a dozen artists’ books, including the 25-foot-long, accordion-folded Every Building on the Sunset Strip (1966) and his version of Kerouac's iconic On the Road (2009). Ruscha also paints trompe-l’oeil bound volumes and alters book spines and interiors with painted words: books in all forms pervade his investigations of language and the distribution of art and information. Ruscha’s paintings of the 1960s explore the noise and the fluidity of language. With works such as OOF (1962–63)—which presents the exclamation in yellow block letters on a blue ground—it is nearly impossible to look at the painting without verbalizing the visual. Since his first exhibition with Gagosian in 1993, Ruscha has had twenty-one solo exhibitions with the gallery, including Custom-Built Intrigue: Drawings 1974–84 (2017), comprising a decade of reverse-stencil drawings of phrases rendered in pastel, dry pigment, and various edible substances, from spinach to carrot juice. The first retrospective of Ruscha’s drawings was held in 2004 at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Ruscha continues to influence contemporary artists worldwide, his formal experimentations and clever use of the American vernacular evolving in form and meaning as technology and internet platforms alter the essence of human communication. Ruscha represented the United States at the 51st Venice Biennale (2005) with Course of Empire, an installation of ten paintings. Inspired by nineteenth century American artist Thomas Cole’s famous painting cycle of the same name, the work alludes to the pitfalls surrounding modernist visions of progress. In 2018 Ruscha’s Course of Empire was presented concurrently with Cole’s at the National Gallery in London. Courtesy of Gagosian About Billy Al Bengston: b. 1934 in Dodge City, Kansas Working in both painting and sculpture, Billy Al Bengston is known for his psychedelically colorful works. He is also a motorcycle racer, surfer, and has a penchant for the sublime rather than perfection. He studied at the California College of Arts and Crafts where he developed a radical aesthetic, which, combined with his already highly developed skills, taxed the faculty to such an extent that they asked him to leave after only one year. After moving to Los Angeles, Bengston began showing at the famed Ferus Gallery and established himself as part of a group that rejected the stereotype of the artist as a tormented individual. Bengston is represented in many important public collections including The Museum of Modern Art, NY; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.; Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. Publisher Billy Al Bengston & Ed Ruscha, Inc.
  • Creator:
    Ed Ruscha and Billy Al Bengston (1933, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1968
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 8.75 in (22.23 cm)Width: 5.75 in (14.61 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    In very good vintage condition with minor handling and age wear, as expected; otherwise a very good example of this limited edition. see photos.
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1745213171162
More From This SellerView All
  • Book: CHUCK CLOSE WORK (hand signed by both Chuck Close and Christopher Finch)
    By Chuck Close
    Located in New York, NY
    Chuck Close CHUCK CLOSE WORK (hand signed by both Chuck Close and Christopher Finch), 2010 Hardback monograph with dust jacket (hand signed and inscribed by both artist and author) H...
    Category

    2010s Pop Art More Art

    Materials

    Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset

  • Oversized illustrated catalogue: Chuck Close Recent Works (Hand Signed)
    By Chuck Close
    Located in New York, NY
    Chuck Close Chuck Close Recent Works (Hand Signed), 1993 Large Illustrated Exhibition Catalogue Boldly hand signed in black marker on the title page by the artist Published by PACE Gallery, New York 14 3/10 x 12 inches Unframed This oversized illustrated softcover exhibition catalogue with stiff wraps is boldly signed by Chuck Close in black marker on the title page. The catalogue itself has 44 pages and is lavishly illustrated with large full color reproductions. It is extremely scarce when hand signed by the artist. Chuck Close signed...
    Category

    1990s Pop Art More Art

    Materials

    Mixed Media, Offset, Ink, Lithograph

  • Wrapped Magazines (Revues Empaquetees), Hand Signed postcard of Marilyn Monroe
    By Christo and Jeanne-Claude
    Located in New York, NY
    Christo Wrapped Magazines (Revues Empaquetees), Hand Signed, 1991 Offset lithograph postcard (hand signed by Christo) 5 4/5 × 4 1/5 inches Signed in ink by Christo on the image Unfra...
    Category

    1990s Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Offset, Ink, Postcard, Lithograph

  • Uniquely Signed, dedicated and inscribed vintage card of Linda Rosenkrantz Finch
    By Chuck Close
    Located in New York, NY
    Chuck Close Uniquely Signed, dedicated and inscribed vintage card, 1988 Thick card Boldly signed, dated, dedicated and inscribed in black ink on the front...
    Category

    1980s Pop Art Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Offset, Lithograph, Ink, Postcard

  • Reading Ed Ruscha (Hand Signed by Ed Ruscha), Lt. Ed. European poster with books
    By Ed Ruscha
    Located in New York, NY
    Ed Ruscha Reading Ed Ruscha (Hand Signed by Ed Ruscha), 2012 Offset Lithograph Poster Boldly signed in black marker by Ed Ruscha on the lower front, edition of approx. 50 (unnumbered...
    Category

    2010s Pop Art Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Offset, Ink

  • David LaChapelle American Jesus poster (Hand Signed by David LaChapelle)
    By David LaChapelle
    Located in New York, NY
    This work was published for the exhibition, American Jesus, held 13 July - 18 September 2010 at Paul Kasmin, New York in cooperation with Fred Torres Colla...
    Category

    2010s Pop Art Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Offset, Ink

You May Also Like
  • Interview Magazine (Diane von Furstenberg) (Signed by Andy Warhol) /// Pop Art
    Located in Saint Augustine, FL
    Artist: (after) Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987) Title: "Interview Magazine (Diane von Furstenberg)" Series: Interview Magazine *Signed by Warhol in black marker inside, on third page Year: 1981 Medium: Offset-Lithography; The complete November, 1981, Vol. XI, No. 11 issue of "Interview" magazine Overall size: 17" x 11" x .25" Condition: One small tear at right center edge of cover page. In otherwise excellent condition Notes: Provenance: private collection - Sacaramento, CA; acquired at a rare book fair in Pasadena, CA from notable autograph dealer Christophe Stickel. It is boldly signed on the third page at center right within a Barney's, New York advertisement. This is immediately seen once opening the first cover page. Approx. 90 pages total. We unconditionally guarantee the signature to be authentic. "Interview" is an American magazine founded in late 1969 by artist Andy Warhol and British journalist John Wilcock. The magazine, nicknamed "The Crystal Ball of Pop", features interviews with celebrities, artists, musicians, and creative thinkers. Interviews were usually unedited or edited in the eccentric fashion of Warhol's books and "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again". Diane von Fürstenberg (1946-) is a Belgian fashion designer best known for her wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence in 1969 when she married into the princely German House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon von Fürstenberg. Biography: Andy Warhol ( born Andrew Warhola; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertisement that flourished by the 1960s. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became a renowned and sometimes controversial artist. The Andy Warhol Museum in his native city, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archives. It is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to a single artist. Warhol's art used many types of media, including hand drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, silk screening, sculpture, film, and music. He was also a pioneer in computer-generated art using Amiga computers that were introduced in 1984, two years before his death. He founded Interview magazine and was the author of numerous books, including The Philosophy of Andy Warhol and Popism: The Warhol Sixties. He managed and produced The Velvet Underground, a rock band which had a strong influence on the evolution of punk rock music. He is also notable as a gay man who lived openly as such before the gay liberation movement. His studio, The Factory, was a well known gathering place that brought together distinguished intellectuals, drag queens, playwrights, Bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities, and wealthy patrons. Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, and feature and documentary films. He coined the widely used expression "15 minutes of fame". Many of his creations are very collectible and highly valuable. The highest price ever paid for a Warhol painting is US$105 million for a 1963 canvas titled "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)". A 2009 article in The Economist described Warhol as the "bellwether of the art market". Warhol's works include some of the most expensive paintings...
    Category

    1980s Pop Art Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Magazine Paper, Lithograph, Offset, Permanent Marker

  • MICKEY FROM HEAD TO TOE
    By Romero Britto
    Located in Aventura, FL
    Original, limited edition offset lithograph in colors on paper. Published by Walt Disney Art Classics. Artwork is in excellent condition. All reasonabl...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Paper, Lithograph, Offset

  • Cosmic Girls: Eyes Opened / Eyes Closed
    By Yoshitomo Nara
    Located in New York, NY
    2008 Set of two offset lithographs in colors, on wove paper Sheet: 28 3/8 x 20 3/8 in., each Edition of 500 Unsigned; printed ‘©Yoshitomo Nara. Courtesy Stephen Friedman Gallery, Lon...
    Category

    Early 2000s Pop Art Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Paper, Lithograph, Offset

  • Vintage Poster Clinton Capitol Building Pop Art Hand Signed Peter Max Lithograph
    By Peter Max
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Artist: Peter Max, German/American (1937 - ) From the President Bill Clinton Inaugural, An American Reunion, New Beginnings, Renewed Hope Poster depicting the 1993 inauguration of Bill Clinton at the Capitol Building. Hand signed in marker with dedication Year: 1993 Medium: Poster Size: 36 in. x 24 in Provenance: collection of Friede & Rubin L. Gorewitz Peter Max (born Peter Max Finkelstein, October 19, 1937) is a German-American artist known for using bright colors in his work. Works by Max are associated with the visual arts and culture of the 1960s, particularly psychedelic art and pop art. Max was born in Berlin, the son of German Jews, Salla and Jakob. They fled Berlin in 1938, settling in Shanghai, China, where they lived for the next ten years. In 1948, the family moved to Haifa, Israel, where they lived for several years. Peter attended school in Mount Carmel, but was often drawing instead of taking notes. His principal suggested to his parents that he be put in art lessons after school, and he began to study under Professor Hünik, a Viennese Expressionist. From Israel, the family continued moving westward and stopped in Paris for several months—an experience that Max said greatly influenced his appreciation for art. In their short time in Paris, Max's mother enrolled him in drawing classes at the Louvre, where he began to study Fauvism. After nine months in Paris, Max and his family made their final move, settling in Brooklyn, New York, USA. In 1956, Max began his formal art training at the Art Students League of New York in Manhattan, studying anatomy, figure drawing and composition under Frank J. Reilly who had studied at the League alongside Norman Rockwell. In 1962, Max started a small Manhattan arts studio known as "The Daly & Max Studio," with friend Tom Daly. Daly and Max were joined by friend and mentor Don Rubbo, and the three worked as a group on books and advertising for which they received industry recognition. Much of their work incorporated antique photographic images as elements of collage. Max's interest in astronomy contributed to his self-described "Cosmic '60s" period, which featured psychedelic, counter culture imagery. Max's art was popularized nationally through TV commercials such as his 1968 "un cola" ad for the soft drink 7 Up which helped drive sales of his art posters and other merchandise. In 1967, Max solidified his place as a counter cultural icon by designing the flyers for the second ever 'Be In', a political gathering of mainly hippies in New York's Central Park after the Easter parade on March 26, 1967. In 1970, many of Max's products and posters were featured in the exhibition "The World of Peter Max," which opened at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco. The United States Postal Service commissioned Max to create the 10-cent postage stamp to commemorate the Expo '74 World's Fair in Spokane, Washington, and Max drew a colorful psychedelic scene with a "Cosmic Jumper" and a "Smiling Sage" against a backdrop of a cloud, sun rays and a ship at sea on the theme of "Preserve the Environment." According to The New York Times, "His DayGlo-inflected posters became wallpaper for the turn on, tune in, drop out generation." On July 4, 1976, Max began his Statue of Liberty series leading to his efforts with Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca to help in the restoration of the statue. Max has been the official artist for many major events, including the 1994 World Cup, the Grammy Awards, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Super Bowl and others. In 2000, Max designed the paint scheme Dale Earnhardt...
    Category

    1990s Pop Art Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Offset

  • Vintage Poster President Bill Clinton Pop Art Hand Signed Peter Max Lithograph
    By Peter Max
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Artist: Peter Max, German/American (1937 - ) Title: Bill Clinton Inaugural, An American Reunion, New Beginnings, Renewed Hope Hand signed in marker with dedication Year: 1993 Medium: Poster Size: 36 in. x 24 in Provenance: collection of Friede & Rubin L. Gorewitz Peter Max (born Peter Max Finkelstein, October 19, 1937) is a German-American artist known for using bright colors in his work. Works by Max are associated with the visual arts and culture of the 1960s, particularly psychedelic art and pop art. Max was born in Berlin, the son of German Jews, Salla and Jakob. They fled Berlin in 1938, settling in Shanghai, China, where they lived for the next ten years. In 1948, the family moved to Haifa, Israel, where they lived for several years. Peter attended school in Mount Carmel, but was often drawing instead of taking notes. His principal suggested to his parents that he be put in art lessons after school, and he began to study under Professor Hünik, a Viennese Expressionist. From Israel, the family continued moving westward and stopped in Paris for several months—an experience that Max said greatly influenced his appreciation for art. In their short time in Paris, Max's mother enrolled him in drawing classes at the Louvre, where he began to study Fauvism. After nine months in Paris, Max and his family made their final move, settling in Brooklyn, New York, USA. In 1956, Max began his formal art training at the Art Students League of New York in Manhattan, studying anatomy, figure drawing and composition under Frank J. Reilly who had studied at the League alongside Norman Rockwell. In 1962, Max started a small Manhattan arts studio known as "The Daly & Max Studio," with friend Tom Daly. Daly and Max were joined by friend and mentor Don Rubbo, and the three worked as a group on books and advertising for which they received industry recognition. Much of their work incorporated antique photographic images as elements of collage. Max's interest in astronomy contributed to his self-described "Cosmic '60s" period, which featured psychedelic, counter culture imagery. Max's art was popularized nationally through TV commercials such as his 1968 "un cola" ad for the soft drink 7 Up which helped drive sales of his art posters and other merchandise. In 1967, Max solidified his place as a counter cultural icon by designing the flyers for the second ever 'Be In', a political gathering of mainly hippies in New York's Central Park after the Easter parade on March 26, 1967. In 1970, many of Max's products and posters were featured in the exhibition "The World of Peter Max," which opened at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco. The United States Postal Service commissioned Max to create the 10-cent postage stamp to commemorate the Expo '74 World's Fair in Spokane, Washington, and Max drew a colorful psychedelic scene with a "Cosmic Jumper" and a "Smiling Sage" against a backdrop of a cloud, sun rays and a ship at sea on the theme of "Preserve the Environment." According to The New York Times, "His DayGlo-inflected posters became wallpaper for the turn on, tune in, drop out generation." On July 4, 1976, Max began his Statue of Liberty series leading to his efforts with Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca to help in the restoration of the statue. Max has been the official artist for many major events, including the 1994 World Cup, the Grammy Awards, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Super Bowl and others. In 2000, Max designed the paint scheme Dale Earnhardt...
    Category

    1990s Pop Art Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Offset

  • Andy Warhol Exhibition Poster, Greta Garbo, Milan 1995
    By Andy Warhol
    Located in Pasadena, CA
    Andy Warhol Greta Garbo Mata Hari Large Poster first expo Italy. Vintage 1995 Pop Art Poster. Framed . Exhibition Poster lithograph print custom framed , is an incredibly sp...
    Category

    Late 20th Century Pop Art Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Offset, Screen

Recently Viewed

View All