Larry Rivers
Homage to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (signed and inscribed)
1973

Name: Homage to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (signed and inscribed)
Brand: Larry Rivers
Price: 5000 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Larry Rivers Homage to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, signed and inscribed to Arthur Gold and Robert (Bobby) Fizdale, 1973 Lithograph and Screenprint on Paper Hand signed and inscribed on lower right front. Inscription reads as follows: For Bobby and Arthur For Everything Larry Rivers Frame Included This is a uniquely signed and inscribed screenprint and lithograph on rag paper is a proof, aside from the regular edition of 300 of this iconic mixed media print. The present work was dedicated by Larry Rivers to "Arthur & Bobby" - who are Arthur and Robert (Bobby) Fizdale, the famous classical musicians, biographers, TV cooking show hosts and Vogue magazine columnists who formed a lifelong gay partnership after meeting at Juilliard where they both studied. Both Arthur and Bobby were fixtures on the New York art and literary scene throughout the 1970s and beyond. In fact, the poet Frank O'Hara is said to have famously gotten over being rejected by Larry Rivers by having an affair with Bobby Fizdale. Rivers then encased the inscription with a yellow marker - making the print more unique. The work was created in 1973 for the legendary "New York for Stockholm" portfolio. Other editions of this print are in the permanent collections of many major museums and public institutions worldwide, which is why they're not often to market, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Moderna Museet, the Walker Art Center, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Dayton Art Institute, the Frost Art Museum,the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Princeton University Art Museum, the Pierpont Morgan Library, and the Albertina Museum, the Kemper Art Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - to name only a few. This is a hand signed inscribed artist proof aside from the regular edition of 300. Inscribed by the artist on lower right recto (front). Inscription reads as follows: For Bobby and Arthur For Everything Larry Rivers Measurements: frame: 14 1/4 x 17 1/4 x 1 1/4 inches sheet: 9 x 12 inches Exhibition History: Other editions of this work have been exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery, and numerous other galleries and museums worldwide since the 1970s. Provenance: The present work was dedicated by Larry Rivers to "Arthur & Bobby" - who are Arthur and Robert (Bobby) Fizdale, the famous classical musicians, biographers, TV cooking show hosts and Vogue magazine columnists who formed a lifelong gay partnership after meeting at Juilliard where they both studied.

Creator:

Larry Rivers (1923 - 2002, American)

Creation Year:

1973

Dimensions:

Height: 14.25 in (36.2 cm)Width: 17.25 in (43.82 cm)Depth: 1.25 in (3.18 cm)

Medium:

Lithograph,Screen

Movement & Style:

Pop Art

Period:

1970-1979

Condition:

Gallery Location:

New York, NY

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU1745212716072

View Invoice

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)