Indisputably one of the most iconic American artists of the 20th century, Ed Ruscha has built a formidable body of work by staking a claim on the deceptively simple intersection of text and image, superimposing elliptical phrases (or, often, single words) over West Coast landscapes to create prints and paintings that can be read instantaneously yet evade easy understanding.
Alongside artists like Robert Irwin and Billy Al Bengston, Ruscha was a pioneer of the 1960s Los Angeles art scene as part of the famed Ferus Gallery. His embrace of Hollywood vernacular and the open Western road have tied him as closely to the identity of L.A. art as Jackson Pollock is to that of New York.
Coming to California in 1956 at the age of 18, Ruscha intended to become a commercial painter but found himself drawn to fine art, over time being shaped by three galvanizing influences: Marcel Duchamp, Pop art and the movies.
Meeting Duchamp when the Pasadena Art Museum (now the Norton Simon Museum) hosted the French Conceptual artist's first U.S. show, Ruscha was especially affected by his use of "readymade" objects and imagery, rendered unfamiliar through unexpected titles or text. Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup can paintings, meanwhile, were shown for the first time at the Ferus Gallery in 1962, opening up new vistas for Ruscha. Movies, then, provided another inspiration through their use of title cards, placing graphic text over filmic shots — The End, for instance — for maximum impact.
Ruscha began his famous series of word paintings in the 1960s, depicting various views of the Hollywood sign and the logos of studios like 20th Century Fox, but also roadside views like the Standard Oil stations dotting L.A.'s freeways. Over time these became more abstracted, pinning ambiguous, free-floating phrases (Wall Rockets is a famous example) to natural vistas, scenes of highways, or monochrome backgrounds. Beginning in about 1980, the artist began using a sharp font he designed himself, called Boy Scout Utility Modern.
A master printmaker who also works across the mediums of books, drawing, photography and even film — in 2009 he starred in a movie directed by the artist Doug Aitken — Ruscha has been an influence on a staggering array of artists, including Stephen Shore, Christopher Wool and Anselm Kiefer.
Ruscha's work has been featured in dozens of exhibitions around the world, including "Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting" at London's Hayward Gallery (2009), "Ed Ruscha: Made in Los Angeles" at Madrid's Reina Sofia in 2002, a 2000 retrospective at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, a survey of his works-on-paper at the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1998, and a 1982 retrospective that traveled to the Whitney Museum. In 2005 he represented the United States at the 51st Venice Biennale, and in 2009 he received a National Arts Award.
Find a collection of original Ed Ruscha lithographs and other art for sale on 1stDibs.
$2,263
Ed Ruscha, Various Small Fires and Milk - Pop Art, Conceptual Art, Artist's Book
By Ed Ruscha
Located in Hamburg, DE
Ed Ruscha (American, b.1937) Various Small Fires and Milk, 1964/1970 Medium: Artist’s book (48 pages), glassine dust jacket Dimensions: 17.8 x 14.2 cm Second edition (1970): 3000 unn...
Paper
$1,000
Some Los Angeles Apartments - Artist Book published in a limited edition of 3000
By Ed Ruscha
Located in New York, NY
Ed Ruscha Some Los Angeles Apartments, 1970 Softback monograph with stiff wraps Second Edition Limited Edition of 3000 (the first edition in 1968 was 700) 7 × 5 1/2 inches Accompanie...
Paper, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset
Ed Ruscha, Vacant Lots Silver Gelatin Print, Signed, 1970s, Edition of 35
By Ed Ruscha
Located in London, GB
Signed, inscribed with date and numbered on reverse Four silver gelatin prints Image size: 22 x 22 inches each Paper size: 29 1/4 x 29 inches each From an edition of 35 Ed Ruscha’s ...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Five Views From The Panhandle
By Ed Ruscha
Located in New York, NY
Edition 28 of 30 Suite of five silver gelatin prints
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Self Service, Milan, New Mexico
By Ed Ruscha
Located in New York, NY
Image Size: 10 1/4 x 10 inches Frame Size: 20 x 24 inches Signed, titled and dated on verso
Silver Gelatin
$972
H 33.47 in W 44.1 in D 1.97 in
The Road to Death Valley, Mojave Desert, California - Landscape Color Photo
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
'The Road to Death Valley', taken in the Majove Desert, California, features a clouded blue sky met my mountains on the horizon. This American landscape artwork is part of Richard He...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
Roots, Foster Gardens, Honolulu
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This vintage silver gelatin print is signed in pencil on the mount beneath the image. Printed in 1948 in an edition of 75 numbered copies. This print is from presentation set #33. Po...
Silver Gelatin
Bergstrom, Paris
By Helmut Newton
Located in New York, NY
Offset lithograph, signed in pencil by Newton. Acquired from a private collection, Paris, France.
Offset, Lithograph
$15,000
H 60 in W 45 in D 0.3 in
She Disappeared into Complete Silence (AD6301) - large scale abstract photograph
By Mona Kuhn
Located in San Francisco, CA
In the series 'She Disappeared into Complete Silence' (2014) Mona Kuhn takes a new direction into abstraction. She turns to a highly austere and restrained reductionist geometry and distilled formal purity, connecting the interior to the exterior, the visible to the hidden. These reflections cause one to linger, as they merge to create a dynamic equilibrium of tension, spaces and rythms. AD16301 (She Disappeared into Complete Silence) 60" x 45" / 152cm x 114cm edition of 8 + 2AP 40" x 30" / 102cm x 76cm edition of 8 + 2AP limited edition photograph is printed under artist supervision and accompanied by signed artist certificate: artist signature labels are 8x10 in size signed, editioned, dated and titled by the artist, and stamped for authenticity label __________________ About the artist Acclaimed for her contemporary depictions, Kuhn is considered a leading artist in the world of figurative discourse. Throughout a career spanning more than twenty years, the underlying theme of her work is her reflection on humanity’s longing for spiritual connection and solidarity. As she solidified her photographic style, Kuhn created a notable approach to the nude by developing friendships with her subjects, and employing a range of playful visual strategies that use natural light and minimalist settings to evoke a sublime sense of comfort between the human figure and its environment. Her work is natural, restful, and a reinterpretation of the nude in the canon of contemporary art. For the past two decades, the Los-Angeles based artist's works have been shown steadily, revealing an astonishing consistency in technique, of subject and of purpose. In 2001, Kuhn’s photographs were first seen by an influential audience during the exhibition at Charles Cowles Gallery in Chelsea, New York. Kuhn’s distinct aesthetic has propelled her as one of the most collectible contemporary art photographers—her work is in private and public collections worldwide and she is represented by galleries across the United States, Europe and Asia. Kuhn was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1969, of German descent. In 1989, Kuhn moved to the US and earned her BA from The Ohio State University, before furthering her studies at the San Francisco Art Institute. She is currently an independent scholar at The Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. Occasionally, Mona teaches at UCLA and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Mona Kuhn’s first monograph, Photographs, was debuted by Steidl in 2004; followed by Evidence (2007), Native (2010), Bordeaux Series (2011), Private (2014), and She Disappeared into Complete Silence (2018/19). In addition, Kuhn's monograph titled Bushes and Succulents has been published by Stanley/Barker Editions, with a debut at Jeu de Paume in Paris, in 2019. A stunning career retrospective of Mona Kuhn's works has been published by Thames & Hudson, Spring 2021. Kuhn's forthcoming publication Kings Road, will be published and released by Steid this Fall 2021. Mona Kuhn’s work is in private and public collections worldwide, including The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Hammer Museum, Perez Art Museum Miami, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Kiyosato Museum in Japan. Kuhn's work has been exhibited at The Louvre Museum and Le Bal in Paris; The Whitechapel Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts in London; Musée de l’Elysée in Switzerland; Leopold Museum in Vienna Austria, The Polygon Gallery in Vancouver Canada, Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan and Australian Centre for Photography. Mona Kuhn lives and works in Los Angeles. __________________ Solo Exhibitions 2021 Mona Kuhn: Works, Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York Mona Kuhn: Works, Flowers Gallery, London Mona Kuhn: Works, Galerie XII, Los Angeles + Paris + Shanghai Mona Kuhn: 835 Kings Road, Art, Design and Architecture Museum, Santa Barbara 2020 Still Light, Jardin du Bra'haus, Montée du Château, Clervaux, Luxembourg Mona Kuhn: Early Depictions, Flowers Gallery, London Mona Kuhn: Intimate, UP Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan 2019 Bushes and Succulents, Euqinom Gallery, San Francisco Mona Kuhn: She Disappeared, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta Mona Kuhn: Experimental, Fruit Factory, Durham Triangle, North Carolina 2018 Mona Kuhn: New Works, Part II, Galerie Catherine Hug, Paris, France 2017 Mona Kuhn: The First Chapter, Euqinom Projects, San Francisco, California 2016 Mona Kuhn: New Works, Galerie Catherine Hug, Paris, France Acido Dorado, Galeria Pilar Serra, Madrid, Spain Mona Kuhn: New Works, Euqinom Gallery, San Francisco, California 2015 Private, Ravestijn Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Private, Galerie Ernst Hilger, Vienna, Austria 2014 Acido Dorado, Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York Acido Dorado, Flowers Gallery, London, UK Private, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia 2012 Bordeaux Series, Galerie Particuliere, Paris, France Native, Galeria Pilar Serra, Madrid, Spain Bordeaux Series, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia Bordeaux, Flowers Gallery, New York Native, Brancolini Grimaldi, Florence, Italy 2011 Bordeaux, Flowers Gallery, London, UK 2010 Native, Flowers Gallery, London, UK Native, Flowers Gallery, New York 2009 Native, M+B Gallery, Los Angeles, California Native, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia 2008 Evidence, Jarach Gallery, Venice, Italy 2007 Evidence, Scott Nichols Gallery, San Francisco, California Evidence, Charles Cowles Gallery, New York Mona Kuhn, Estiarte Gallery, Madrid, Spain Evidence, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia Less Than Innocent, M+B Gallery, Los Angeles, California 2005 Mona Kuhn – Recent Color Work, Charles Cowles Gallery, New York Mona Kuhn-Close, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia Unbounded Youth, Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, California 2004 Mona Kuhn-Color, Camerawork, Berlin, Germany New Work, G. Gibson Gallery, Seattle, Washington Corporeal Space, Galerie F5.6, Munique, Germany Mona Kuhn - Color Photographs, Scott Nichols Gallery, San Francisco, California Still Memory, PhotoEye...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$20,400
H 59.5 in W 41.75 in D 2 in
Warhol's America Black and White Print (1982), 2020
By Christopher Makos
Located in New York, NY
The 'Andy Warhol American Flag' is an archival pigment black and white photographic print on paper, an exclusive photograph of the beloved pop-art icon Andy Warhol, created by Christ...
Archival Paper
"Jassara – Rue Aubriot, Paris, 1977" exhibition poster
By Helmut Newton
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Helmut Newton (1920-2004) was one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century, known for redefining the way women were portrayed in the fashion industry. Born in 1920 in Ber...
Lithograph, Offset
$5,000
H 27 in W 22.5 in D 2 in
Archival Photographic Print 'Portrait of Andy Warhol', 1985/2025
By Andrew Unangst
Located in New York, NY
The archival ‘Portrait of Andy Warhol’ in black and white is a photographic pop-art print. This print is an edition of 50 and the photo was taken in 1985 by photographer Andrew Unang...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper
Going Home
By Earlie Hudnall Jr.
Located in Denton, TX
Gelatin silver print Paper size: 20 x 16 in., Image size: 18 3/4 x 15 in. Signed, titled, and dated by Earlie Hudnall, Jr. Earlie Hudnall, who is one of the most notable African Ame...
Silver Gelatin
Mind Screen (Last Picture Show)
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Mind Screen (Last Picture Show), 2005, Edition 2/10, digital C-Print based on a Polaroid, Certificate and Signature label included artist Inventory Nr. 1043.11 not mounted LIFE’...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
$9,500
H 8 in W 10 in
Taos Pueblo, New Mexico Silver Gelatin Print, American Modern, 1933
By Edward Weston
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Taos Pueblo, New Mexico (square hole) Gelatin silver print, 1933, printed 1953 A lifetime printing by Brett Weston, supervised by his father Edward Edition of 5 or 6 examples Provena...
Silver Gelatin
Nude Floating (Charis in Pool)
By Edward Weston
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This silver gelatin print made by Edward Weston's son, Cole, in the 1970s or '80s is titled, numbered, stamped and signed by Cole Weston on the back of the mount.
Silver Gelatin
Nude Model
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This work is unique. Stamped twice on the reverse by both The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Art...
Silver Gelatin
Sold
H 7.01 in W 5.6 in
Twentysix Gasoline Stations, Pop Art, Conceptual Art, 20th Century
By Ed Ruscha
Located in Hamburg, DE
Ed Ruscha (American, b.1937) Twentysix Gasoline Stations, 1963/1969 Medium: Artist’s book (48 pages) Dimensions: 17.8 x 14.2 cm Third edition (1969): 3000 unnumbered copies Publisher...
Paper