James Brooks Art

The artist constructs his spirit animal through mixed media. 48" x 60" Spray Paint, Oil, Construction Paper, Acrylic, Pastel, Marker

Shortly before Walt Esslinger died a few years ago, we talked in his small yellow painted studio in Bakersfield. Sixteen years my senior, he’d been my close friend, mentor and running mate since 1960. “You still writing?” he asked. “Yes,” I answered, taking in the space’s renovations he’d recently sub-contracted. Ninety one years old, and he was thinking ahead. “Do me a favor,” he said. “Write the Andy Warhol story.” Walt was a Central Valley guy, an L.A. guy, a Las Vegas guy. A man who knew his way around. “I want you to put on record what happened back then when I bought the soup can painting.” Back then was the fall of 1962. The two of us had been exhibiting our paintings in the L.A. Art Institute’s gallery for locals only. Walt had given legendary Ad Rhinehardt a story about how he and I had been working in both Edward Kienholz’s and John Altoon’s studios (false—we’d only been visiting). One morning, the Institute’s Director, who hadn’t suspected us to be charlatans yet, introduced us to a reed thin, tow headed young man leaning against the main gallery’s wall. “Meet Andy Warhola,” he said. “Andy is from New York.” “Warhol,” the boy/man said. “Painter?” Walt asked him. “Shoe Illustrator.” The director made a snorting noise I took to mean that Warhola or Warhol’s modesty was posed. He mentioned something about Andy having a show on the La Cienega strip of galleries. We exchanged mumbles about how the art world was in flux, nothing more than that, and Walt and I moved on. If this strange cat had anything to look at, we’d see it. It was a Monday, and La Cienega’s twenty some galleries would be opening new shows and serving champagne that evening. North La Cienega Avenue, laid over a network of oil veins decades before, had become the street for the Cool School, a group of artists and gallery people trying to bring Los Angeles’s art scene to life. The galleries were small but proud. Sure, Jazz was born on the Delta and raised in New Orleans, St, Luis and Chicago, but L.A. had fifty-three jazz joints according to Chet Baker, who’d blown with the best. Why then should the West Coast be lagging behind New York in the other truly American expression, abstract art? At the Ferus Gallery that night we found Warhol’s exhibit. “Shit,” I said. Walt grinned. “You no like?” “Not exactly my can of soup,” I said, peeking into the small space, loaded now wall to wall with paintings of Campbell’s Tomato Soup. Walt stepped into the space. “How about the idea of it?” I made my way through spectators looking at once to be confused, amused, enthused and abused. When I came back to Walt he was still smiling. “Why didn’t he silk screen ‘em?” I asked. “That’s probably his next move,” Walt said. “You wanna stay?” Walt’s keen eyes cased the joint. “I see Irving Bloom over there,” he said. “Believe I’ll stick around and talk with him.” Bloom had been operating this popular gallery for some time now. “One hundred a month,” he’d told me. “It’s not like I’m getting rich.” I stood around for a bit, heard a fellow abstract expressionist I’d met tell a young lady who looked to be lost, “Okay that’s the soup. Come with me, baby, and I’ll show you the juice.” Two doors down I stopped at the Primus-Stuart Gallery. A group of people had gathered around a display of soup cans, stacked grocer’s pyramid style in the window. All Campbell’s. All Tomato. A sign leaning against the grouping stated: “Get the real thing. Thirty cents each.” That’s the way it was. Twenty-four galleries forming a gauntlet between La Cienega’s 300 block, all the way up to Barney’s Beanery at the corner of Santa Monica. Hollywood types dressed to the nines, Beats dressed for the times just gone. Champagne popping...

Artist: Walasse Ting (Chinese-American, 1929-2010) Title: "Untitled (Fresh Air School)" Portfolio: Fresh Air School *Unsigned edition Year: 1972 Mediu...

Artist: Joan Mitchell (American, 1925-1992) Title: "Untitled (Fresh Air School)" Portfolio: Fresh Air School *Unsigned edition Year: 1972 Medium: Orig...

Zao Wou-ki - Original Lithograph 1962 From La tentation de l’Occident Dimensions: 39 x 28.5 cm Publisher: Les Bibliophiles Comtois Edition of 170 Reference: Jørgen Ågerup 137 - 146...

James Rosenquist (1933-2017) "Color of Mind and Muscle" Screenprint in colors on wove paper, 1996 31-1/2 x 25-3/4 inches (80 x 65.4 cm) (sheet) A.P. 7/10 edition of 30 Signed, numb...

Edition of 150 104.1 x 71.7 cms (41 x 28 1/4 ins)

Untitled (orange) 1980 screenprint by Richard Hunt measuring 22 by 30 inches. This example is designated 41 from an edition of 80. The work is professionally matted.

Frank Stella The Whale Watch Shawl (signed in indelible black marker), held in red silk presentation box; also with embossed COA hand signed by both Frank Stella and Kenneth Tyler, 1994 LARGE: (54 Sq inches) Silkscreen on 100% Italian Silk Shawl, hand signed by Frank Stella in indelible black marker, folded in Red Silk Box with Embossed Certificate of Authenticity (Brand New in Original Red Silk Box) - embossed COA is Hand Signed by Frank Stella and Kenneth Tyler Hand Signed and dated by Frank Stella on recto; signed by BOTH Stella & publisher Kenneth Tyler, and numbered on accompanying embossed COA 54 × 54 inches Unframed and held in original red Italian silk gift box Makes a terrific gift! Stunningly large -- 54 Square Inches. This work looks dazzling framed and hung on the wall -- but as it is a signed silkscreen on silk, but it can also be worn as a gorgeous and exclusive artistic fashion statement. Who else is wearing a Frank Stella scarf...

Untitled is an offset and lithograph print realized on Fabriano Paper after a drawing by Willem De Kooning of 1958. Signed o the plate on the lower. The print suite was realized i...

Untitled is an offset and lithograph print realized on Fabriano Paper after a drawing by Willem De Kooning of 1950. The print suite was realized in 1985 in a limited edition of 2500...

Woman is an offset and lithograph print realized on Fabriano Paper after a drawing by Willem De Kooning of 1952. Signed o the plate on the lower. The print suite was realized in a...