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Larry Rivers Prints and Multiples

American, 1923-2002

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)

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Period: 1960s
Artist: Larry Rivers
At The Dwan Gallery: Historic exhibition poster (Hand Signed by Larry Rivers)
By Larry Rivers
Located in New York, NY
Larry Rivers At The Dwan Gallery: Rivers Small Recent Work (Hand Signed), 1965 Silkscreen on wove paper Hand signed and dated "Rivers, 1965" in graphite pencil lower right front Fram...
Category

1960s Pop Art Larry Rivers Prints and Multiples

Materials

Screen, Pencil

Downtown Lion (1st State)
By Larry Rivers
Located in New York, NY
Larry Rivers Downtown Lion (1st State), 1967 Etching on wove paper, signed, inscribed and dated with blind stamps Signed, dated and inscribed in graphite; Printers Proof aside from ...
Category

1960s Pop Art Larry Rivers Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

Tanfastic, Framed Lithograph on Plexiglass by Larry Rivers
By Larry Rivers
Located in Long Island City, NY
A challenging piece by American Pop artist Larry Rivers. This collage-style print centers on the duality of colorism, particularly in the US. White people are encouraged to use produ...
Category

1960s Pop Art Larry Rivers Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph, Plexiglass

Lucky Strike In The Mirror (Lucky Strike I)
By Larry Rivers
Located in New York, NY
Lucky Strike In The Mirror (Lucky Strike I), 1961 Lithograph on paper 30 x 22 1/4” Edition of 20
Category

1960s Larry Rivers Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Purim
By Larry Rivers
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this scarce, early color lithograph with additions in pencil and crayon on Auvergne à la main (Richard de bas) ivory laid paper. Signed, dated and numbered 15/45 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Robert Blackburn...
Category

1960s Pop Art Larry Rivers Prints and Multiples

Materials

Crayon, Pencil, Color, Lithograph

Original Vintage Pop Art 1965 Collage Lithograph Larry Rivers Poster Brandeis
By Larry Rivers
Located in Surfside, FL
Larry Rivers Modernist mixed media "Brandeis Show Collage" work on cut paper. (this appears to be a vintage lithograph. It has a label that describes it as watercolor and charcoal on back. It is definitley hand cut.) Signed in several areas and stencilled across center. Work measures approx. 34 3/4" height x 20 3/4" width. Frame measures approx. 38 3/8" height x 26 1/4" width overall including frame. Silver paint loss on frame. Larry Rivers (born Yitzroch Loiza Grossberg) (1923 – 2002) was an American artist, musician, filmmaker, and occasional actor. Considered by many scholars to be the "Godfather" and "Grandfather" of Pop art, he was one of the first artists to merge non-objective, non-narrative art with narrative and objective abstraction. Rivers took up painting in 1945 and studied at the Hans Hofmann School from 1947–48. He earned a BA in art education from New York University in 1951. His work was quickly acquired by the Museum of Modern Art. A 1953 painting Washington Crossing the Delaware was damaged in fire at the museum five years later. He was a pop artist of the New York School, reproducing everyday objects of American popular culture as art. He was one of eleven New York artists featured in the opening exhibition at the Terrain Gallery in 1955 along with Paul Mommer, Leonard Baskin, Peter Grippe During the early 1960s Rivers lived in the Hotel Chelsea, notable for its artistic residents such as Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Arthur C. Clarke, Dylan Thomas, Sid Vicious and multiple people associated with Andy Warhol Factory and where he brought several of his French nouveau réalistes friends like Yves Klein who wrote there in April 1961 his Manifeste de l'hôtel Chelsea, Arman, Martial Raysse, Jean Tinguely, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Christo & Jean Claude, Daniel Spoerri or Alain Jacquet, several of whom, like Rivers, left some pieces of art in the lobby of the hotel for payment of their rooms. In 1965, Rivers had his first comprehensive retrospective in five important American museums. His final work for the exhibition was The History of the Russian Revolution, which was later on extended permanent display at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC. He spent 1967 in London collaborating with the American painter Howard Kanovitz. In 1968, Rivers traveled to Africa for a second time with Pierre Dominique Gaisseau to finish their documentary Africa and I, which was a part of the groundbreaking NBC series Experiments in Television. During this trip they narrowly escaped execution as suspected mercenaries. During the 1970s, Rivers worked closely with Diana Molinari and Michel Auder on many video tape projects, including the infamous Tits, and also worked in neon. Rivers's legs appeared in John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1971 film Up Your Legs Forever. From 1940–1945 he worked as a jazz saxophonist in New York City, changing his name to Larry Rivers in 1940 after being introduced as "Larry Rivers and the Mudcats" at a local pub. He studied at the Juilliard School of Music in 1945–46, along with Miles Davis, with whom he remained friends until Davis's death in 1991. Larry Rivers was born in the Bronx to Samuel and Sonya Grossberg, Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. In 1945, he married Augusta Berger, and they had one son, Steven. Rivers also adopted Berger's son from a previous relationship, Joseph, and reared both children after the couple divorced. In 1949 he had his first one-man exhibition at the Jane Street Gallery in New York. This same year, he met and became friends with John Ashbery, and Kenneth Koch. In 1950 he met Frank O’Hara. This same year he took his first trip to Europe spending eight months in Paris, France, reading and writing poetry. Beginning in 1950 and continuing until Frank’s death in July of 1966, Larry Rivers and Frank O’Hara cultivated a uniquely creative friendship that produced numerous collaborations, as well as inspired paintings and poems. In 1951 Rivers’ works were shown at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery where he continued to show annually (except 1955) for about 10 years. In 1954 he had his first exhibition of sculptures at the Stable Gallery, New York. In 1955 The Museum of Modern Art acquired Washington Crossing the Delaware. This same year he won 3rd prize in the Corcoran Gallery national painting competition for “Self-Figure.” Rivers’ also painted “Double Portrait of Berdie” in 1955, which was soon purchased by the Whitney Museum. In 1957 he and Frank O’Hara began work on “Stones,” a collaborative mix of images and poetry in a series of lithograph for Tatyana Grosman’s company ULAE. During this time he also appeared on the television game show “The $64,000.00 Question” where along with another contestant, they both won, each receiving $32,000.00. In 1958 he again spent time in Paris and played in various jazz bands. In 1959 he painted Cedar Bar Menu...
Category

1960s Pop Art Larry Rivers Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Downtown Lion, by Larry Rivers
By Larry Rivers
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Larry Rivers, American (1923 - 2002) Title: Downtown Lion Year: 1967 Medium: Etching on Wove paper, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 3/24 Image Size: 11.5 x 17.5 inches...
Category

1960s Pop Art Larry Rivers Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

Map With Fraser
By Larry Rivers
Located in New York, NY
Larry Rivers Map With Fraser, 1966 screenprint, ed. of 14 25 x 20 1/4 in. (63.5 x 51.4 cm)
Category

1960s Modern Larry Rivers Prints and Multiples

Materials

Screen

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Previously Available Items
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Diane Raised I
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Larry Rivers prints and multiples for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Larry Rivers prints and multiples available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Larry Rivers in lithograph, screen print, offset print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Pop Art style. Not every interior allows for large Larry Rivers prints and multiples, so small editions measuring 9 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Albert Al Hirschfeld, Claes Oldenburg, and Mark Kostabi. Larry Rivers prints and multiples prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $100 and tops out at $8,400, while the average work can sell for $3,500.

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