Red Grooms

American, b. 1937

Charles Roger Grooms was born in 1937 in Nashville, Tennessee, a city that, with its lively honky-tonk scene and the theatricality of the historic Grand Ole Opry, would later influence much of his work. Nicknamed for his ginger hair, Red enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1955. A self-proclaimed “restless and undisciplined student,” Grooms spent the next few years moving between schools and cities, including the New School in New York, Peabody College (now part of Vanderbilt University) in Nashville, and Hans Hofmann’s summer school in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Frustrated with the academic track and anxious to enter the New York art scene, Grooms abandoned formal education to focus exclusively on creating art and securing exhibition opportunities in his Chelsea neighborhood. There, he found quick success and a supportive circle of artists that became close friends and collaborators. From the start of his career, Grooms has worked in multiple media, from painting, printmaking, and sculpture, to installation art, filmmaking, and theatrical experiences known as “Happenings.” Much of his art blurs the boundaries between these different forms, such as his large-scale, carefully-crafted environments he calls “sculpto-pictoramas,” and smaller objects like Dalí Salad. In this example, Grooms combines silkscreened and lithographic elements with a wooden base and acrylic dome to create a three-dimensional portrait of the famous Surrealist artist. Grooms is perhaps best known for his colorful and comedic commentary on the culture, politics, and figures associated with the American urban environment and art historical traditions. Relying on satire and caricature, Grooms’ art has paid homage to a wide range of artists including Rembrandt, Auguste Rodin, Thomas Eakins, and Benjamin West, as well as national icons like Thomas Jefferson and Chuck Berry. Grooms’ disparate output is so difficult to classify that he has been compared to the influential Dada artist, Marcel Duchamp. Like Duchamp, Grooms often deliberately confronts the art world establishment, noting in 1974 that “it’s good to have . . . something to go against.” Despite his affinity for defying the mainstream, Grooms is routinely cited by scholars as one of the leading American artists of his generation and was honored with the National Academy of Design’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. The subject of a 1984 mid-career retrospective exhibition held at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the artist’s work can be found in public collections across the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, as well as in many international museums. - The Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, South Carolina

Average Sold Price

$4,244

Styles

Materials

Related Artists

Red GroomsRed Grooms - Mr. Chuck Berry - Silkscreen with 3-D collage on paper, signed/n, 1978

$2,500

H 38 in W 31 in D 1.25 in

Red Grooms - Mr. Chuck Berry - Silkscreen with 3-D collage on paper, signed/n

By Red Grooms

Located in New York, NY

Red Grooms Mr. Chuck Berry, 1978 Original silkscreen in colors with 3D construction and die-cut collage on paper Signed and numbered 9/25 AP in graphite pencil on the front Pencil si...

Category

1970s Pop Art Red Grooms

Materials

Mixed Media, Laid Paper, Screen

Red GroomsRed Grooms Grand Central Terminal (signed and inscribed to famed estate atty), 1993

$1,800

H 35.5 in W 26.5 in D 1.25 in

Red Grooms Grand Central Terminal (signed and inscribed to famed estate atty)

By Red Grooms

Located in New York, NY

Red Grooms Grand Central Terminal (signed and inscribed to renowned attorney), 1993 Offset lithograph poster (signed and inscribed in marker to Herbert Nass) Signed, inscribed to Her...

Category

1990s Pop Art Red Grooms

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

Red GroomsSaskia Down the Metro, Pop Art Screenprint by Red Grooms, 1983

$4,500

H 29.5 in W 36 in

Saskia Down the Metro, Pop Art Screenprint by Red Grooms

By Red Grooms

Located in Long Island City, NY

This print by Red Grooms is part of an 8-piece portfolio published by The New York Graphic Society in 1983 and includes works from Red Grooms, Robert Indiana, Alex Katz, R.B. Kitaj, ...

Category

1980s Pop Art Red Grooms

Materials

Screen

Red GroomsRed's Roxy, 1985

$2,800

H 8.25 in W 6.5 in D 11.75 in

Red's Roxy

By Red Grooms

Located in New York, NY

Complete with moving film strip (operated by crank handle and viewable through the tiny theatre windows), Red’s Roxy is one of the most fun and clever of the artist’s three-dimension...

Category

Late 20th Century Pop Art Red Grooms

Materials

Lithograph

Red GroomsMr. Chuck Berry, Pop Art Print by Red Grooms, 1978

$2,850

H 40 in W 32.5 in

Mr. Chuck Berry, Pop Art Print by Red Grooms

By Red Grooms

Located in Long Island City, NY

Mr. Chuck Berry by Red Grooms, American (1937) Date: 1978 Screenprint with 3-D "Dancer", signed and numbered in pencil Edition of 127/150 Image Size: 24 x 18.25 inches Size: 33 x 26 ...

Category

1970s Pop Art Red Grooms

Materials

Screen

Red GroomsBicentennial Bandwagon, Pop Art Lithograph by Red Grooms, 1975

$360Sale Price|20% Off

H 17 in W 20 in

Bicentennial Bandwagon, Pop Art Lithograph by Red Grooms

By Red Grooms

Located in Long Island City, NY

Bicentennial Bandwagon by Red Grooms, American (1937) Date: 1975 Offset Lithograph (unsigned as issued) Image Size: 10 x 13 inches Size: 14 in. x 17 in. (35.56 cm x 43.18 cm) Frame S...

Category

1970s Pop Art Red Grooms

Materials

Offset

Red GroomsHuge Red Grooms Monotype Oil Painting LA Hollywood Circus Film Cartoon Pop Art, 2006

$9,500

H 30 in W 133.5 in

Huge Red Grooms Monotype Oil Painting LA Hollywood Circus Film Cartoon Pop Art

By Red Grooms

Located in Surfside, FL

Red Grooms (American, b. 1937). Keystone Kops to the Rescue III. 2006. Triptych color monotype created by the artist with lithographic ink on plexiglass plates, and then hand-color...

Category

Early 2000s Pop Art Red Grooms

Materials

Monoprint, Monotype

Red GroomsRed Grooms, Unique drawing of Provincetown Mass. beach, Pop Art Signed, framed, 1966

$7,000

H 20 in W 26 in D 0.5 in

Red Grooms, Unique drawing of Provincetown Mass. beach, Pop Art Signed, framed

By Red Grooms

Located in New York, NY

RED GROOMS (Untitled), for Alice + Bo, Provincetown 1966 Original ink drawing on paper Signed, inscribed and dated with a dateline of Provincetown on recto. Vintage frame included Th...

Category

1960s Pop Art Red Grooms

Materials

Ink

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Red Grooms Sale Prices

Sold Date

Sold Price

Category

Medium

Creation Year

2026	$1,000	Prints and Multiples	Etching	2008
2025	$800	More Prints	Lithograph	1994
2025	$1,700	Portrait Prints	Monoprint	2008
2025	$12,000	More Prints	Lithograph	1982
2025	$3,400	Landscape Prints, Figurative Prints	Paper, Lithograph	1983
2025	$900	More Prints	Lithograph	1994
2025	$800	Figurative Prints, More Prints	Lithograph	1997
2025	$8,000	Figurative Sculptures, Abstract Sculptures	Lucite, Paper, Mixed Media, Screen Print	2003
2025	$9,600	Figurative Sculptures	Lithograph	1983

$4,244

Average sold price of items in the past 12 months

$800-$12,000

Sold price range of items in the past 12 months

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Red Grooms’s 3D Tugboat Is a Chaotic, Comic Take on New York Life

The sculptural lithograph is part of the inimitable artist’s “Ruckus” series, now on view at the Brooklyn Museum.

Red Grooms art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Red Grooms art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue, pink, red and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Red Grooms in lithograph, etching, monotype and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Red Grooms art, so small editions measuring 4 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Ed Ruscha, James Rosenquist, and Jim Dine. Red Grooms art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $200 and tops out at $25,000, while the average work can sell for $2,800.

Questions About Red Grooms

What are some interesting facts about Red Grooms?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertJune 6, 2024
Here are some interesting facts about Red Grooms: His given name is Charles Rogers Grooms, but he began going by his nickname after a gallery owner started calling him "Red" due to the vibrant color of his ginger hair. He was born in Nashville, Tennessee, but has lived in New York City for more than 40 years. While still a student, Grooms struggled to find an academic program that was the right fit and switched schools a few times, attending the New School in New York, Peabody College in Nashville and a summer school run by Hans Hofmann in Provincetown, Massachusetts. He is well known for his large “sculpto-pictogramas,” which combine elements of painting and sculpture. The National Academy of Design presented Grooms with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. On 1stDibs, shop a range of Red Grooms art.
What kind of art was Red Grooms known for?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
Red Grooms, an American painter and sculptor, is best known for his life-size Pop art, which are known as “sculpto-pictoramas.” Ruckus Manhattan is the most famous of these, created by Grooms in 1975 with help from his assistants. It includes a model of the World Trade Center that’s 30 feet tall, a swaying Brooklyn Bridge, and a 15-foot-tall Statue of Liberty. On 1stDibs, shop a selection of Red Grooms artwork from top sellers worldwide.