Description: Artist: JOHN ALTOON ((American, 1925 - 1969)Title: "United - from About Women Suite" 1966Medium: Original Color Lithograph handprinted from aluminum plates and stonesSignature: Hand-Signed and Numbered by the Artist in graphiteEdition: Limited Edition of 100 impressions; this one annotated as Color State Proof "B" in graphite, making it quite Rare, and maybe unique [note-last photo from another impression] Size: @ 19 x 19 inches (sheet)Printer: Ken Tyler, Tamarind - trained master printerPublisher: Gemini Ltd., later to become Gemini G.E.L., Los AngelesReference: John Altoon: Drawings and Prints by Walter Hopps and Elke Solomon (1071); John Altoon by Peter Selz; L.A. Raw: Abject Expressionism in Los Angeles, 1945-1980: From Rico Lebrun to John Altoon to Paul McCarthy by Michael Duncan and Peter Selz; John Altoon: Works on Paper by Gerald R (1984); The Astonishing Works of John Altoon by Tim Nye and Robert Creeley (2014).Notes: Inspired by Robert Creeley’s poems, this livre d’artiste was created by John Altoon soon after the establishment of Gemini Ltd. by Tamarind-trained master printer Ken Tyler. Altoon lived next door to the newly founded workshop at 8221 Melrose Avenue, and Tyler recalled that making the book had been “absolute heaven,” since both artist and printer wanted only the other’s happiness. Altoon included 10 lithographs to three poems by Creeley (“Anger,” “The Woman” and “Distance”), relaying the artist’s trademark fluidity of line and application of pastel colors. Indeed, the portfolio reflects the continuation of Altoon’s interest in the expressive potential of gestural imagery. Here he draws on the intense emotional range that permeates all relationships, as explored in Creeley’s verse.More About the Portfolio: A handmade book containing ten color lithographs by John Altoon and three poems by Robert Creeley, plus title and colophon pages. Two of the lithographs measure 19 x 38 inches; the remaining eight lithographs and the seven letterpress leaves are 19 x 19 inches. All lithographs were handprinted from aluminum plates and stones in the studios of the publisher, Gemini Ltd, Los Angeles, from September 1965 to February 1966. Project supervision, technical processing and printing by Master Printer Kenneth Tyler, assisted by Master Printer Bernard Bleha and Printers Herber Fox and George Page. Documentation by Ann Page and Kay Tyler. The numbered edition is limited to 100 volumes (1-10 contain one original drawing each) plus several volumes consisting of trial and artist proofs recorded in detail at Gemini Ltd. All plates have been effaced and one cancellation proof has been pulled on each print. All prints are on Rives BFK paper; letterpress on Arches paper. All prints bear the artist’s signature and the publisher’s chop. Inks were supplied by General Printing Ink Corporation, Sinclair & Valentine Company, and Handschy Chemical Company. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Lithoplate, Inc. subsidiary of Harris Intertype, Inc. for research assistance on plates and chemicals. Typography and letterpress by the Plantin Press, Los Angeles. Bookbinding by the Schuberth Bookbindery, San Francisco. This is volume numberProvenance: Bernard Lewin Collection; Hatay Stratton Fine ArtAbout the Artist: John Altoon (Important American Artist, 1925 - 1969) was a central figure in the Ferus Gallery, a larger-than-life linchpin of the burgeoning Los Angeles art world, a figure who exemplified what an artist should be. Peter Plagens said that Altoon "could make Gorky look clumsy" and Monte Factor described him as "a marvelous human being who occasionally scared the shit out of everybody." John Altoon holds a special place in the collections around Southern California, representing a lost genius with a deeply personal impact on the artists of this coast. In June 2014 the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will mount a retrospective of his work, curated by Carol Eliel. John Altoon died in 1969 of heart failure.
Price: 700 USD
Location: Indio, California
End Time: 2025-01-21T17:07:47.000Z
Shipping Cost: 28.95 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Size: Medium (up to 36in.)
Color: Multi-Color
Original/Reproduction: Original Print
Type: S/N Limited Edition Print
Signed: Signed - Each Work is SIGNED IN PENCIL
Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
Unit of Sale: Single-Piece Work
Artist: JOHN ALTOON (American, 1925 - 1969)
Production Technique: Lithograph
Style: Abstract Expressionism, Abstract
Material: Original Color LithographS
Theme: Art
Time Period Produced: 1960-1969
Features: Printed by Ken Tyler, Tamarind-Trained Printer, Published by Gemini Ltd., Gemini G.E.L., With their respective Chop Marks, Signed, Limited Edition; Rare Color Proof, Limited Edition, Numbered
Subject: Abstract, Landscape, Women
Year of Production: 1965-1966
Width (Inches): @19
Edition Size: 100
Listed By: Dealer or Reseller
Height (Inches): @19
Print Surface: Arches Wove Paper
Print Type: Original COLOR LITHOGRAPHS
Date of Creation: 1950-1969
Edition Type: Limited Edition
