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Mel Ramos
Señorita Rio, from the Deluxe signed edition of 1 Cent Life Portfolio (85/100)

1963

About the Item

MEL RAMOS Señorita Rio, from the Deluxe signed edition of 1 Cent Life (Artists & Collaborators), 1963 Color lithograph on wove paper Hand signed and dated on the lower right front; print numbered on the colophon page a copy of which is affixed to the back of the frame (see photo) Edition 85/100 Published by E.W. Kornfeld, Germany, Written by Walasse Ting, Edited by Sam Francis Framed: Elegantly floated and framed in a museum quality wood frame with UV plexiglass Provenance: Acquired from original, complete 1 Cent Life Portfolio, # 85/100 (Artists & Collaborators) from the Estate and Collection of Robert Indiana This original lithograph, splayed across two pages, is from the Deluxe edition of the legendary 1 Cent Life Portfolio, one of the most documented and celebrated artistic collaborations of the 1960s. Chinese American artist and writer Walasse Ting, in collaboration with Sam Francis, assembled a group of the most significant Pop and Abstract Expressionist artists in America, including Pop Artist Mel Ramos, along with the European COBRA artist to create the definitive artistic portfolio, with text by Walasse Ting. The Deluxe edition, which features hand signed prints was published in a limited edition of only 100. This is one of them. Of the 100, editions numbered 60-100, or 40 portfolios, were reserved exclusively for Artists & Collaborators. This hand signed Mel Ramos lithograph is from the portfolio numbered 85 (Artists & Collaborators), which was acquired from the Estate and Collection of Robert Indiana, one of the artists who contribute to the 1 Cent Life portfolio. The racy text to the right of the print -- an anti-Corporate American screed, was written by Walasse Ting. It is elegantly floated and framed in. amuseum frame with UV plexiglass. Signed examples of this portfolio with such superb provenance rarely appear on the marketplace. This is a true collectors item, from the most desirable and influential era in Pop Art history. Mel Ramos became famous for his ironic portraits of pin ups and how they are used in American advertising. (see detailed biography below). The poem called America to the right of the lithograph, entitled "America" was written by Chinese born artist Walasse Ting, and matches the image perfectly, as it's also a commentary on American commercial culture. The poem begins: Brain made by IBM & FBI stomach supported by A & P and Horn & Hardart love supported by Time & Life tongue supported by American Telephone & Telegraph soul made by 7up skin start with Max Factor heart red as U.S. Steel Measurements: Framed 19 inches vertical by 26 inches by 2 inches Lithograph 16 inches vertical by 22.5 inches More about the Signed (Deluxe) Edition of 1 Cent Life portfolio In 1962, the Chinese-American artist Walasse Ting shared his dream project with painter Sam Francis: to create an anthology of his poetry illustrated by leading artists of their time. Over the next two years, Ting and Francis recruited leading Abstract Expressionists and Pop artists—Andy Warhol, Joan Mitchell, Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Indiana, James Rosenquist, Mel Ramos, Claes Oldenburg and Roy Lichtenstein, among them, along with the European COBRA artists, like Asger Jorn, Karel Appel and Pierre Alechinsky —to create prints for their collaborative publication, which they playfully titled 1¢ Life. Published in 1964 by E. W. Kornfeld in Switzerland in an edition of 2,000 books, 1¢ Life features 62 color lithographs by a total of 28 iconic artists, including colorful lips by Warhol, abstract splatters by Mitchell, and cartoon girls by Lichtenstein. The accompanying many of these Pop Art prints are the poems of Walasse Ting - racy and avant garde for the early 1960s. The lithography was executed by Maurice Beaudet, of Paris. Complete examples of 1¢ Life can be found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum and many other public and private institutions around the globe. Today, 1 Cent Life is considered one of the best artist's books ever created- coming out of one of the most influential decades in modern art. Apart from the familiar regular edition of 2000, only 100 of these lithographic portfolios were hand signed by the artists (the Robert Indiana being stamped with his official stamp), and of those only 40 were reserved for Artists and Collaborators, numbered 60 through 100. (The present work, being # 85/100) Most lithographs are printed on two separate pages. This famed portfolio was produced and assembled by Chinese-American-European artist Walasse Ting in conjunction with American artist Sam Francis, Swiss publisher E.W. Kornfeld, and French printer Maurice Beaudet - a truly global endeavor. The portfolio, featuring some of the most recognizable lithographs of the era, was the result of an unprecedented, ambitious international collaboration between American Pop Artists of the Sixties and the European COBRA artists. About Mel Ramos Mel Ramos was an American figurative painter and is considered an important proponent of the Pop art movement. His paintings, often depicting nude women, were a satire on how women’s bodies were used by mainstream advertising to sell products to male audiences. After receiving his MFA from Sacramento State University in 1958, Ramos worked closely with his mentor Wayne Thiebaud. He took interest in material advertising culture and pin-up models as elements of the same source. In 1972, he began to recreate historical masterpieces by artists such as Ingres, Manet and Velazquez. Though his masterful and laborious painterly technique was at odds with the methods of Pop, he is widely considered one of its masters, and the trailblazer for Pop art on the West Coast, who also influenced generations of contemporary artists as a tireless educator. In 2011, the Albertina, Vienna held a large retrospective for the painter. Today Ramos’s work is held in numerous collections including the Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna; and the Whitney Museum of Art, New York. Melvin J. Ramos (b. 1935, Sacramento, California; d. 2018, Oakland, California) spent six decades experimenting with Pop imagery and the female form. Internationally acclaimed for his ironic depictions of female nudes that are incongruously coupled with branded objects, Ramos’ work has been exhibited throughout the United States as well as internationally. Evolving from his early Pop portraits of comic book heroines in the 1960s, Ramos’ later series humorously explored the idealization and depiction of the female form in art, fashion and advertising. Ramos’ paintings are in numerous permanent collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art; and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, amongst others.
  • Creator:
    Mel Ramos (1935, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1963
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 19 in (48.26 cm)Width: 26 in (66.04 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Excellent original condition with natural fold down the middle exactly as issued, as this was part of a portfolio (see photo).
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1745213298652
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