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Ronald Brooks KitajSome do not (A) R.B. Kitaj erotic nude drawing of nude blonde with man on bed1975
1975
About the Item
An erotic dalliance between a nude blonde woman lying down, and nude man, on a bed with white sheets. Subtle shades of peach, tan, yellow, and grey and black shadow behind the couple. Kitaj's elegant drawing tempers this shocking scene. Edgy addition to a contemporary, minimalist, or modern bedroom or living space.
Paper 29 x 20.5 in. / 74.2 x 52.7 cm
Lithograph on RK Burt white mould-made paper. Edition of 50. Signed by the artist and numbered lower right in pencil.
While the title states that "Some do not", some do -- and here, two lovers heighten their intimacy with a taboo sexual act. With her head to the bedding, a woman with sunny blonde hair exposes herself to a man who grasps her thighs from behind. A moody, shadowed background sets off the pair, dappled in soft black speckles. Translucent hues of yellow, cream, and flesh set off Kitaj's characteristic fine line work. The delicacy of this mark-making lends softness and intimacy to an otherwise graphic tryst.
Known for his expressive style and charged imagery, Kitaj went against the grain of abstraction during his career, producing nuanced figurative work. This erotic scene displays Kitaj’s ability to evoke drama with dramatic shadow, and gem-like color. Some do Not is an example of Kitaj's interest in playful, sensual compositions that were equally inspired by art history and popular culture. In the 1970s, Kitaj went to the Petit Palais in Paris where he fell in love with a nude drawing by Edgar Degas. Kitaj was fascinated by the demimonde -- women of ill repute who were often subjects of 19th century artists such as Degas.
A close friend of fellow Petersburg Press collaborator David Hockney, Kitaj was known as an expressive, superlative draftsman. Art critic Robert Hughes famously wrote of Kitaj in TIME magazine that “he draws better than almost anyone else alive.”
A copy of this print is in the collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; and the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
Catalogue reference:
Jane Kinsman, The Prints of R.B. Kitaj, Scolar Press in association with the National Gallery of Australia 1994, no. 86
- Creator:Ronald Brooks Kitaj (1932-2007, American)
- Creation Year:1975
- Dimensions:Height: 20.75 in (52.71 cm)Width: 29 in (73.66 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:This print is not pre-owned and has been stored in the archives of the publisher since its publication.
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1211213300562
Ronald Brooks Kitaj
Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1932, R.B. (Ronald Brooks) Kitaj is considered a key figure in European and American contemporary painting. While his work has been considered controversial, he is regarded as a master draftsman with a commitment to figurative art. His highly personal paintings and drawings reflect his deep interest in history; cultural, social and political ideologies; and issues of identity. Among his various honors are election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1982, and election to the Royal Academy in 1985 (the first American since John Singer Sargent to receive this honor.) Numerous retrospective exhibitions of his work include shows at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C.; The Jewish Museum, Berlin; The Jewish Museum, London; and the Hamburger Kunsthalle in Germany. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and Troy, New York, Kitaj joined the Merchant Marines in 1949.
In 1950, between sailings, he attended classes at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York. He went on to study drawing at the Academy of Fine Art in Vienna, Austria. Kitaj moved to Oxford, England in 1957, and enrolled at The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, University of Oxford. In 1959, Kitaj was accepted into Royal College of Art, London, where he befriended classmate David Hockney. Upon graduation from the RCA, Kitaj signed with Marlborough Fine Art, London, where he had his first solo exhibition in 1963. His art career began in earnest, and he found critical acclaim alongside commercial success. A second solo show followed at Marlborough Gallery, New York, in 1965, and he sold “The Ohio Gang” to The Museum of Modern Art. In 1969, Kitaj taught for a year at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1976, he coined the term “School of London” in an essay he wrote as curator of the polemical exhibition, “The Human Clay,” at the Hayward Gallery, London. The term, though loose, continues to define a group of stylistically diverse artists, including Kitaj, who were working in London at that time focusing on figural representation. In 1981, he spent a year in Paris, France, where he focused on drawing and use of pastel. In 1994, the Tate Gallery, London, organized a major retrospective of Kitaj’s work. Hostile and personal attacks from some critics led to what Kitaj referred to as the “Tate War.” The exhibition subsequently traveled to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Kitaj moved to Los Angeles, California, and continued to exhibit with Marlborough Fine Art and the Marlborough Gallery, New York. In 2001 the National Gallery London organized a solo exhibition of paintings: “R.B. Kitaj In the Aura of Cezanne and Other Masters.” Kitaj focused on his “late style” in his Yellow Studio in Westwood and died in 2007. His gift of his archive to the UCLA Library Special Collections was celebrated with exhibitions at the Skirball Cultural Center and UCLA’s Young Research Library.
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