Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13

Jasper Johns
Fool's House

1972

About the Item

Jasper Johns Fool's House, 1972 10 color lithograph on Angoumois à la Main handmade paper on a single lithographic stone with an aluminum etching plate Pencil signed and numbered from the limited edition of 67; bears printer and publisher's blind stamp (there were nine artists proofs) Printed and published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, with master printers Serge Lozingot and Kenneth Tyler, with the blind stamp lower right Catalogue Raisonne Ref: Field 154 and Gemini G.E.L. 348 "Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it." - Jasper Johns "Fool's House" is one of the most admired and discussed Jasper Johns prints to emerge from the 1970s. It was based upon his eponymous 1962 painting, which was part of the Castelli Collection and subsequently on longterm loan to the Walker Art Center. (The original painting is 3-D as it features a real old broom with bent bristles mounted on a canvas with gray oil paint and stenciling behind it.) The author of EPPH ("Every Painter Paints Himself: Art Masterpieces Explained") writes of the original 1962 "Fool's House" painting: "The household broom has clearly "painted" a large part of its own canvas as the arc of its brush-stroke, visible on either side of its bristles, makes clear. It is Johns' "paintbrush" even though labeled "broom" in the artist's handwriting near the bottom of its shaft. Below it too are other studio objects - a towel, stretcher and cup - all similarly labeled with arrows pointing to the corresponding object. The labels have generated much discussion about the use of names in art.." The reference in "Fool's House" to Duchamp and the ooncept of the "ready made" is apparent, as here Johns takes the household broom, hangs it in the artist's studio and assigns it a different purpose altogether - one it has already partially fulfilled. (Works like the present one would cause some people to refer to Johns as a Neo-Dadaist, because it bridges the gap between Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. There's also a nod to Surrealism in the composition, with the text labels near the objects recalling Magritte's 1930 "Ceci N'es Pas Une Pipe.") The present work (and of course the original painting) is also explicitly autobiographical, as the "Fool's House" references the artist's studio, where he can commandeer any ordinary household object - like a broom - and, literally and figuratively, incorporate it into the artmaking process. There's also a bit of self-deprecating existential angst, as the artist's paintbrush is replaced by an object used to sweep up the trash, and his studio is a "Fool's House" - because, perhaps, only a fool would be in this line of work. (Remember, the year before Johns' "Fool's House" painting, he created an ironic and cynical send-up of art critics entitled "The Critic Sees" - featuring two myopic eyes.) There is also, paradoxically, a bit of secret swagger in "Fool's House", because Johns might have anticipated that his broom, just like Duchamp's urinal, would be destined to become a masterpiece. The original 1962 painting was a classic example of art about art; A decade later, Jasper Johns' 1972 "Fools House" lithograph is also art about art that is about art - as it re-visits the artist's earlier 3-D painting and translates it into a different medium - a 2D graphic work on paper. While much was changed during the translation of the work into an editioned lithograph, the central composition is preserved, featuring the broom hanging from a hook, and a coffee cup hanging beyond the bounds of the 'canvas' - but in the lithograph, the cup dangles beyond the framed area of the print and onto its margins. "Fool's House" is an important Jasper Johns graphic work that is increasingly scarce as so many other examples are already in the permanent collections of major public and private institutions. Measurements: Framed: 50.5 inches x 36.5 inches x 1.5 inches Artworks: 43 inches x 29.25 inches
  • Creator:
    Jasper Johns (1930, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1972
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 43 in (109.22 cm)Width: 29.25 in (74.3 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Excellent; not examined outside of original vintage frame but appears fine: A superb, richly inked impression with strong colors. Ships framed.
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1745213923572
More From This SellerView All
  • Señorita Rio, from the Deluxe signed edition of 1 Cent Life Portfolio (85/100)
    By Mel Ramos
    Located in New York, NY
    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...
    Category

    1950s Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Pencil

  • EE-NUF! signed & numbered 31/50, anti-Pollution anti Fascism & anti-Trump print
    By Ed Ruscha
    Located in New York, NY
    Ed Ruscha EE-NUF!, 2020 Offset lithograph Hand signed and numbered 31/50 in pencil by Ed Ruscha on the front; accompanied by documentation issued by Gagosian Gallery 23 1/2 × 18 inch...
    Category

    2010s Pop Art Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Offset, Pencil

  • Marilyn Monroe I Love Your Kiss Forever Forever, Deluxe Edition, signed/n 85/100
    By Andy Warhol
    Located in New York, NY
    Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonne Reference: Feldman & Schellmann II.5 Marilyn Monroe I Love Your Kiss Forever Forever, 1964 Color lithograph on two pages wove paper (from the Artists & Collaborators hand signed edition of 1 Cent Life Portfolio, Estate of the artist Robert Indiana) Edition 85/100 Hand signed by Andy Warhol on the front; numbered 85 on the colophon page a copy of which is affixed to the back of the frame Framed: Elegantly floated in a museum quality wood frame with UV plexiglass A copy of the colophon page has been affixed to the back of the frame. This is the first time the work has been removed from the original signed portfolio acquired from the Estate of Robert Indiana, one of the artists in 1 Cent Life. Framed: elegantly floated and framed in a museum quality wood frame with UV plexiglass This iconic 1964 Andy Warhol lithograph, splayed across two separate pages, is from the Deluxe, hand signed edition of only 100 of the legendary 1 Cent Life Portfolio - one of the most important and celebrated artistic collaborations of the 1960s. Provenance is superb as this was part of the complete portfolio acquired from the estate of Pop Artist Robert Indiana. (There was also an unsigned regular edition of 2000) "Marilyn Monroe I Love Your Kiss Forever Forever" is Warhol’s first depiction of Marilyn Monroe. Unlike later portrayals of the classic Hollywood star’s likeness set against vibrant colors, here Warhol has detailed a focused image of Monroe’s most seductive and elusive feature - her lips - set against a stark white backdrop. 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 Andy Warhol, along with the European COBRA artists 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 Andy Warhol lithograph...
    Category

    1960s Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Pencil

  • Shicago Justus (Chicago Justice), Homage to Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers
    Located in New York, NY
    Peter Saul Shicago Justus (Chicago Justice) from Conspiracy: The Artist as Witness, 1971 Lithograph on Arches paper Edition AP (Rare AP, aside from the regular edition of 150) Hand-s...
    Category

    1970s Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Pencil, Lithograph

  • Rolling Collar and Tie (Axsom/Platzker 259) iconic Pop Art lithograph Ed of 52
    By Claes Oldenburg
    Located in New York, NY
    Claes Oldenburg Rolling Collar and Tie (AXSOM/PLATZKER 259), 1995 Color lithograph on rice paper Pencil signed and numbered from the limited edition of only 52 on the front Measureme...
    Category

    1990s Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Pencil

  • Fun Vacation (200, Engberg) (Hand signed 13/16 by Ed Ruscha AND Kenny Scharf)
    Located in New York, NY
    Ed Ruscha and Kenny Scharf Fun Vacation (200, Engberg), 1990 Lithograph in five colors on white Rives BFK paper (hand signed by BOTH Ed Ruscha and Kenny Scharf) 36 × 27 inches Hand-s...
    Category

    1990s Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Pencil, Graphite, Lithograph

You May Also Like
  • Study of Hands
    By Roy Lichtenstein
    Located in New York, NY
    Created in 1981 as an original lithograph with screen-printing, Roy Lichtenstein’s, Study of Hands is hand-signed in pencil, dated and numbered, measuring 31 ¼ x 32 ¾ in. (79.5 x 83....
    Category

    20th Century Pop Art Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Screen

  • 1971 Modernist Lithograph Redhead Pop Art Mod Fashionable Woman Richard Lindner
    By Richard Lindner
    Located in Surfside, FL
    RICHARD LINDNER (American. 1901-1978) Hand Signed limited edition lithograph with blindstamp Publisher: Shorewood-Bank Street Atelier for the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture 29.25 X 22 inches Richard Lindner was born in Hamburg, Germany. In 1905 the family moved to Nuremberg, where Lindner's mother was owner of a custom-fitting corset business and Richard Lindner grew up and studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule (Arts and Crafts School since 1940 Academy of Fine Arts). From 1924 to 1927 he lived in Munich and studied there from 1925 at the Kunstakademie. In 1927 he moved to Berlin and stayed there until 1928, when he returned to Munich to become art director of a publishing firm. He remained there until 1933, when he was forced to flee to Paris, where he became politically engaged, sought contact with French artists and earned his living as a commercial artist. He was interned when the war broke out in 1939 and later served in the French Army. In 1941 he went to the United States and worked in New York City as an illustrator of books and magazines (Vogue, Fortune and Harper's Bazaar). He began painting seriously in 1952, holding his first one-man exhibit in 1954. His style blends a mechanistic cubism with personal images and haunting symbolism. LIndner maintained contact with the emigre community including New York artists and German emigrants (Albert Einstein, Marlene Dietrich, Saul Steinberg). Though he became a United States citizen in 1948, Lindner considered himself a New Yorker, but not a true American. However, over the course of time, his continental circus women became New York City streetwalkers. New York police uniforms replaced European military uniforms as symbols of authority.At a time when Abstract Expressionism was all the rage, Lindner’s painting went against the current and always kept its distance. His pictorial language of vibrant colours and broad planes of colour and his urban themes make him a forerunner of American Pop Art. At the same time, he owes the critical tone of his paintings to the influence of European art movements such as Neue Sachlichkeit and Dada. His first exhibition did not take place until 1954, by which time he was over fifty, and, interestingly, it was held at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York, a venue associated with the American Expressionists. From 1952 he taught at the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, from 1967 at Yale University School of Art and Architecture, New Haven. In 1957 Lindner got the William and Norma Copley Foundation-Award. In 1965 he became Guest Professor at the Akademie für Bildende Künste, Hamburg. His Ice (1966, Whitney Museum of American Art) established a connection between the metaphysical tradition and pop art. He did work on Rowlux which was used by a number of pop artists (most notably Roy Lichtenstein)The painting shows harsh, flat geometric shapes framing an erotic but mechanical robot-woman. His paintings used the sexual symbolism of advertising and investigated definitions of gender roles in the media. While influencing Pop Art (Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann and Claes Oldenburg amongst others) his highly colourful, hard-edge style seems to have brought him close to Pop Art, which he rejected. Nevertheless, he is immortalised on the cover of the Beatles record "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967) as a patron of the pop culture. He also did a tapestry banner with the Betsy Ross Flag...
    Category

    1970s Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Keith Haring Crack Down! 1986 (vintage program)
    By Keith Haring
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    Keith Haring crack down! 1986: Vintage original 1986 Keith Haring illustrated Crack Down! benefit program. This folding pamphlet was designed & illustrated by Keith Haring (along with a poster of same), for the 1986 "Crackdown on Crack" concert at New York City’s world...
    Category

    1980s Pop Art Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Paper, Lithograph

  • 1970s Alexander Calder lithograph (Calder prints)
    By Alexander Calder
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    1970s Alexander Calder Lithograph from Derriere le Miroir: Medium: Lithograph in colors. 1975. Dimensions: 15 x 22 inches. Center fold-line as issued; v...
    Category

    1970s Pop Art Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Saul Steinberg lithographic cover c.1970 (derriere le miroir)
    By Saul Steinberg
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    Saul Steinberg Derrière le Miroir: A lithographic cover published c. 1970. Well suited for framing. A fantastic vintage Saul Steinberg collectible within reach. Lithograph in color...
    Category

    1970s Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Sunrise
    By Roy Lichtenstein
    Located in New York, NY
    A very good impression of this early color offset lithograph. Signed in pencil by Lichtenstein. Printed by Colorcraft, New York. Published by Leo Castelli Gallery, New York. Catalo...
    Category

    1960s Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Color, Lithograph, Offset

Recently Viewed

View All