Beschreibung:

Property from an Important New York Collection Richard Prince Untitled (Almost Original) 2006 original illustration with intervention and paperback book, in artist's frame 41 x 37 in. (104.1 x 94 cm) Signed and dated "Richard Prince 2006" lower right on the illustrated element. Further signed and dated "Richard Prince 2006" on the backing board.
Provenance John McWhinnie @ Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, New York Exhibited New York, Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, Cowboys and Nurses (Untitled Originals), May 10 - August 5, 2006 New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Minneapolis, The Walker Art Center, Richard Prince Spiritual America, September 28, 2007 - June 15, 2008, p. 222 (illustrated) Catalogue Essay "I don't see any difference now between what I collect and what I make." — Richard Prince Richard Prince has been pushing the boundaries of appropriation for decades and shows no sign of slowing down. The act of appropriation, that of choosing, sorting, and using source material, reveals a deeply personal logic and provides the viewer a window into Prince's studio practice. The present lot Untitled (Almost Original) is a perfect example of the artist challenging authorship all while veiled under his characteristic cheeky sense of humor. Here we see Prince's own taxonomical way of thinking by pairing two images: the adult novel Nurse Felicity with the original painting used for the book's cover art. Prince has long been fascinated with the notion that an image reverberates with a viewer's own desires, ideas, and experience within their own social and cultural lexicon. Nurses are a recurring and prevalent theme in Prince's late work, and indeed the fetishization of nurses is nothing new. The source material for the present work was gleaned from Prince's own collection of retro pulp fiction novels from the 1950s and 1960s. Here we see Prince presenting nurses in a similar manner to his iconic cowboys, confronting ingrained stereotypes and examining forbidden or restrained sensuality as seen through the male gaze. As a bibliophile and avid book collector himself, Prince often examines and incorporates his role as a collector in his artwork. The present work is not unlike a scrapbook or museum display case, in which a passionate hand paired the two objects after years of searching for them. The fact that Prince assumes authorship of this "diptych" as his own artwork is an act that interrogates the relationship between, and challenges the perceptions of, "creator" and "collector." Prince’s signature in the present lot, appearing alongside that of the original illustrator, “MACFADDEN”, and “LAURA DERN”, the boldly credited author of NURSE FELICITY, cheekily hijacks both image and narrative, and formally stamps the work with Prince’s approval and authorship of the rec-ontextualized object. Read More Artist Bio Richard Prince American • 1947 While some artists are known for a signature style, Richard Prince is most closely associated with his subject matter: for instance, Cowboys, his series of the Marlboro man magnified between 1980 and 1994; Nurses, sinister yet seductive, all copies from pulp novel covers; joke text paintings, simple block lettering of his own or appropriated jokes. Often labelled an artist of the Pictures Generation alongside Cindy Sherman and Robert Longo Prince has been said to be the contemporary artist who most understands the depth and influence of mass media over life in the 20th and 21st centuries. In whichever medium Prince chooses to work, he stays within the realm of appropriation. Of course Prince is not met without controversy, and he has been on the losing end of several lawsuits involving copyright infringement. His "Instagram" series — unedited reproductions of content posted by models, influencers and celebrities on their personal feeds — sold for upwards of $100,000 at primary market, making for a memorable moment at Frieze Week New York in 2015. View More Works