Beschreibung:

Richard Prince Untitled (Cowboy) 1986 color coupler print 24 x 20 in. (61 x 50.8 cm.) Signed, numbered and dated “R. Prince 1/2 1986” on the reverse. This work is number 1 from an edition of 2.
Provenance 303 Gallery, New York Catalogue Essay “ When I first photographed an image I was simply trying to put something out there that was more natural looking than it was when I saw it as a photograph… I did not consider myself as a photographer, I considered myself as an artist.” RICHARD PRINCE 1994 Richard Prince’s career has been defined as much by its notoriety as for its surprising bursts of aestheticism and breathtaking originality. The present lot, Untitled (Cowboy), 1986 is a perfect example of the latter. As part of his Cowboys series, first conceived in the early 1980s, Prince’s gorgeous portrait of Americana zeroes in on both issues of artistic production and our visual treasures as Americans. Prince’s “re-photographs” undergo a standard process in order to erupt from their original visual context: Prince photographs Marlboro ads (with their ubermasculine portrayals of Cowboys tackling the elements of Western America), then crops out both unnecessary text and undesired sections of the picture. He then blows up the “rephotograph” to achieve the aesthetic ideal of appropriation: an isolation of the visual splendors of the original photograph. In the present lot, Prince has chosen to present us with our hero in the midst of hardship, trudging through the deep snows of the Western winter. Yet there is a glorious freedom in his struggle, and his horse pounds through the elements with a quintessentially American sense of optimism and drive. Adorned in multiple layers of leather and fur, Prince’s protagonist takes a second to glance out at the wonders of his country, as if to acknowledge the splendors of the land as his own at that very moment. Here, we see a parallel to Prince’s method of production: while the source of his image may not be original, its elevation is solely Prince’s doing. 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