The Interview

How he got started: As an assistant in a contemporary gallery in Newcastle in Northeast England.

On his prints wish list: Etchings: Rembrandt’s The Three Trees, Picasso’s Vollard Suite, Goya’s Caprichos, and a Diebenkorn color aquatint.

Currently reading: Calvin Tomkins’ biography of Robert Rauschenberg, a novel by Richard Stark, and a book of poems by Kenneth Patchen.

Inspired by: New York City sunsets.

Favorite way to spend a Saturday: Coffee in his East Village neighborhood, browsing the shelves at the Strand bookstore, dinner out, then to the theater.

Auction house experience he’ll never forget: Taking a cold call from a woman who owned a collection of Picasso linocuts, which Christie’s went on to sell with great success in 2007.

Dream escape: His family home on the Isle of Skye off the northwest coast of Scotland.

Weekly dose of culture: Walking up the street to The Museum of Modern Art.

On his iPod: Everything from Ray LaMontagne to Dusty Springfield.

Ideal dinner party guest: Oscar Wilde, and if he were too busy, then Winston Churchill.

Robert Indiana’s Love has become an icon of 20th century American Pop art. What do you think makes this image so universally appealing?
You’ve touched on two important ideas in that question, the notions of “universal” and “appealing.” In art, along with mastery of skill, the strongest works are those with which we associate a powerful idea that stands the test of time. We ask ourselves if the image has longevity – and, is it revolutionary, does it change how people think about art? Indiana's Love is so successful because it is both universal and appealing, and even though it has been around since the mid 1960s, it holds its relevance even in the 21st century. In terms of its universality, the concept of “love” means something to everyone, even to non-English speakers. Also, in an interesting way, you can view this work as a paradox: generally, collectors are drawn to rarity and exclusivity. But in the case of Love, the popularity and ubiquity of the image is really what lends it such dynamism. The more people see it, the more they want it.

Alex Katz, widely known as a painter, was also a prolific printmaker. What makes the print medium (specifically lithography and screenprinting) so well-suited to this American artist’s trademark style?
Artist-printmakers tend to match the printing technique to their style for ease of execution. Katz generally works in large scale, and his canvases are made up of broad areas of stylized color. Screenprinting and lithography were thus obvious choices as he began working in the print medium as they are the techniques which allow printing large blocks of color and which produce the flattest surfaces. Also, as a painter, Katz works very quickly; that is to say that speed itself is part of the genesis of his images. He was undoubtedly looking in prints for a way to work in an equally uninhibited manner. Even though lithography is a complicated process and requires a significant amount of preparation, you can eventually draw very quickly on the surface of the stone.

Song exhibits the fundamentals of Katz’s signature style, with its smooth surface and its calm and simple imagery that is free of any distracting details. One could argue that this print shows these characteristics almost as successfully as any of his paintings. Serious collectors often like to consider the entire scope of an artist’s works. Those who appreciate Katz’s style in painting would similarly appreciate seeing that style represented in the print medium.

The July Prints & Multiples auction has a wonderful selection of modestly priced works that are well-suited to the new collector. Why is Joan Miró’s lithograph, The Lacemaker, an appealing option for those beginning a new collection or expanding an existing one?
As many collectors know, Miró recieves a lot of attention in the auction market. That being said, it’s important to know exactly what $3,000 - $5,000 will get collectors interested to bid on The Lacemaker. In purely commercial terms, Miró’s paintings are on par with many of the most important artists of the early 20th century, like Picasso and Renoir. When buying his prints, collectors can proceed with the confidence that they are buying into the market of a commercially established artist, as well as buying into the expressivity and wonder that Miró expertly captures in his greatest works. The Lacemaker is one of a number of prints that Miró created throughout his prolific career in partnership with esteemed French printmaker Fernand Mourlot. So for $3,000, you can acquire an extraordinary work made by the hand of an artist and master printmaker, both of whom were at the height of their powers when the work was printed in 1969.

Sale Information
Sale 2187
Prints & Multiples
22 July 2009
New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Related Lots
Lot 198, Sale 2187
Robert Indiana (b. 1928)
Love
screenprint in colors, 1997, on wove paper, signed and dated '96' in pencil, numbered XLIII/L
$3,000 - $5,000

Lot 67, Sale 2187
Joan Miró (1893-1983)
The Lacemaker
Dentellière (M. 593)
lithograph in colors, 1969, on Arches, signed in pencil, numbered 49/75
$3,000 - $5,000

Lot 204, Sale 2187
Alex Katz (b. 1927)
Song
lithograph and screenprint in colors, 1980-81, on Arches Cover, signed in pencil, numbered '8/15 AP'
$1,000 - $1,500

Related Departments
Prints

Related Categories
Prints & Multiples

Related Artists
Indiana, Robert (b. 1928)
Katz, Alex (b. 1927)
Miró, Joan (1893-1983)