Lot Essay
Near the end of Marc Chagall's life, he was approached by his publisher at Maeght Editeur to create a set of 14 prints. Today, these works are known as The Fourteen Large Lithographs of 1980, or The Fourteen. In each work, Chagall presented the iconic subjects from his oeuvre in his hallmark vibrant colors, except for the first subject, Création, for which he felt that the drawing was sufficuently strong to not require color. He executed these works on a scale that utilized the maximum dimensions of the press used by the master printer, Charles Sorlier. When the works were completed, Chagall was quite ill and advanced in age. For this reason, these works became the final prints to be edited by the artist. Given their scale, subject, and significance, The Fourteen are some of the most sought after lithographs by the artist and rarely have so many works from the series appeared together for sale.