ULAE, Tamarind and the collectors who championed the printmaking revolution across two coasts

The 1960s launched a printmaking renaissance that drastically changed the artistic landscape of the United States, driven by pioneering studios such as Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) in New York and the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles. At a time when many believed fine art lithography in the United States to be obsolete, these workshops revitalised the medium and made it a site for bold experimentation.

As Lindsay Griffith, head of Christie’s New York Prints and Multiples department, observes: ‘Printmaking is rarely a solitary exercise. Working with a printer inherently involves community, and many artists — Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Ed Ruscha famously among them — have been drawn to the collaborative spirit of the print studio.’

As the medium gained new prominence, the studios became nexuses of creative exchange among artists, printers, and patrons, reshaping the culture around print collecting. Two figures — Dr. James D. Fleck, an entrepreneur and cultural philanthropist who engaged with studios such as ULAE, and Donald Kelley, an artist and master printer at Tamarind — exemplify the personal bonds and distinctive collecting practices that grew out of the print revolution. On 23 and 24 October, Christie’s is honoured to present their respective collections, Property from the Collection of Dr. James D. Fleck and Art from Stone: the Collection of Donald and Maggie Tomshany Kelley, in the New York Prints and Multiples sale.

On Long Island, a collector’s world is built

Dr. Fleck met the collector John Powers at a Young Presidents’ Organization event in 1973, and the two quickly bonded over shared interests, including art. Powers and his wife, Kimiko, were already well known in international circles for their pioneering Pop art collection — widely considered one of the finest in private hands. As Fleck’s own interests deepened, Powers played an important role in cultivating his eye, ultimately introducing him to Tatyana Grosman, the visionary founder of ULAE.

Grosman had founded ULAE in 1957, after receiving encouragement from the Museum of Modern Art curator William Lieberman to collaborate with artists on original prints. In 1960, she invited Jasper Johns to the studio, triggering a cascade of collaborations with his close contemporaries — including Robert Rauschenberg, Jim Dine, Cy Twombly and James Rosenquist. As the roster grew, so did the studio’s offerings. Under Bill Goldston, ULAE mastered intaglio, woodcuts and offset printing, producing everything from experimental editions to finely crafted books and posters.

When Dr. Fleck began visiting the Long Island studio, often with the Powers, he found more than a print workshop. ULAE was a gathering place, part professional press, part creative community. Grosman and Goldston shared insights on current projects. Conversations with artists and printers underscored the vibrancy of the studio. Collecting became a collaboration inseparable from those moments of exchange. Over time, Dr. Fleck assembled a significant body of work from ULAE, including more than 20 prints by Johns offered in Christie’s sale following his donation of other prints by the artist to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

In Los Angeles, a printer’s legacy takes shape

As Dr. Fleck’s story took shape on the East Coast, Donald Kelley’s found its locus out West, at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, where he trained as a master printer. Established in 1960 by June Wayne, with the support of fellow artists and printmakers Clinton Adams and Garo Antreasian, Tamarind’s mission was to restore fine art lithography in the United States through an ambitious programme that trained hundreds of master printers while introducing just as many artists to the medium. Central to Wayne’s vision was the printer-artist relationship, where printers offered technical expertise while honing their craft by adapting to each artist’s vision.

Kelley arrived at Tamarind in 1968, at a decisive moment in the workshop’s history. Stepping into a studio alive with projects by Ruth Asawa, Richard Diebenkorn, Ruscha and many others, Kelley printed for numerous artists and forged a strong working relationship with Ed Ruscha. From these collaborations, he built a collection anchored by coveted BATs — bon à tirer proofs, the artist-approved impressions that set the standard for an edition and are often gifted to the printer as part of their compensation for the edition. At once personal and authoritative, Kelley’s collection reflects both the technical mastery of lithography and the spirit of partnership that continues to define Tamarind’s ethos.

When Kelley and his wife, the artist Maggie Tomshany Kelley, relocated to Cincinnati in 1970, after accepting a teaching post at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture and Art, Tamarind gifted him the lithographic stones to establish his own press in Ohio. There he and his wife practised asartists and went on to teach printmaking amongst other disciplines for more than 40 years. Kelley became a nationally recognized artist with pieces in the permanent collections of major institutions, including: Cincinnati Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.

Taken together, the Collection of Dr. James D. Fleck and the Collection of Donald and Maggie Tomshany Kelley capture the spirit of a transformative moment in American printmaking. ‘The studios they engaged with are renowned for fostering communities where artists and printers work alongside one another while also communing with the history of the space’, Griffith reflects. ‘There’s real inspiration in being part of that tradition.’