In 1960 Willem de Kooning visited the graphics department of the University of California at Berkeley and produced two extraordinary prints, Litho #1 and Litho #2--his first experience with lithography. In the habit of working on a very large scale, he enthusiastically attacked the oversized lithography stone using inks and a mop to "draw" his designs.

At the time, these prints were two of the largest lithographs made in America and they have remained the most important graphic works by the artist.
The unique inscription on this copy of Litho #2 has a story of its own. "Ruth", who offered this print together with De Kooning to their friends, is Ruth Kligman, the only survivor of the accident in which Jackson Pollock was killed. Her book, "Love Affair," about her relationship with Pollock, is presently the basis for one of several films being made about the artist. A young beauty, she was one of the aspiring painters who, in the 'fifties and 'sixties, frequented Cedar Street Tavern. There, she met, among other artists, Franz Kline, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Willem de Kooning. Her relationship with de Kooning continued over several years spent travelling in Europe and living in Springs, East Hampton, New York as well as in his New York studio.

Litho #2 is a rare and unique work of art, both with respect to the artist's printed oeuvre as well as the history of contemporary printmaking in the United States.