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PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN COLLECTOR Tom Wesselman is best known for the Great American Nude series, even it only constitutes a small part of his artistic achievement. Wesselmann began his artistic career early in the 1960s. In 1962, he was included in the influential New Realists show at Sidney Janis gallery in New York and immediately saluted as one of the leading artists of his generation. Wesselman's depiction of anonymous nude women in interiors is characterised by a unique combination of overt eroticism and detachment, and a serious and methodical approach to the activity of painting combined with cartoon humour. These paintings are both realistic and abstract: their execution is preceded by accurate sessions of drawing from life but but ultimately Wesselman works with pure mass and pure colour in a wholly abstract way composing his works only with regard to his subject's format and properties. Modern home and consumer products, the artificial environment that shaped the visual culture of the 1960s are Wesselmann's main sources of inspiration in this series and in others such as his Bedroom Paintings. During the second half of the decade, Wesselman began to work on smaller paintings, usually executed as he was travelling during the summer months. These were intended as preliminary works to his bigger paintings, which he completed in the autumn in his New York studio. They show the artist's working method, his attention to detail and how he constructs his composition from one study to another. One of the major changes to Wesselman's artistic career took place in 1983, when he turned to metal cutting as his principal technique. The first work executed using this technique, the erroneously titled Steel Painting, was made of aluminium. After that, Wesselmann was able to find reliable laser technology to cut the steel. This computer guided technology allowed him to magnify even small drawings into a monumental scale without losing their immediacy. The coloured lines were free from support or, better, the support and the drawing merged. The enthusiasm for this technique led him to a new outburst of creativity, which resulted in new series of colourful still lives, faces and nudes.

Tom Wesselmann (b. 1931)

Double Study for Great American Nude #85

Details

Tom Wesselmann (b. 1931)
Double Study for Great American Nude #85
signed and dated 'Wesselmann 66' (lower right)
pencil and grip flex on bristol board
each image: 6¾ x 7¾in. (17.2 x 19.7cm)
overall: 16 7/8 x 14½in. (43 x 36.9cm.)
Executed in 1966

Provenance

Galerie Thomas, Munich, 1968.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Double Study for Great American Nude #85

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