Lot Essay
Rizzoli’s Y.T.T.E. (Yield to Total Elation) series was a conceptual project inspired by the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The artist conceived of a combination World’s Fair and blueprint for heaven, and he appointed alter-egos to different stations and roles. This “portrait” illustrates Rizzoli as an alter-ego Carl P. Carppittan, architect and draftsman of the Y.T.T.E. Resembling a military portrait, the use of the word “Carppittan” for captain, along with pictorial and emblematic insignia along the bottom edge, lends authority and validity to the character.