ALICE IN WONDERLAND PAINTING BY RICHARD MERKIN.
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Starting Bid:
$4,600.00
(Includes 15% Buyer's Premium)
Bidding Ended:
Thursday, May 27, 2010 1:00:00 PM (20 Minute Clock Begins At Thursday, May 27, 2010 1:00:00 PM)
Auction:
Auction #200 - Part II
Item numbers 1187 through 2776 in auction 200
Item Description
Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1938, Richard Merkin (1938-2009) went on to hold degrees from both Syracuse University and the Rhode Island School of Design. Merkin began teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1963 and remained there for nearly four decades. During his tenure there, he continued to build his reputation in New York. His work is represented in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, The Smithsonian Institution and the Whitney Museum as well as many others. Merkin was a Contributing Editor for Vanity Fair beginning in 1986 and was a regular contributor of illustrations to The New Yorker beginning in 1988, as well as Harper’s and The New York Times Sunday Magazine. He wrote a monthly style column for Gentlemen’s Quarterly from 1988-1991. Merkin's art evokes the cacophonous spirit of the 1920s through the 1940s. His witty and vivid paintings depict movie stars, jazz musicians, sports heroes and literary personalities, each sharing canvas with personal references to the artist. His highly stylized approach showcases the relationships of different colors as well as the balance and juxtaposition over literal interpretations of his subjects. Merkin's art also always has an underlying sense of humor. Not only a painter, but a social historian as well, Merkin worked lost cultural artifacts into his art, brushing off the dust of bygone eras, putting their Jazz Age virtues on canvas in cubist, comic-laced presentations of vibrant, playful color. This large and impressive 3 feet by 6 feet oil on canvas painting by Merkin features characters from Lewis Carroll's classic Alice In Wonderland stories. (See Alice items from the Merkin Collection #s 1750-1755.) Alice is seen at the left, looking forlorn and holding a piglet as the grinning Cheshire Cat looks over her shoulder. Both the White Rabbit and Mad Hatter appear at the right of the painting. The center of the painting is dominated by a man in a red uniform, whose identity is unknown to us. The painting also contains a pair of tables (frequently seen in Merkin's art) as well as a cross and a building of sorts in the distant background. Painted c. 2004-2005. The art is not signed, but comes with a typed and notarized letter on Merkin's personal letterhead from his widow attesting to his creation of this work. Condition is Exc. and the images are visually fascinating. Very conservative opening compared to prices for his work in galleries.
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