Angel (2014)

ED RUSCHA (born 1937) — Auction

Auction Information 29 NOVEMBER 2023 | STARTING AT 5:30PM PST LIVE ONLINE AUCTION | LOS ANGELES 7601 W. Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90046 BONHAMS & BUTTERFIELDS AUCTIONEERS CORPORATION Bonded pursuant to California Civil Code Sec. 1812.600; Bond No. 57BSBGL0808 AUCTION NUMBER 30009 Lot 1 ¤ AUCTION VIEWINGS* 28 NOVEMBER 2023, 10am-5pm PST 29 NOVEMBER 2023, 10am-5pm PST *by appointment The auction will be conducted pursuant to Bonhams’ Conditions of Sale for this auction (auction number 30009). The Bonhams Conditions of Sale for the subject auction are the entire terms and conditions on which property in the subject auction shall be offered for sale or sold by Bonhams & Butterfields Auctioneers Corp. and any consignor of such property for whom Bonhams acts as agent. By participating in the subject auction, including through the aShareX online bidding platform, all bidders and buyers agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. The auction catalog for the subject auction, including all lot and associated auction information, and the Bonhams Conditions of Sale, is available exclusively on Bonhams’ website, and the Bonhams’ auction webpage at http://www.bonhams.com/auction/30009/. BIDS Online bidding will be available via the aShareX bidding platform. Bidding increments for this auction are US $250. Minimum fractional bids for this auction are US $200. BUYER’S PREMIUM 28% on the first $50,000 of the hammer price; 27% of the hammer price of amounts in excess of $50,000 up to and including $1,000,000; 21% of the hammer price of amounts in excess of $1,000,000 up to and including $6,000,000; and 14.5% of the hammer price of any amounts in excess of $6,000,000. INQUIRIES Morissa Rosenberg Head of Department +1 323 436 5435 Morisa.Rosenberg@bonhams.com REQUEST CONDITION REPORT Morissa Rosenberg Head of Department +1 323 436 5435 Morisa.Rosenberg@bonhams.com The Artist Edward Joseph Ruscha IV (born 16 December 1937) is an American artist and key figure of the Pop Art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and film, and is also noted for creating numerous artist’s books. Ruscha achieved recognition for textual, flat paintings incorporating words and phrases that were influenced by the “deadpan irreverence” of both the Pop Art and Beat Generation movements. (1) Ruscha was born to Roman Catholic parents in Omaha, Nebraska and grew up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1956, he moved to Los Angeles to attend the Chouinard Art Institute (now California Institute of the Arts). After graduating, he worked as a layout artist for the Carson-Roberts advertising agency in Los Angeles, painting signs and creating graphic designs. In the early 1960s, Ruscha began producing works that reflected his interest in the vernacular of American culture. His paintings and photographs often featured images of gas stations, billboards, and other roadside attractions. During this same time period, he also began experimenting with text, incorporating words and phrases into his work. His work was quickly recognized by critics and curators, and Ruscha was soon considered one of the leading figures of the Pop Art movement. In 1962, he had his first solo exhibition at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. In the same year, his work was included, along with Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Dowd and others, in the historically groundbreaking exhibition “New Painting of Common Objects” at the Pasadena Art Museum, considered one of America’s first Pop Art exhibitions. (2) Ruscha also participated in several important group exhibitions, including “The American Supermarket” at the Paul Bianchini Gallery in New York (1964) and “Pop Art” at the Tate Gallery in London (1966). The artist’s expansive oeuvre defies easy categorization, although it is infused with a dispassionate California cool. Since the 1960s, Ruscha has made paintings, drawings, photographic books, and tongue-in-cheek photo collages that demonstrate a keen interest in language and the idiosyncrasies of life in Los Angeles. In his most famous works, he places words and phrases from the colloquial and consumerist vernacular atop photographic images or fields of color – a strategy that situates him within a larger Pop Art lineage. He often paints and draws with unusual materials such as gunpowder, blood, and Pepto Bismol, drawing attention to the deterioration of language and the pervasive clichés in American culture. In addition to his work as an artist, Ruscha is a successful author and publisher. He has written and published over twenty artist’s books, including Twentysix Gasoline Stations (1963), Every Building on the Sunset Strip (1966), and A Few Palm Trees (1971). The artist’s work has been exhibited across the globe, and he has enjoyed solo shows at the Los Angeles Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Moderna Museet, in addition to the Venice Biennale, where he represented the United States in 2005. Ruscha has also produced many large-scale public works, including the Hollywood Sign Walk of Fame (1985) and the LAX Airport Way entrance sign (2010). He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Guggenheim Fellowship, the MacArthur Fellowship, and the National Medal of Arts. In 2013, Ruscha was named in Time’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. At auction, his work has sold for eight figures, with a high auction record of 52,485,000 USD for Hurting the Word Radio no.2, sold at Christie’s New York in 2019. (3) Ed Ruscha lives and works in Culver City, California. The Artwork Printed in Venice, California by Hamilton Press on Rives BFK paper, the Ed Ruscha lithograph Angel here offered by aShareX is numbered 50 out of a total 60 created for this edition. The word “Angel” appears in a white, calligraphic script in the middle of the print against a light blue area. Other areas of the print are white, while a dark green area emanates from the lower left-hand corner. Of note, the consignor purchased this lithograph directly from Hamilton Press. Hamilton Press was established in 1990 as a collaboration between Tamarind Master Printer, Ed Hamilton, and the artist, Ed Ruscha. Produced in a range of sizes and editions, the works in Ruscha’s Angel series encompass techniques including lithography, mixology, and etching. They are drawn from different bodies of work, revealing the artist’s aptitude as a printmaker, his ongoing exploration of signs and signage, his engagement with his hometown of Los Angeles, and his humorous approach to a typically American vernacular language. The works in this group demonstrate Ruscha’s experience as a graphic artist, incorporating different typefaces and interactions between text and image. The artist has stated, “a lot of my paintings are anonymous backdrops for the drama of words” (quoted in Richards 2008, p. 79). Through this conflation of image and text, the words become subjects in themselves. In Angel 2014, the layout is adapted to reinforce or mimic the content of the text. Such lithographs continue Ruscha’s witty appropriation of slogans and linguistic references from literature, history, and popular culture. Angel 2014 was produced to benefit Project Angel Food, a charitable organization that delivers home-cooked meals free of charge to those battling critical illness in Los Angeles. The work demonstrates the artist’s appropriation of signs and logos for public good and his close involvement with his local context. The word “angel” recurs regularly in Ruscha’s oeuvre, alluding both to his Catholic upbringing and his long association with the so-called City of Angels, Los Angeles. Catalogue Raisonné Ed Ruscha’s catalogues are ongoing projects documenting the artist’s entire corpus in painting, unique works on paper, and other projects. Seven volumes of the paintings series, three volumes of the works on paper series, and one volume of the other projects have been published as of 2023.     •    Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings: Volume One, 1958-1970     •    Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings: Volume Two, 1971-1982     •    Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings: Volume Three, 1983-1987     •    Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings: Volume Four, 1988-1992     •    Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings: Volume Five, 1993-1997     •    Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings: Volume Six, 1998-2003     •    Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings: Volume Seven, 2004-2011     •    Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Works on Paper: Volume One, 1956-1976     •    Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Works on Paper: Volume Two, 1977-1997     •    Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Works on Paper: Volume Three, 1998-2018     •    Ed Ruscha: An Archive of Projects Museum Collections Ruscha’s work is included in a number of major museums, including:     •    Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)     •    Centre Pompidou     •    Tate     •    Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum     •    Whitney Museum of American Art     •    The Metropolitan Museum of Art     •    National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.     •    Castello di Rivoli     •    Louisiana Museum of Art     •    Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden     •    Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA)     •    Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA)     •    Hammer Museum     •    Dallas Museum of Art     •    Museo Reina Sofia     •    Art Institute of Chicago     •    MCA Chicago     •    Moderna Museet, Stockholm Select Exhibition History     •    Ferus Gallery, Los Angeles     •    Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York     •    Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo     •    InK, Halle für Internationale neue Kunst, Zurich     •    Portland Center for the Visual Arts, Oregon     •    San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California     •    Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster, Germany     •    Lannan Museum, Florida     •    Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago     •    Institute of Contemporary Art, Nagoya, Japan     •    Musée national d’art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris     •    Whitney Museum of American Art, New York     •    Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles     •    J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles     •    Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney     •    Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI Secolo, Rome     •    Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh History of Comparable Sales 1. Ed Ruscha, Angel (2014), Lithograph; Edition 34/60, 23 ⅛ x 16 in.      Currently for sale by: Hamilton-Selway Fine Art      List price: 15,000 USD       2. Ed Ruscha, Angel (2014), Lithograph; Color trial proof 8/9 (for the Edition of 60), 23 x 16 in.      Sold by: Gagosian      Sold for: 8,500 USD       3. Ed Ruscha, Angel (1991), Lithograph; Edition 68/68, 12 x 16 in.      Sale of: Artnet Auctions: Friday, October 29, 2021,      Estimate: 3,000 - 5,000 USD,      Sold for (with premium): 6,000 USD       4. Ed Ruscha, Angel (2006), Lithograph; Edition 34/50, 20 x 16 in.      Sale of: Artnet Auctions: Wednesday, April 28, 2021,      Estimate: 4,000 - 6,000 USD,      Sold for (with premium): 5,280 USD       5. Ed Ruscha, Music (2014), Lithograph; Edition 12/60, 22 ½ x 18 in.      Sale of: John Moran Auctioneers & Appraisers: Tuesday, February 23, 2021      Estimate: 3,000 - 5,000 USD      Sold for (with premium): 8,000 USD       Market Insights According to myartbroker.com, a leading print database and marketplace, Ed Ruscha’s market has increased 3% in average selling price over the past five years (4). This steady growth follows the artist’s highest recorded auction sale in 2019 of Hurting the Word Radio no.2, sold at Christie’s New York for 52,485,000 USD. Analyzing the comparable sales of Ruscha’s prior typographic Angel print series from 2006 reveals an average sale price increase of 10.7% from 2008 to 2021, based on an assessment of 14 pieces sold (5). This marks a steady retention of the peak prices achieved for this series and indicates the persistence of healthy demand. Further, sales prices for Ruscha’s Angel print series from 1991 shows a return to the peak values achieved in 2016. In addition to Angel (2014) and Music (2014), Hamilton Press has produced a number of outstanding editions including the “mountain prints” Bliss Bucket (2010), Jet Baby (2011), History Kids (2013), and Wall Rocket (2013), which are amongst some of the artist’s most commercially successful original print series. This strong period of production in the artist’s career lends credence to the printmaker’s pedigree and gives confidence in the longevity of the offered work. Ed Ruscha’s work is currently on exhibit in a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which runs through January 13, 2024. He also recently created original cover art for what is being proclaimed as the “final” song by the Beatles, a track entitled Now and Then. Ruscha is represented worldwide by Gagosian. References (1) Wikipedia. “Edward Ruscha.” Accessed 21 October 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Ruscha. (2) The Art Story. “Ed Ruscha.” Accessed 21 October 2023. https://www.theartstory.org/artist/ruscha-ed/. (3) Christie’s New York. “Live Auction 17649 – Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale.” Lot 6B. 13 November 2019. https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6236034. (4) Fraser, Celine. Myartbroker.com. “Ed Ruscha Value: Top Prices Paid at Auction.” 2023. (5) Artnet. “Ed Ruscha. Angel (2006). Accessed 20 October 2023. https://www.artnet.com/. Legal View our qualified offering circular here. This website may contain forward-looking statements and information relating to, among other things, the company, its business plan and strategy, and its markets or industry. These statements reflect management’s current views regarding future events based on available information and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as they are meant for illustrative purposes, and they do not represent guarantees of future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements, all of which cannot be made. Moreover, although management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, neither aShareX nor anyone acting on its behalf can give any assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct nor do they have a duty to update any such statements to conform them to actual results. aShareX is not registered, licensed, or supervised as a broker dealer by the SEC or Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Dalmore Group LLC (“Dalmore”) is the broker of record for the offer and sale of Shares and is registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer, member of FINRA and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”). ​ Our materials may include historical appreciation percentages that are based on public auction sales and reflect historical price trends. Such information is not intended to be indicative of returns that would have been achieved on aShareX Shares during such periods. Fees, expenses and other factors will create significant differences between the performance of an investment in Shares and historical artwork appreciation rates. Past price trends are not indicative of future price trends and are not intended to be a proxy for historical or projected future performance of any specific artwork Shares. The information contained on the aShareX.com website has been prepared by aShareX without reference to any particular investor’s investment requirements or financial situation. Potential investors are encouraged to consult with professional tax, legal, and financial advisors before making any investment into a aShareX offering. All investments involve risk, including the risk of the loss of all of your invested capital. Please consider carefully the investment objectives, risks, transaction costs, and other expenses related to an investment prior to deciding to invest. Diversification and asset allocation do not ensure profit or guarantee against loss. Investment decisions should be based on an individual’s own goals, time horizon, and tolerance for risk. IN MAKING AN INVESTMENT DECISION, INVESTORSMUST RELY ON THEIR OWN EXAMINATION OF THE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY AND THE TERMSOF THE OFFERING, INCLUDING THE MERITS AND RISKS INVOLVED. REGULATION AOFFERINGS ARE SPECULATIVE, ILLIQUID, AND INVOLVE A HIGH DEGREE OF RISK,INCLUDING THE POSSIBLE LOSS OF YOUR ENTIRE INVESTMENT.​ Your browser does not support the video tag.

Estimated Value

$10,176

Starting Price

$4,250

Total Shares

7999

Pre-bidding Opens

November 28, 2023

Live Auction Date

November 30, 2023