As one of the last living Pop Art pioneers, James Francis Gill expertly captures the American Dream in his stunning new collection of serigraphs - all of which are expertly printed onto handmade paper.
THE RETURN OF
“For me it is absolutely exciting to return to Great Britain after so many years. I am happy that my works are shown here, because here art has always played an important role in people’s lives - just like in mine.” James Francis Gill
james francis gill
“The paintings of James Gill look as contemporary as the morning newspaper; but the important thing we find in these paintings that the newspapers overlook is an intimate glimpse of the faces involved in front-page stories.” William Inge, American playwright and novelist
If one word sums up the USA in the 1960s, it is revolution. From anti-war protests to sexual liberation, it was a decade of change. Against a backdrop of the Vietnam War and President John. F. Kennedy’s assassination, Pop Art exploded, and with it the artworld changed forever. At the forefront of the movement was James Francis Gill, a Texas-born architectural designer who had caught the eye of Felix Landau – one of the most respected art dealers on the East and West coast. Once a 12-year-old San Angelo boy, painting landscapes on his living room wall, he would go on to count Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana and Andy Warhol amongst his peers. From a stint in the United States Marine Corps to breakfast with John Wayne, James’ life has been as colourful as his art. Celebrated for his montage effects, he captures the American Dream through intimate portraits of stars like Marilyn Monroe, Bob Dylan and Grace Kelly. His painterly style has been likened to Francis Bacon, while the New York Times in 1962 prophesied that his art was ‘jazzy and up- to-date…an artist to watch’. Following a long list of celebrity collectors and an international breakthrough at the Sao Paulo 9 Biennale (1967), James went into self-imposed exile
in 1972 to develop his artistic expression away from the constraints of the material world. During this time, his ‘Marilyn Triptych’ stayed in the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, where it resides to this day. The artwork – featured in a January 25, 1963 article in Life magazine – symbolises James’ lasting influence on generations of artists. As one of the last living Pop Art pioneers, his unique take on iconic imagery has been realised for a stunning new series of serigraphs. In a similarly turbulent time to when it all began, the collection marks the first time the artist has visited England since 1965, and with it the very definite return of James Francis Gill.
POP ART
‘Witty, Sexy, Gimmicky, Glamorous’, wrote the British painter Richard Hamilton of Pop Art in 1957. Coined two years earlier by the art critic Lawrence Alloway, the genre emerged in New York as artists embraced the post-World War II manufacturing and media boom. Following on from the Abstract Impressionist movement, Pop Art rebelled against the themes of morality and mythology found in highbrow art, instead introducing identifiable imagery drawn from mass media and popular culture. Defined edges and emotional detachment were underpinned by the belief that everything is connected, from commercial advertising to mass production and even trash.
Through its vibrant colours and unabashed brazenness, Pop Art encompassed themes of celebrity, television, magazines and comic books to represent what artist Jim Dine termed ‘…the American Dream, optimistic, generous and naïve’. Pop Art’s international variants included Capitalist Realism in Germany, Anti-Art in Japan and Nouveau Réalisme in France. Pioneers of the movement included James Francis Gill, Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg, while famous artworks include Eduardo Paolozzi’s ‘President Elect’ (1960-71) and Andy Warhol’s ‘Campbell’s Soup I’ (1968).
INFLUENCES
Painterly in style, James’ art transcends the parameters of Pop Art. Described by the late art scholar William Seitz as an ‘incisive and startling commentator’ whose art is ‘timeless and universal’, he merges iconography with startling colour. His separations of light and shadow – typical of news photographs – are inspired by magazines like Time, Life and National Geographic – with the latter printing its first-ever natural colour photographs in July 1914. As a child, he was gifted a collection of issues by a colleague of his father, which sparked a lifelong passion for imagery. In her 1966 book, Pop Art , Lucy Lippard notes that: ‘Often he mimics the effects of excerpted frames from a film strip, or fixes a transient television
image’, while the photographer Van Deren Coke remarked that the cut-off format of many of James’ artworks owes its origin to camera-vision. Working with montage effects – which he terms metamage – James has experimented with techniques including stone lithography, intaglio printmaking, woodcuts and etching. As a jazz aficionado in the 1960s, he was also influenced by music – going on to capture The Doors’ lead singer, Jim Morrison, and the Beatles. The rise of the automobile industry also sparked a sense of artistic freedom – especially in Southern California, where cars became a symbol of exploring new worlds.
ARTworks
MARILYN IN THE SKY, 2012 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 110 x 76 CM EDITION: 80 + 10 E.A.
This piece reveals James’ unique ability to harmoniously combine abstraction and figuration.
TO TIMELESS BEAUTY BEING TRANSFORMED, 2012 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 70 x100 CM EDITION: 80 + 10 E.A.
James Francis Gill, in front of his Marilyn Triptych. Since 1962 in the Museum of Modern Art, New York
In 2012, James painted this artwork to celebrate 50 years of being in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. In his 2000 book, Pop Art: Movements in Modern Art (Tate Publishing, London) , David McCarthy writes that James has juxtaposed the tension of her full body seated in the foreground with the selective representation of it in Life in the background. He adds: ‘Her famous physique, so often exploited in film and photography, is here undressed’.
MARILYN GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY, 2014 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 45 X 60 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E A
YOUNG BEATLES…BEAUTIFUL MAGIC, 2014 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 50 x 70 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A.
THE BEAUTY OF M, 2014 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 70 x 100 CM EDITION: 80 + 10 E.A.
DUKE IN DESERT SHADOW, 2014 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 50 x 70 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A.
Dear Mother and Dad. Well this morning I had breakfast with John Wayne at his home, then rode with him to the airport for him to catch the plane to Spain to make a movie. We talked about the painting of him that I am going to do for ‘Life’ - It was very interesting to see him and meet and talk to him. He is just like he is in the movies… Jim
Sunday, June 9, 1963
One day, James was invited to paint John Wayne at his home. As he approached the house, the ‘Duke’ was sat at his dining table and asked if he would like to join him for breakfast. The Hollywood actor promptly handed him a huge glass of Bourbon whiskey – which was replenished all day. James later said that it took him many days to recover from this ‘breakfast’.
FADE TO CLOSE-UP OF MARILYN, 2014 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 70 x 100 CM EDITION: 80 + 10 E.A.
“Gill’s work is all very jazzy and up-to-date, and his colour is exciting. An artist to watch.” Stuart Preston, New York Times, 1962
THREE FACES OF MARILYN, 2014 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 110 x 70 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A.
This edition features a special technique, whereby James turned two paintings into one by cutting them into strips and reassembling them.
ICON MM - 12, 2015 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 119 x 97 CM EDITION: 80 + 10 E.A.
INTEGRATED NEW VISION, 2015 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 110 x 80 CM EDITION: 80 + 10 E.A.
SKETCH OF MM ICON, 2015 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 50 x 70 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A.
For this artwork, James has combined abstraction with figuration. What makes the graphic special is his use of a form of representation he took up in the 1960s with the ‘Laughing Women in Car’ and ‘Close- up’ paintings.
LIZ…LIZ, 2015 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 70 x 100 CM EDITION: 80 + 10 E.A.
MM PEARLS AND DIAMONDS, 2015 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 60 x 70 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A.
“In all the years that I have known James, the thing that has impressed me is his attitude to life. James has always wanted to be a free man – both as a cowboy and an artist.” Ted Bauer, CEO of Premium Modern Art
HIPPIE-BUS, 2015 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 100 x 70 CM EDITION: 80 + I-X + 10 E.A.
PORSCHE 356 SPEEDSTER, 2016 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 70 x 50 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A.
JOHN, 2016 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 70 x 50 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A.
MINI MARILYN 2, 2016 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 42 x 42 CM EDITION: 350 + 10 E.A.
Gill is inspired by his faith in the Bible. This is a hopeful and optimistic work that points to the birth of God’s kingdom as the solution to the global problems faced by all humans.
THE RELEASE HAPPENING, 2016 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 60 x 80 CM EDITION: 50 + 10 E.A.
This piece can be seen as depicting censorship and surveillance, as well as commenting on personal decisions and dilemmas.
UNCOMMON PLACES: LOCKED LIPS, 2016 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 60 x 80 CM EDITION: 50 + 10 E.A.
This piece presents the distressing effects of terrorism, combined with a tender hope for a better world. Symbols include the Twin Towers of the 9/11 attacks, a lock representing Guantanamo Bay, and a dove illustrating peace.
NO PEACE, NO SECURITY…YET, 2016 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 60 x 80 CM EDITION: 50 + 10 E.A.
War is a topic that James has often tackled in his work – especially during the Vietnam War, when he created a series of anti-war paintings. The late art scholar William Seitz commented on his ability to ‘…get behind the headlines and behind the pious façade of power-drunk men to confront us with the conspiracies of war and bigotry’. According to James, every child is already a prisoner to whatever political system into which they are born. We are born into a world that we generally cannot change. It is a world where injustice abounds and that, in many ways, races from bad to worse.
POLITICAL PRISONER - TWIN TOWERS, 2016 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 78 x 104 CM EDITION: 50 + 10 E.A. + 5 P.P.
MINI MARILYN 1, 2016 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 42 x 42 CM EDITION: 350 + 10 E.A.
TECHNIQUES
Working from his home studio in Texas, James reveals that each night he hopes to “get this sleep over so I can get into another painting”. His original works are sketched in pencil, before he applies acrylics to the canvas. His architectural background also feeds into his work, as he often uses computerised software as a drawing tool. Once the design is printed, he uses it to influence his final piece.
James likens his pencil work to his part-time job at a grocery store as a 10 year old boy. When changing the price on tins of food, he would smudge away the previous text – which over time developed into his technique of creating shade with an eraser. For his sliced pieces, he overlays different strips of paintings or drawings to juxtapose images and concepts. It’s a lengthy process, and James admits: “I never know what they are going to look like!”
PORTRAIT OF PRINCESS GRACE, 2016 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 60 x 80 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A. + 5 P.P.
“My daughter Abby told me about the Birkin bag and explained how expensive and famous it is, and what a status symbol it has become. As a little joke, I did a painting of the bag, upon which was a portrait of Jane Birkin, and told her: ‘Now this is a real Birkin bag for you.’”
BIRKIN BAG, 2016 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 65 x 65 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A. + 3 P.P.
GERMAN VOGUE, 2016 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 70 x 100 CM EDITION: 80 + 10 E.A. + 5 P.P.
ON A BAD DAY, 2016 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 70 x 100 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A. + 5 P.P.
BRINGING POP ART TO THE UK
ANGLO HISTORY “My ancestors on my mother’s side – the family name is Pou – were Catalonians. In fact, one of them nearly became the Pope! They were sent by the King of Spain to Mallorca, where after two or three generations they were persecuted because of their religious beliefs. “After emigrating to France, they went on to Scotland between the 16th and 17th centuries. They then emigrated (in the 18th century) to the US, later settling in Texas. One of them married a full-blood Cherokee (Native American): my great grandmother.”
VISITING ENGLAND IN 1965 “My wife at the time – the English actress Antoinette Bower – had relatives in England, living close to London. During the two weeks we stayed there, we visited the Tate regularly, along with the V&A – which I liked a lot. I particularly enjoyed and was influenced by the paintings of William Turner and a room with antique embroidery.”
MINI BUG - TURQUOISE, 2017 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 42 x 42 CM EDITION: 350 + 30 E.A.
MINI BUG - PINK SKY, 2017 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 42 x 42 CM EDITION: 350 + 30 E.A.
MEMORY FLASH, 2017 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 71.5 x 111 CM EDITION: 80 + 10 R.N. + 10 E.A.
“Gill strips the masks off public figures, exposing their blurred anonymity with a powerful jolt to our conscience.” William Seitz (1914-1974), art scholar
MARIA MONTEZ, 2017 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 108.5 x 75 CM EDITION: 50 + 10 E.A.
THE QUEEN, 2017 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 60 x 80 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A.
CELEBRITY COLLECTORS Along with the actors Dennis Hopper, Lauren Bacall, Julie Christie and Richard Chamberlain, James’ collectors include the poet Jack Hirschman and John de Ménil – a French-American art patron, businessman and philanthropist.
IT FEELS GOOD, 2017 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 60 x 80 CM EDITION: 50 + 10 R.N. + 10 E.A.
CANDY GIRL, 2017 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 65 x 90 CM EDITION: 80 + 5 R.N. + 10 E.A.
MARILYN ON A SUNNY DAY, 2018 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 114 x 85 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A.
MICK, 2018 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 50 x 70 CM EDITION: 100 + 20 R.N. + 10 E.A.
GERMAN VOGUE 2, 2018 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 70 x 100 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A.
MM BLACK & WHITE, 2018 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 50 x 75 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A.
BOB DYLAN, 2018 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 40 x 50 CM EDITION: 200 + 10 E.A.
I KEEP TRYING…THE GOLD SANDAL, 2018 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER
SHEET SIZE: 70 x 100 CM EDITION: 100 + 10 E.A.
REFLECTION IN THE ART, 2018 SERIGRAPH ON HAND MADE PAPER SHEET SIZE: 60 x 100 CM EDITION: 100 + 5 E.A.
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Tahoka, Texas, in 1934, James received his first commission at the age of just 10 (to render a pair of horse’s heads!) After attending San Angelo High School and touring with the United States Marine Corps, he studied architecture at the University of Texas from 1956 to 1960. From 1960 to 1961, he studied art and sculpture at the university on a painting scholarship. With the encouragement of the architect Bruce Goff, he began to focus on painting. Moving to Los Angeles in 1962, he grabbed the attention of the art dealer Felix Landau, who had already introduced artists like Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Francis Bacon and David Hockney to the US art market. That same year, his ‘Marilyn Triptych’ artwork was added to the prestigious Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection. He went on to be commissioned to paint the covers of famous titles like Time magazine, and capture public figures like John Wayne and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. From 1965, he taught at universities including the
University of Idaho and University of California before being offered a visiting professorship at the University of Oregon. In 1967, alongside Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg and Edward Hopper, he represented the United States at the Sao Paulo 9 Biennale in Brazil – marking his breakthrough in the international art world. In 1972, despite huge success, he chose to go into self-imposed exile to develop his artistic expression away from the constraints of the material world. Then in 1997, he received a call from Professor David McCarthy at the Smithsonian American Art Museum – thus marking his re-entrance into the art world. In recent years, accolades have included a retrospective exhibition at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts in Texas, and a 2007 documentary titled James Gill Full Circle. Notoriously elusive, he resides just outside of his hometown of San Angelo.
Andy Warhol
Roy Lichtenstein
Tom Wesselmann
Robert Rauschenberg
James Francis Gill
James Rosenquist
Frank Stella
Robert Indiana
Claes Oldenberg
SELECTEDMUSEUMS
• Museum of Modern Art, NY, USA • Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, USA
• Berkeley Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley, USA • Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., USA • National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., USA • Stanford University Center for Visual Arts, CA, USA • San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX, USA • Santa Barbara Museum of Fine Art, Santa Barbara, CA, USA • The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA • National Museum of the U.S. Navy, Washington D.C., USA • Museum of the Southwest, Midland, TX, USA • Museum Moderner Kunst der Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, Austria • Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel, Germany • National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington D.C., USA • The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, Odessa, TX, USA • John and Dominique De Menil • Louis Kaufman (Violinist) and Dr. Annette Kaufman • Marlo Thomas, Actress • William Inge, Writer and Scriptwriter • Dennis Hopper, Actor • Dr. William Emboden, Art Critic and Professor • Felix Landau, Gallery Owner • Jack Hirschmann, Poet • John Wayne, Actor - commissioned Gill to paint him • Tony Curtis, Actor - commissioned Gill to paint him • Dalton Trumbo, Author and Screenplay Writer • George Axelrod, Author and Screenplay Writer • Christopher Isherwood, Author and Screenplay Writer • Gavin Lambert, Author and Screenplay Writer • Julie Christie, Actress • Richard Chamberlain, Actor • Lauren Bacall, Actress • Otis Chandler, Publisher L.A. Times
SELECTED COLLECTORS
previous EXHIBITIONS 1956-1970
“It’s not the fame or money that makes you happy, it’s being in tune with your life and what you’re doing.” James Francis Gill
• Texas Fine Arts Show, Abilene, TX, USA, 1956-1961 • West Texas Fine Arts Show, San Angelo, TX, USA,1956-1961 • Madison Gallery, New York City, NY, USA, 1962 • Alan Gallery, New York City, NY, USA, 1962 • Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1963 • Alan Gallery, New York City, NY, USA, 1963 • Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1964 • Alan Gallery, New York City, NY, USA, 1964 • Galleria George Lester, Rome, Italy, 1964 • Sixty-seventh Annual American Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago, IL, USA, 1964 • University of California, UCLA Art Galleries, Los Angeles, USA, 1964 • Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA, 1964-1965 • Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1965 • New Acquisitions, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA, 1965 • “Art Across America”, M. Knoedler Gallery, New York, USA, 1965
• Alan Gallery, New York City, NY, USA, 1966 • Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1966 • Crocker Gallery, Sacramento, CA, USA, 1966 • Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1967 • Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1968 • Young California: Painting in the 60s“, Tampa Bay Art Center and Tour, FL, USA, 1968 • Neue Figuration USA – Malerei, Plastik, Film 1963-1968, - Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany,1969 - Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Germany,1969 - Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Vienna, Austria,1969 • Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1969 • Civic Center, Topanga, CA, USA, 1970
Since his rediscovery in 1997, Gill’s work has been exhibited in more than 100 museums and galleries worldwide.
THE RETURN OF
The images contained within this literature are an artistic representation of the collection.To best experience our art, we recommend you contact your local gallery to arrange a viewing. ©Washington Green 2019.The content of this brochure is subject to copyright and no part can be reproduced without prior permission. washingtongreen.co.uk
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