May 07, 2007 - Sale 2113

Sale 2113 - Lot 198

Price Realized: $ 2,640
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
ROY LICHTENSTEIN ASPEN WINTER JAZZ. 1967.
40x26 inches.
Conditon A. Paper.
Using his unique Pop Art style of enlarged dots, broad outlines, and strong, flat color, Lichtenstein composes an image of a saxophone and its faceless player that acts as a simple yet stylish and powerful advertisement for this jazz festival. Actually "Jazz Festival" may be a bit of an overstatement. Starting in 1963, Richard Gibson began holding Jazz Parties in Aspen. A New Yorker who had moved West, Gibson missed the musical vibe of the big city and tried to bring it to the Rocky Mountains. The parties (which were basically organized jam sessions) were a popular success and he continued holding them through 1969. Concurrently, it seems, other people had the same idea. In 1967 John and Kimiko Powers, major modern art collectors and jazz afficionados, organized a "festival" of their own. Eight musicians performed and the event was so popular that the couple organized another one later that same year, for which Rosenquist created the poster. Lichtenstein 44, Images of an Era 59.