James McGarrell (American, 1930-2020), Piano Bathers II, 1962 Lithograph
James McGarrell (1930–2020) was an American painter and printmaker whose work remained rooted in the human figure during a period dominated by abstraction. Trained at Indiana University and UCLA, he developed crowded compositions in which bodies, interiors, and landscape fragments overlap across the surface. McGarrell preferred the term “fiction painting” for his approach, emphasizing that his scenes were invented from memory and imagination rather than directly observed. He was included in MoMA’s influential New Images of Man exhibition in 1959 and represented the United States at the 1968 Venice Biennale. He also taught for many years at Indiana University and Washington University in St. Louis. His work is held by the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Piano Bathers II, 1962, lithograph in black ink on white Arches paper. A dense group of nude bathers fills the sheet, their overlapping torsos and limbs emerging through loose crayon drawing, granular washes, and heavy crosshatching. Patterned passages break across the foreground, while the angular body and raised lid of a grand piano appear at right. Printed by John Rock and published by the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in an edition of 20, with nine additional Tamarind impressions. Inscribed in graphite within the lower image area “Piano Bathers II,” “Tam imp,” and signed “James McGarrell,” with the Tamarind and Rock blindstamps at lower right. “Tam imp” identifies an impression retained by the workshop outside the numbered edition. Sheet measures approximately 30 x 22.25 inches. The sheet shows light toning and minor handling with several old tape remnants along the upper verso and slight edge wear. Image presents well. Provenance of Martin and Enid Gleich.
Condition
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Dimensions
30 x 22.25 in
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James McGarrell (1930–2020) was an American painter and printmaker whose work remained rooted in the human figure during a period dominated by abstraction. Trained at Indiana University and UCLA, he developed crowded compositions in which bodies, interiors, and landscape fragments overlap across the surface. McGarrell preferred the term “fiction painting” for his approach, emphasizing that his scenes were invented from memory and imagination rather than directly observed. He was included in MoMA’s influential New Images of Man exhibition in 1959 and represented the United States at the 1968 Venice Biennale. He also taught for many years at Indiana University and Washington University in St. Louis. His work is held by the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Piano Bathers II, 1962, lithograph in black ink on white Arches paper. A dense group of nude bathers fills the sheet, their overlapping torsos and limbs emerging through loose crayon drawing, granular washes, and heavy crosshatching. Patterned passages break across the foreground, while the angular body and raised lid of a grand piano appear at right. Printed by John Rock and published by the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in an edition of 20, with nine additional Tamarind impressions. Inscribed in graphite within the lower image area “Piano Bathers II,” “Tam imp,” and signed “James McGarrell,” with the Tamarind and Rock blindstamps at lower right. “Tam imp” identifies an impression retained by the workshop outside the numbered edition. Sheet measures approximately 30 x 22.25 inches. The sheet shows light toning and minor handling with several old tape remnants along the upper verso and slight edge wear. Image presents well. Provenance of Martin and Enid Gleich.
Condition
Please review the photos for a complete understanding of condition.
Dimensions
30 x 22.25 in
Sale price
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
