Lee Mullican (American, 1919-1998), Hungry Ghosts II, 1964 Lithograph
Lee Mullican (American, 1919–1998) was an Oklahoma-born California painter and printmaker associated with the Dynaton group, a short-lived but influential San Francisco circle formed with Gordon Onslow Ford and Wolfgang Paalen. His work combined abstraction, pattern, nature, mapping, Surrealist automatism, and spiritual interests, with James Cohan noting that his art developed apart from the more heroic gesture of East Coast Abstract Expressionism. His work is held in major collections including SFMOMA, the Hammer Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, LACMA, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Hungry Ghosts II, 1964, is an aluminum lithograph printed in black on white Arches paper by Kenneth Tyler and published by Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Los Angeles. It belongs to Mullican’s Hungry Ghosts portfolio of ten images with title and colophon sheets. Fine intersecting lines, narrow hatched passages, and scattered circles gather into a broad irregular mass before breaking into sparse, descending fragments near the bottom of the sheet. The title Hungry Ghosts appears to draw on the Buddhist concept of pretas, or hungry ghosts, beings associated with craving and unsatisfied desire. Mullican is known to have drawn from spiritual traditions including Zen Buddhism, though no direct artist statement explaining this specific portfolio title has been located. Inscribed in graphite “Tamarind Imp.” lower left and signed “Lee Mullican” lower right, with the Tamarind and Kenneth Tyler blindstamps in the lower margin. The inscription identifies this as a workshop-retained Tamarind impression outside the regular edition of 20. Sheet measures approximately 18.125 x 13.875 inches. Visible overall age toning with a prior mat line and light handling wear; image presents well. Provenance of Martin and Enid Gleich.
Condition
Please review the photos for a complete understanding of condition.
Dimensions
18.125 x 13.875 in
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Time, Location
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Lee Mullican (American, 1919–1998) was an Oklahoma-born California painter and printmaker associated with the Dynaton group, a short-lived but influential San Francisco circle formed with Gordon Onslow Ford and Wolfgang Paalen. His work combined abstraction, pattern, nature, mapping, Surrealist automatism, and spiritual interests, with James Cohan noting that his art developed apart from the more heroic gesture of East Coast Abstract Expressionism. His work is held in major collections including SFMOMA, the Hammer Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, LACMA, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Hungry Ghosts II, 1964, is an aluminum lithograph printed in black on white Arches paper by Kenneth Tyler and published by Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Los Angeles. It belongs to Mullican’s Hungry Ghosts portfolio of ten images with title and colophon sheets. Fine intersecting lines, narrow hatched passages, and scattered circles gather into a broad irregular mass before breaking into sparse, descending fragments near the bottom of the sheet. The title Hungry Ghosts appears to draw on the Buddhist concept of pretas, or hungry ghosts, beings associated with craving and unsatisfied desire. Mullican is known to have drawn from spiritual traditions including Zen Buddhism, though no direct artist statement explaining this specific portfolio title has been located. Inscribed in graphite “Tamarind Imp.” lower left and signed “Lee Mullican” lower right, with the Tamarind and Kenneth Tyler blindstamps in the lower margin. The inscription identifies this as a workshop-retained Tamarind impression outside the regular edition of 20. Sheet measures approximately 18.125 x 13.875 inches. Visible overall age toning with a prior mat line and light handling wear; image presents well. Provenance of Martin and Enid Gleich.
Condition
Please review the photos for a complete understanding of condition.
Dimensions
18.125 x 13.875 in
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
