Lee Mullican (American, 1919-1998), Hungry Ghosts VIII, 1964 Tamarind 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 VIII, 1964, is a lithograph from aluminum and zinc printed in transparent violet, black, and transparent blue-green on white Arches paper by Kenneth Tyler and published by Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Los Angeles. It is the eighth numbered image in Mullican’s twelve-sheet Hungry Ghosts portfolio, which includes a title page and colophon. The composition gathers a branching cluster of angular, cell-like forms at the center, surrounded by broad, stepped bands in pale blue, gray, and violet that spread outward toward the sheet edges. 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 Kenneth Tyler and Tamarind blindstamps near the lower-left edge. The “Tamarind Imp.” inscription identifies this as one of nine workshop-retained Tamarind impressions, outside the regular edition of 20. Verso inscribed “2-81” and “1202.” Sheet measures approximately 18 x 14 inches. Overall very good appearance. Light toning with minor handling along the deckled sheet edges. Colors remain well preserved and the image presents well. Provenance of Martin and Enid Gleich.
Condition
Please review the photos for a complete understanding of condition.
Dimensions
18 x 14 in
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
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 VIII, 1964, is a lithograph from aluminum and zinc printed in transparent violet, black, and transparent blue-green on white Arches paper by Kenneth Tyler and published by Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Los Angeles. It is the eighth numbered image in Mullican’s twelve-sheet Hungry Ghosts portfolio, which includes a title page and colophon. The composition gathers a branching cluster of angular, cell-like forms at the center, surrounded by broad, stepped bands in pale blue, gray, and violet that spread outward toward the sheet edges. 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 Kenneth Tyler and Tamarind blindstamps near the lower-left edge. The “Tamarind Imp.” inscription identifies this as one of nine workshop-retained Tamarind impressions, outside the regular edition of 20. Verso inscribed “2-81” and “1202.” Sheet measures approximately 18 x 14 inches. Overall very good appearance. Light toning with minor handling along the deckled sheet edges. Colors remain well preserved and the image presents well. Provenance of Martin and Enid Gleich.
Condition
Please review the photos for a complete understanding of condition.
Dimensions
18 x 14 in
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
