Komar and Melamid

Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 1984

Edinburgh, Fruitmarket Gallery, Komar and Melamid, 1985
Lewisburg, Center Gallery of Bucknell University; New York, Humphrey Fine Art; Reading, Public Museum and Art Gallery, Reagan: American Icon, 1989, p. 59, illustrated in colour and on the front cover
Jersey City, Jersey City Museum, Promises: Election Dreams and Desires, Fears and Nightmares, 1992
New York, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Artists Against the State: Perestroika Revisited, 2006

The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the overall tonality is brighter and more vibrant in the original. This work is in very good condition. Close inspection reveals a very minor small rubmark towards the bottom of the extreme left overturn edge, and another towards the bottom of the extreme right overturn edge. No restoration is apparent under ultraviolet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Executed between 1980 and 1981, Komar and Melamid's highly memorable painting Ronald Reagan as Centaur typifies their inimitable brand of Sots Art (Socialist Art or Soviet Pop Art) and represents a new emboldened attitude towards the thawing of the geopolitical landscape at the beginning of the decade of perestroika and glasnost. Inserting the unmistakable visage of the debonair elder statesman, former Hollywood star, and brand new President Ronald Reagan atop the half-man, half-horse form of a centaur, this highly politically charged portrait is also deeply satirical and a comic inversion of the reserved etiquette and decorum usually associated with the President of the United States. Indeed, it has often been internationally commented that domestic American opinion towards the Presidency is endemically steeped in the constitutional institution of the office, rather than the idiosyncrasies of individual personality. That President Reagan is cast as a mythical beast renowned for its strength, aggression and fighting capabilities is therefore particularly sardonic. Indeed, that this creature is manically waving a communist red banner over its head in the year that Reagan came to office amply demonstrates the intrepid artistic innovation at the heart of Komar and Melamid's art.