Richard Prince

Gagosian Gallery, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above

London, Serpentine Gallery, Richard Prince: Continuation, June - September 2008

This work is in very good condition overall. There are light handling marks to the edges of the painted panel, and there are pins and pinholes in the 4 corners. The book cover displays evidence of wear, which is presumably inherent to the found medium. There are also pins and pinholes in the 4 corners. Both parts are pinned to the matte and framed under Plexiglas.
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.
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Sitting demurely against a lushly painted backdrop of deep purple and indigo, Richard Prince’s iconic nurse, pure, white and masked, brilliantly exemplifies the artist’s investigation and clever manipulation of appropriated material.  Presented with the original book cover and source image, Million Dollar Nurse offers a glimpse into the technique employed by Prince in what his become one of has most recognizable, popular and desirable series. By contrasting the original cover of this retro romance pulp fiction novel to Prince’s highly painterly image, the transformative mechanisms of omission and alteration employed by the artist are brought to light.

Over the past 35 years, Prince has mastered the art of appropriation, manipulating imagery from advertising to pop-culture ephemera in order to uncover what lies beneath the surface of the media-infused mass consciousness. From Cowboys to Nurses, Prince has created series of works that effectively stretch the boundaries of images and stereotypes that have continuously been proliferated by mass culture. This work is culled from Prince’s extensive collection of 1950’s and 60’s fantasy novels of highly sexualized nurses engaged in improbable plots of lustful taboo romances. Created to titillate and entice, the cover of such trashy and easily digestible literature was meant to provide just enough information to attract readers into these narratives of racy nurse fantasies that eagerly awaited on the pages inside. Prince effectively removes these clues, completely eliminating the title and text, allowing instead for the nurse to become the primary focus of the image. She sits timidly yet seductively, her sad eyes peering out above a broadly painted surgical mask that disguises and defaces her, while the figures of a wealthy man and woman behind have been obscured by rich brush strokes of paint. By extracting and subverting the original intention of the images, Prince liberates and exposes the power that lies in the image while providing a fresh take on its cultural significance.