Richard Diebenkorn

Etching and drypoint with aquatint printed in colors, 1986, initialed in pencil, dated and numbered 45/60 (total edition includes ten artist's proofs), on Somerset paper, with the blindstamp of the printer and publisher, Crown Point Press, San Francisco, framed

The print is in good condition, the full sheet, the colors are very fresh and vibrant. (Extremely faint traces of soiling in upper right and bottom margins.)
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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Green, the artist’s largest and most important print, is one of the icons of postwar printing in America. The monumental size, balanced composition and layers of abstraction and brilliant color were a culmination of Diebenkorn’s achievements in printmaking .

A video created by Kathan Brown over the two week period in January 1986 when Diebenkorn worked on Green illustrates how closely the artist collaborated with the master printers at Crown Point Press and shows his exploration of technique, form and color. As with his paintings, Diebenkorn employed a trial-and-error approach, resulting in dozens of different states and working proofs. According to Brown, “After the printers pulled a proof, he pasted or pinned cutout paper shapes to it until he got something he thought might work. Then the printers helped him figure out how to put the changes he wanted into the plates.”

Given the size of Diebenkorn's Green, it was his most technically challenging print to produce. The final printing took seven plates, three different greens and the collaboration of five different printers. The plate took one and a half hours to ink and each impression took two hours to print.

The video can be found at https://crownpoint.com/exhibition/green-richard-diebenkorn-story-print/