Ed Ruscha’s oeuvre is incredibly diverse in its use of media and includes painting, drawing, print, photography, and film, among other less categorical experiments such as artist’s books. The highly graphic, illustrational aesthetic, and often ironic language-based content of his work has become iconic in West Coast Pop art. Born Edward Joseph Ruscha IV in Omaha, Nebraska, on December 16, 1937, and raised largely in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Ruscha relocated to Los Angeles, in 1956 to attend the Chouinard Art Institute (now Cal Arts). Although widely recognized as an American Pop artist, he contributed greatly to the development of Conceptual art, and precursors to his work can be traced to Abstract Expressionism, Dadaism, and Surrealism. The most iconic works by Ruscha are his paintings and works on paper that feature language, which employs calligraphic techniques and sardonic, even glib text. In many ways, these text-based works act as a critique of pop culture, canon, and semantics itself. Their inspiration is drawn from more accessible sources than the high art of museums and other major institutions, such as comic strips, commercial advertising, and typography. In his well-known painting OOF, from 1962 (reworked in 1963 and in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York), Ruscha makes onomatopoeia the focus of the piece, rather than relegating it to the status of adornment for another image, like it is traditionally used in comic strips. Ruscha is also known for his print and photography books like Every Building on the Sunset Strip (1966) and Twentysix Gasoline Stations (1963) featuring exactly what the titles suggest in a deadpan black and white. Ruscha’s stylistic technique of combining high and low media and inspiration, and his striking visual design aesthetic, have made his works incredibly popular, and numerous museums and collections worldwide have acquired his work, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Tate Modern, London; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Ruscha continues to live and work in Culver City, California.

Ed Ruscha

The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction

Property from a Prestigious Private Collection

Property from a Prestigious Private Collection Ed Ruscha b. 1937 Light Leaks signed and dated 1993 (on the reverse) acrylic and tinted varnish on canvas 40 by 72 in. 101.6 by 182.9 cm. Executed in 1993.

light leaks

Vision: The Extraordinary Collection of Theodore and Ruth Baum Evening Auction

Vision: The Extraordinary Collection of Theodore and Ruth Baum

Vision: The Extraordinary Collection of Theodore and Ruth Baum Ed Ruscha b. 1937 Dimple signed and dated 1964 (on the reverse) oil on canvas 28 by 30 in. 71.1 by 76.2 cm. Executed in 1964.

dimple

Contemporary Day Auction

Ed Ruscha b. 1937 Ungkay signed and dated 2008 (lower right) acrylic on museum board 14 by 20 in. 35.6 by 50.8 cm. Executed in 2008.

ungkay

GAL CHEWS GUM, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ed+Ruscha&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ed Ruscha</a>, 2019-2021.<ul><li>Ed Ruscha (American, born 1937).</li><li>Cast bronze with hand applied patina.</li><li>Edition #15/40.</li></ul>

GAL CHEWS GUM

Mr. Ray, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=ed+ruscha&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ed Ruscha</a>, 1975.<ul><li>Ed Ruscha (American, born 1937).</li><li>Lithograph in colors on Wove paper.</li><li>Hand signed and numbered.</li><li>Part of an edition of 100.</li><li>Published by Lusciano Anselmino, Paris/Milan.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul> This lithograph was included as part of the La Logique Assassine [Murderous Logic] portfolio created by Luciano Anselmino to celebrate the Surrealist and Dada artist, (Man Ray 1890-1976). From the early 1970s Ruscha began to turn away from his iconic Gas Station Americana and started making drawings and paintings of single words or short phrases placed against soft unmodulated backgrounds. The text appears as the main focal point, appealing to the artist for both its visual and phonetic forms but also how it takes on paradoxical resonance in isolation from its mundane contexts.

Mr. Ray

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First edition</a>, first issue of Every Building on the Sunset Strip by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ed+Ruscha&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ed Ruscha</a>.<ul><li>Ed Ruscha (American).</li><li>Los Angeles: Edward Ruscha, 1966.</li><li>52 pages.</li><li>Accordion-fold sequence of offset-printed black and white photographs, attached to inside of upper wrapper.</li><li>White wrappers, spine and upper side printed in silver, publisher's silver mylar-covered board slipcase, with the original white wraparound band.</li></ul> Regards à travers Le Livre 138; Engberg &amp; Phillpot, Edward Ruscha: Editions 1959-1999. Catalogue Raisonne (B4); The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century pp182-5; The Open Book: A History of the Photographic Book from 1878 to the Present pp198-9; The Photobook: A History II, pp142-3. Ruscha's first attempt to photograph the strip on foot failed as parked cars got in the way. He resolved this problem by driving up and down Sunset Boulevard with a motor-driven 35mm camera fixed to his truck, photographing every building between Hollywood and Beverly Hills. The resulting photographs were laid out and joined together. The even-numbered south side runs along the top, the north side along the bottom, with the corresponding numbers printed below each building and names of cross streets. This accurate record of a period of extraordinary growth in Los Angeles is representative of the urban sprawl taking place throughout the United States.

Every Building on the Sunset Strip | First Edition, First Issue

Vanish by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=ed+ruscha&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ed Ruscha</a>, 1973.<ul><li>Ed Ruscha (American, born 1937).</li><li>Screenprint in colors on Arches Wove paper.</li><li>Hand signed, dated and inscribed.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>&nbsp;&nbsp;This screenprint in colors is hand signed in pencil “E. Ruscha” at the lower left sheet edge. It is dated “1973” next to the signature.&nbsp;It is also hand inscribed in pencil ‘Artist’s proof,’ at the lower left sheet edge. This is one of 13 artist’s proofs aside from the standard edition of 50. It was printed by Ed Hamilton and co-published by Cirrus Editions and Brooke Alexander Editions, Los Angeles and New York.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the 1960s, Ed Ruscha's words typically followed a standard formal style. The emboldened logo in the artist's Standard Station series epitomizes the hard-edge typeface that had become characteristic of the artist's graphic design. The ensuing years saw Ruscha embark on the set of paintings, drawings, and prints known collectively as the "Liquid Word" series. The artist had started pouring various fluids on flat surfaces and sketching the results, finding the irregular formations of pooling liquid a compelling contrast to the rigidity of his earlier text. He began to adapt this amorphous quality to his words. In 1969, Ruscha realized this new typography in print. He completed a two-month fellowship at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, a non-profit print workshop in Los Angeles founded to introduce a new generation of artists to lithography. Collaborating with Tamarind's Robert Rogers, Ruscha produced a group of masterful lithographs in small editions that explore his "romance with liquids."&nbsp;

Vanish

Red Ants, from: Insects, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=ed+ruscha&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ed Ruscha</a>, 1972.<ul><li>Ed Ruscha (American, born 1937).</li><li>Screenprint on Wove Paper.</li><li>Hand signed and numbered.</li><li>Part of an edition of 100.</li><li>Printed by Styria Studio, New York.</li><li>Published by Multiples Inc., New York in a portfolio of six screenprints.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul>

Red Ants, from: Insects

Swarm of Red Ants, from Insects, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ed+Ruscha&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ed Ruscha</a>, 1972.<ul><li>Ed Ruscha (American, born 1937).</li><li>Screen print on Wove paper.</li><li>Hand-signed, dated, and numbered.</li><li>Edition 48/100.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul> This original screen print is hand signed in pencil “E Ruscha” at the lower centre of the image. It is dated “1972” next to the signature. It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 100, at the lower left corner. There were also 15 artist’s proofs aside from the standard edition. It was printed by Styria Studio, New York and published by Multiples Inc., New York in a portfolio of six screen prints. The paper bears the copyright ink stamp of the artist, verso.

Swarm of Red Ants, from: Insects

Petro Plots: Hollywood/Vine, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ed+Ruscha&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ed Ruscha</a>, 2001.<ul><li>Ed Ruscha (American, born 1937).</li><li>Print on handmade paper.</li><li>Signed, dated, numbered recto in pencil along the lower margin.</li><li>Part of an edition of 75, 7 AP, 7 HC.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul>

Petro Plots: Hollywood/Vine

Science is Truth Found Out, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=ed+ruscha&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ed Ruscha</a>, 2002<ul><li>Ed Ruscha (American, born 1937).</li><li>Silk twill scarf with black presentation box.</li><li>Hand numbered in black felt tip pen.</li><li>Part of an edition of 500.</li><li>Produced in Italy by Massif Central, New York.</li><li>Co-published by (Red) and Gagosian, New York.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul> The composition is based on an original drawing by Ruscha inspired by the phrase he saw inscribed in stone above the entrance to the science building of a Hollywood High School. The charity RED partners with artists and brands to create limited editions to raise funding towards HIV/AIDS grants in countries with a high prevalence of HIV.

 Science is Truth Found Out

Rusty Signs - Dead End 2 by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ed+Ruscha&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ed Ruscha</a>, 2014.<ul><li>Ed Ruscha (American, born 1967).</li><li>Print on handmade paper.</li><li>Signed, dated, numbered recto in pencil along the lower margin.</li><li>Edition of 50, 10 AP, 7 HC.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul>

Rusty Signs | Dead End 2

Boiling Blood, Fly, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ed+Ruscha&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ed Ruscha</a>, 1969.<ul><li>Ed Ruscha (American, born 1937).</li><li>Lithograph in colors on Wove paper.</li><li>Hand-signed, dated, and numbered.</li><li>Edition 5/20.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul> This original lithograph in colors is hand signed in pencil “E. Ruscha” at the lower right margin. It is dated “1969” next to the signature. It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 20, at the lower left margin. There were also 3 artist’s proofs aside from the standard edition. It was printed and published by Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Los Angeles. The paper bears the blindstamp of the publisher in the lower right corner. Other impressions of this work can be found in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Boiling Blood, Fly

WEN OUT FOR CIGRETS N NEVER CAME BACK, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ed+Ruscha&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ed Ruscha</a>, 2017.<ul><li>Ed Ruscha (American, born 1937).</li><li>Cast bronze with hand applied patina</li><li>Edition LP4.</li></ul>

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