Working proof for plate 1 of Permanently
Artist
Alfred Leslie
(American, born 1927)
Date1959–1960
Mediumscreenprint on off-white wove paper
Dimensionssheet: 45.9 x 36.2 cm (18 1/16 x 14 1/4 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
Markingsdealer sticker on verso: Susan Sheehan Gallery, 41 East 57th Street, 11th Floor New York, NY 10022 212 888-4220
Credit LineRichard A. Heald Fund
Terms
Object number1995.67.15
DescriptionPermanently by Kennneth Koch with prints by Alfred Leslie printed by Tiber Press, 1960Label TextAlfred Leslie (1927- ) Kenneth Koch (1925-2002) Master printer Florian Vecchio (1920-2005) and partner Richard Miller (1920-1971) founded Tiber Press in 1953. The press is best known for introducing the technique of silkscreen printing to second generation Abstract Expressionist artists and later to Andy Warhol, for whom the medium became a trademark. Created in collaboration with poet Kenneth Koch, Alfred Leslie’s limited edition book Permanently is one in a series of four books which paired Leslie, Michael Goldberg, Grace Hartigan, and Joan Mitchell with a leading poet in the New York School. Screenprinting is a sophisticated variation on stenciling. At the most elemental level, an artist creates a cut-out pattern which is inserted between a substrate (paper in this case) and a fine mesh screen. Ink is pressed through the screen using a squeegee and transfers onto the substrate in areas where the stencil is not blocking the ink. In the case of sophisticated silkscreens like Leslie’s, there are several layers of stenciling and color blocking. Each additional layer and color requires a separate run through the silkscreen press. While working toward the final arrangement of stencils used for the first plate of Permanently, Leslie chose to cover and redact elements in his earlier proofs. The adhered red and green pieces of torn paper accompanied by scribbled instructions, demonstrate Leslie’s additive process. However, notably missing from the finished work are the black semi-circular graphic marks near the bottom of two late proofs. ProvenanceSusan Sheehan Gallery, New York, NY
On View
Not on view
