Live Auction 20001Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale
JAMES ROSENQUIST (1933-2017)
Lot 301

JAMES ROSENQUIST (1933-2017)

Drawing for Shelf Life

Closed14 May 2021

Price Realised

USD 50,000

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JAMES ROSENQUIST (1933-2017)
Drawing for Shelf Life
titled 'drawing for Shelf Life' (lower left); signed and dated 'James Rosenquist 1972' (lower right)
acrylic, graphite and charcoal on paper
41 ¾ x 30 in. (106 x 76.2 cm.)
Executed in 1972.

Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Bagley Wright, Seattle
Their sale; Christie's, New York, 12 May 2005, lot 255
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Specialist note

The present drawing is a study for a sculpture of the same name, which Rosenquist completed in 1972. "Shelf Life is a metaphor," Rosenquist says. "It's about trying new things. Paint gets stale on the shelf; so do ideas and plans. It was an elaborate joke. You could only get paint on this canvas by opening and closing the door" (J. Rosenquist, quoted in James Rosenquist, exh. cat., Denver Art Museum, 1985, p. 53).