Pollock, Jackson (poster AND catalogue)

Jackson Pollock. Betty Parsons Gallery, 15 East 57th St, Nov. 26 [to] Dec. 15 1951, opening 4 to 7

New York: Betty Parsons Gallery, 1951. Poster, printed both sides in black on off-white laid paper. Folded in sixths. 43.3 x 56 cm / 17 x 22 in. (oversquare). Some signs of aging at edges; very small loss of paper at top right corner not affecting text or image. The folds are all whole and with no rubbing. In an essay by Jerome Weeks describing the Pollock retrospective at the Dallas Museum of Art in 2015, he writes of the new works, "just black enamel on raw canvas… [with] hints of faces and figures – precisely the kind of traditional imagery he’d rejected." He continues, "The show was a disaster. Later, Parson reportedly sold a single painting — for half-price." Still, wouldn't you have liked to be walking to the gallery that afternoon at 3:55 p.m., shivering, no doubt? The accompanying catalogue has 16 illustrations on the covers and 16 unnumbered pages. They include 13 full-size plates (1 double-spread) + 2 illustrations (1 on the title page).Off-white, laid paper covers. 28 x 21.5 cm. Text by the artist Alfonso Ossorio. The 4th and 5th scans (incorrectly marked "poster") illustrate the covers of the catalogue. The black border is background, not part of the catalogue design. Slight damage at the bottom front corner and some staining at the bottom margin of the rear cover and last leaf. The first owners of the the poster and catalogue were Harold and Helen Faye, close friends of Pollock's during the 1940s. Harold was a printmaker and fellow artist in the WPA. Laid in: a photocopy of a description by Helen of works by Pollock that she and her husband owned. Years ago, she gave the poster and catalogue to a close friend of hers and mine, a fine printer ot the first water. That's provenance of at least the second water. Item #100665

Price: $4,500.00