William Nelson Copley American, (1919-1996) interior scene floral curtains, 1972 felt tip pen / ink on paper signed and dated center left. Biography from RoGallery: Only after he opened his own gallery in California in 1947 did William Copley begin to paint for himself. Since then, his work has appeared in such museums as the Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.; Art Institute of Chicago, and the Tate Gallery in London. The magic in his work comes from his ability to capture his inventive imagination on canvas and the print medium. Copley's love for intricate and complicated design is evident in any one of his works. It is not unusual for him to blend stripes, polk-a-dots, plaids and checkers into a single, striking image. Born in New York in 1919 and educated at Yale University, Copley has emerged as primarily a surrealist. Mr. Copley led a charmed life that included not only painting but also art dealing and collecting and philanthropy. Born in New York City in 1919, he was orphaned as an infant and adopted by Ira C. Copley, a newspaper tycoon who owned 16 newspapers in Chicago and San Diego. He attended Yale University and worked briefly as a reporter for The San Diego Tribune. But a friend introduced Mr. Copley to Surrealist painting, and he became friendly with the colony of expatriate Surrealists then in Los Angeles, including Man Ray and Max Ernst. In 1947 he opened a gallery there to show their work, but closed it when nothing sold, his failure as a salesman of Surrealist art marking the start of his careers as a collector and artist. Over the years he amassed one of the world's most respected collections of Surrealist art, which included Man Ray's unforgettable image of large red lips floating above the landscape. The collection was sold at auction in 1979 for $6.7 million, at the time the highest total for the auction of a single owner's collection in the United States. Mr. Copley spent most of the 50's and early 60's living and working in Paris, where his friendship with the Surrealists made him a welcome member of their movement. But the style he perfected was Surrealist only in its emphasis on uninhibited expressions of the libido. His cartoonish figures had affinities to Pop Art, which they presaged, and drew from American folk art. In 1953, Mr. Copley and his second wife, Noma Ratner, founded the William and Noma Copley Foundation, later known as the Cassandra Foundation, which gave small grants to artists. The foundation also gave Marcel Duchamp's last work, Etant Donnes, to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Mr. Copley had been one of the few people to see it before then; Duchamp had worked on it in secret for 20 years.
William Nelson Copley American, (1919-1996) interior scene with floral chair, 1972 felt tip pen / ink on paper signed and dated lower right. Biography from RoGallery: Only after he opened his own gallery in California in 1947 did William Copley begin to paint for himself. Since then, his work has appeared in such museums as the Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.; Art Institute of Chicago, and the Tate Gallery in London. The magic in his work comes from his ability to capture his inventive imagination on canvas and the print medium. Copley's love for intricate and complicated design is evident in any one of his works. It is not unusual for him to blend stripes, polk-a-dots, plaids and checkers into a single, striking image. Born in New York in 1919 and educated at Yale University, Copley has emerged as primarily a surrealist. Mr. Copley led a charmed life that included not only painting but also art dealing and collecting and philanthropy. Born in New York City in 1919, he was orphaned as an infant and adopted by Ira C. Copley, a newspaper tycoon who owned 16 newspapers in Chicago and San Diego. He attended Yale University and worked briefly as a reporter for The San Diego Tribune. But a friend introduced Mr. Copley to Surrealist painting, and he became friendly with the colony of expatriate Surrealists then in Los Angeles, including Man Ray and Max Ernst. In 1947 he opened a gallery there to show their work, but closed it when nothing sold, his failure as a salesman of Surrealist art marking the start of his careers as a collector and artist. Over the years he amassed one of the world's most respected collections of Surrealist art, which included Man Ray's unforgettable image of large red lips floating above the landscape. The collection was sold at auction in 1979 for $6.7 million, at the time the highest total for the auction of a single owner's collection in the United States. Mr. Copley spent most of the 50's and early 60's living and working in Paris, where his friendship with the Surrealists made him a welcome member of their movement. But the style he perfected was Surrealist only in its emphasis on uninhibited expressions of the libido. His cartoonish figures had affinities to Pop Art, which they presaged, and drew from American folk art. In 1953, Mr. Copley and his second wife, Noma Ratner, founded the William and Noma Copley Foundation, later known as the Cassandra Foundation, which gave small grants to artists. The foundation also gave Marcel Duchamp's last work, Etant Donnes, to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Mr. Copley had been one of the few people to see it before then; Duchamp had worked on it in secret for 20 years.
William Nelson Illinois, USA (b. 1942) Shot Put: Bruce Jenner Limited Edition Lithograph Hand signed by Bruce Jenner and William Nelson. Letter of Authenticity included.
NELSON, William, (American, b. 1942): Water Detail”, Several Union Soldiers on Water Detail Overlooking a Native American Camp, Watercolor, sight size 17.75" x 26.25", signed lower right, dated 74, titled verso, framed, 30.25" x 38.25".
Artist(s): William Nelson (American, b. 1942), "Wounded Knee Series - Sioux Braves gathering around sacred cottonwood tree at the conclusion of Sundance Ceremony / Pine Ridge, South Dakota - August 6, 1972." Medium: Watercolor painting. Signature(s): Inscription and signature, lower right. Paperwork/Provenance: N/A Condition: Work is in good overall condition. There are scuffs and scratches to the frame. Measurement(s): 22" x 30" (sheet), 28 1/4" x 36 1/4" (frame). In-house shipping is available. Please see our website regarding our in-house shipping procedures.
William Nelson, two men in a boat, chromolithograph, signed L/R, 17" x 21", in ornate gilt frame 22" x 27". Provenance: Estate of Dalia Zikas, Melrose, Massachusetts.
William Nelson Illinois, USA (b. 1942) Shot Put: Bruce Jenner Limited Edition Lithograph Hand signed by Bruce Jenner and William Nelson. Letter of Authenticity included.
COPLEY, WILLIAM NELSON 1919 New York - 1996 Key West Title: Untitled. Date: 1969. Technique: Acrylic on canvas. Measurement: 91 x 74cm. Notation: Signed and dated lower right: cply 69. Frame/Pedestal: Framed. We are grateful to Anthony Atlas, William N. Copley Estate, New York, for his kind scientific support. Provenance: - Estate of the artist - David Nolan Gallery, New York (label) - Galerie Manus Presse, Stuttgart/Klaus Gerrit Friese, Stuttgart (acquired from the previous owner in 2006) - Private collection North Rhine-Westphalia (acquired from the previous owner) Exhibitions: - Gallery Manus Presse/Klaus Gerrit Friese, Stuttgart 2006 - Gallery Klaus Gerrit Friese, Stuttgart 2009 Literature: - Exhib. cat. William N. Copley, Galerie Manus Presse/Klaus Gerrit Friese, Stuttgart 2006, p. 17, ill. - Exhib. cat. William N. Copley, Among Ourselves, Stuttgart 2009, cat. no. 33, ill. - William N. Copley's paintings combine inspirations from Surrealism and Pop Art to create a unique pictorial world - Copley - an "artist's artist" par excellence - Voyeurism as high art Estimated shipping costs for this lot: Arrangement after the auction. Explanations to the Catalogue William Nelson Copley USA Surrealism Pop Art Post-War Art Post War 1960s Framed Couples Painting Acrylic Human
COPLEY, WILLIAM NELSON 1919 New York - 1996 Key West Title: "Le Roi des Poivreaux". Date: 1957. Technique: Oil on canvas. Measurement: 114 x 161,5cm. Notation: Titled, signed and dated verso lower right: LE ROI DES POIVREAUX Cply 57. Frame/Pedestal: Framed. We are grateful to Anthony Atlas, William N. Copley Estate, New York, for his kind scientific support. Provenance: - Hélène Anavi Collection, Paris - Sotheby's, London, auction 28th March 1984, lot 68 - Private collection Switzerland Exhibitions: - Fondation de l'Hermitage, Lausanne 2010 Literature: - Exhib. cat. La Maison et l'Infini, Fondation de l'Hermitage, Lausanne 2010, pp. 72 and 73, ill. - Rarely published key work from William N. Copley's Paris years - Painting at the interface between Surrealism and Pop - A hidden homage to the Belgian surrealist René Magritte Estimated shipping costs for this lot: Arrangement after the auction. Explanations to the Catalogue William Nelson Copley USA Surrealism Pop Art Post-War Art Post War 1950s Framed Man Painting Oil
Impressionist town scene oil on board painting by William Nelson (American, b. 1942). Depicts Le Relais Cezanne, a cafe in Le Tholonet, a village near Aix en Provence in France. Signed and dated 82 LL. Unframed. Measures 18" x 24". Provenance & note: From a Florida Modern art collection amassed beginning in the 1950s in Michigan. All proceeds from the sale of this item will go to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wis. Many of the important art pieces in the sale are from this same lifetime collection. This item will need to be shipped by a packing company of your choice. We maintain a list of reliable shippers, or you may choose your own.
Impressionist oil on board painting by William Nelson (American, b. 1942). Titled on verso label, "Mr. Ploton is his Garden.". Signed and dated 80 LL. Unframed. Measures 16" x 17-3/4" in 23-1/2" x 25-1/2" frame. Provenance & note: From a Florida Modern art collection amassed beginning in the 1950s in Michigan. All proceeds from the sale of this item will go to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wis. Many of the important art pieces in the sale are from this same lifetime collection. This item will need to be shipped by a packing company of your choice. We maintain a list of reliable shippers, or you may choose your own.
William Nelson "Monterey Wharf" multi color silkscreen - signed LR and numbered 317/500 LL - depicting a wharf with dock, buildings, figures, and docked sailboats in a palette of pinks, blues, and yellows. Image area measures approx. 25" W x 18" H in a gold tone frame measuring approx. 31.75" W x 25" H.
COPLEY, WILLIAM NELSON 1919 New York - 1996 Key West Title: Happy Birthday. Date: 1974. Technique: Acrylic on canvas. Measurement: 117 x 89cm. Notation: Signed and dated lower right: CPLY 74. As well as inscribed verso: HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEG # 19161. We thank Mr. Anthony Atlas, William N. Copley Estate, New York, for the kind, scientific support. Provenance: - Sammlung Kasper König, Berlin (since 1992, directly from artist) Exhibitions: - Ulmer Museum, Ulm 1997 - Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau 2000 (label verso) Literature: - Exhib. cat. William N. Copley: True Confessions, Ulmer Museum, Ulm 1997, ill. - Omlin, Sibylle (ed.): Das Gedächtnis der Malerei, ein Lesebuch zur Malerei im 20. Jahrhundert, Cologne 2000, p. 392, ill. A work as a symbol of friendship William N. Copley's work "Happy Birthday" from 1974 was a birthday present from the artist to Kasper König and can be seen as a symbol of the friendship between the curator and the artist. In 1972, Copley took part in documenta 5, in which König also participated, in the department of individual mythologies alongside representatives such as A.R. Penck. In 1982, he also took part in documenta 7 in Kassel. In 1981, his works were selected for Kasper König's groundbreaking exhibition "Westkunst". Today he is represented in the collection of the Museum Ludwig. König is also involved in the catalog for Copley's 2019 exhibition "The Coffin They Carry You Off In". In Germany, Copley was popular among a small circle of collectors such as Hans Neuendorf, Reinhard Onnasch, Renate Fassbender, Fred Jahn and Rudolf Springer, with whom Kasper König maintained close contact. X-Rated series "Happy Birthday" from 1974 is part of the 'X-Rated' series from 1972 to 1974, which was a turning point in Colpey's career. The colourful, richly patterned works with their naive sexual symbolism are characterized by an exuberant and playful sense of humour and address sexual freedom away from social stigmatization. She was first exhibited at the New Museum in New York in 1974 and reconstructed by the Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York in 2010. Like "Reclining Nude" (Lot 12), the works from the "X-Rated" series are also included in the exhibition at the Fondazione Prada in Milan and The Menil Collection in Houston. Happy Birthday Even if the present work cannot be directly counted as part of the "X-Rated" series, it is nevertheless exemplary of this phase of Copley's work. In contrast to the intensely colored works of the "X-Rated" series, however, Copley limits himself here to contours in magenta on a white background. In addition to the color contrast, the painter also plays with the contrasts of the checkered background, which suggests the surroundings of a bathroom, and the round contours of the female figure. Through the reduced use of color and the exaggeration of the female attributes, Copley lends his work a comic-like, humorous undertone, which gives the painting a certain lightness and can be interpreted as a clear reference to Pop Art. Estimated shipping costs for this lot: Arrangement after the auction. Explanations to the Catalogue William Nelson Copley USA Surrealism Pop Art Post-War Art Post War 1970s Nude Painting Oil Woman
COPLEY, WILLIAM NELSON 1919 New York - 1996 Key West Title: Untitled. Date: 1956. Technique: Oil on canvas. Measurement: 54 x 80,5cm. Notation: Signed and dated in the centre of the piano: CPLY 56. We thank Mr. Anthony Atlas, William N. Copley Estate, New York, for the kind, scientific support. Provenance: - Collection Roberto und Sonali Dasgupta Rossellini, Rom (since ca. 1960) - Collection Kasper König, Berlin (since ca. 1997) Exhibitions: - Galerie 1900-2000, Paris 1988 - Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau 2000 (label verso) Literature: - Exhib. cat., William N. Copley: CPLY, Galerie 1900-2000, Paris, ill. Copley in Paris The work " Ohne Titel" (Untitled) from 1956 can be placed in William N. Copley's time in Paris between 1951 and 1962, when he was strongly inspired by the surrealist pictorial language of the French. The theme at hand is liberation from political oppression, social norms and regulations. Copley summarizes his definitions and associations of freedom in the form of a kind of thought bubble made up of individual sections. This collage-inspired reflection on certain themes, in which memory, expectations and art-historical references are created, is a recurring motif in Copley's work during his time in France. The individual bubbles often move within a frame in the form of an automobile, which for Copley is a symbol of dynamism, both spatially and temporally. Although not directly depicted, this is echoed in the present example from 1956 in the form of the roads that wind around the thought structure. Art historical references Dance and fairground scenes, allusions to music and sports culture as well as traditions of the Christian religion and art history are clearly separated from each other by a clear subdivision. The French Wars of Liberation, such as the French Revolution (1789-1799) and the end of the Second World War, are also interwoven through the guillotine above and the French flags in the center of the picture. Art historical references can also be clearly identified in the painting. Copley quotes Édouard Manet's work "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe" (1863), which marked a radical change in the stylistic reception of art. In the center left, "Les raboteurs de parquet" by Gustave Caillebotte from 1875 is depicted. Both works became part of the discourse of the time due to their presentation of nudity in everyday scenes. As can be seen in the examples "Reclining Nude" (lot 12) and "Happy Birthday" (lot 14), Copley repeatedly devoted himself to the subject of sexual liberation in his works. Estimated shipping costs for this lot: Arrangement after the auction. Explanations to the Catalogue William Nelson Copley USA Surrealism Pop Art Post-War Art Post War 1950s Group of Figures Painting Oil Cityscape
COPLEY, WILLIAM NELSON 1919 New York - 1996 Key West Title: Lady Be Good. Date: 1953. Technique: Oil on canvas. Measurement: 114 x 162cm. Notation: Signed and dated in the depiction in the necklace: CPLY. Inscribed verso on stretcher: LADY BE GOOD. Frame/Pedestal: Framed. We thank Mr. Anthony Atlas, William N. Copley Estate, New York, for the kind, scientific support. The work was later exhibited under the title "Reclining Nude". Provenance: - Kasper König Collection, Berlin (gift from the artist) Exhibitions: - Galleria Montenapoleone, Milan 1954 - Kunsthalle Bern 1980 (label verso) - Centre Pompidou, Paris 1980/1981 (label verso) - Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven 1981 - Badischer Kunstverein Karlsruhe, 1981 - Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover 1995 - Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau 2000 (label verso) - Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden 2012 - The Menil Collection, Houston 2016 - Fondazione Prada, Milan 2016/17 - Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum, Bremen 2017/18 Literature: - Exhib. cat. William N. Copley, Musée national d'art moderne Centre Georges Pompidou Paris/Kunsthalle Bern, Bern/Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven 1980, cat. no. 14, ill. - Exhib. cat. William N. Copley: Heed Greed Trust Lust, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hannover 1995, ill. - Exhib. cat. Copley, Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, Fig. - Exhib. cat. William N. Copley, Fondazione Prada, Milan and The Menil Collection, Houston 2016, ill. - Exhib. cat. Schlaf: Eine Produktive Zeitverschwendung, Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum 2017, ill. - Exhib. cat. William N. Copley: The Coffin They Carry You Off In, ICA Miami, Miami 2019, ill. - Omlin, Sibylle (ed.): Das Gedächtnis der Malerei, ein Lesebuch zur Malerei im 20. Jahrhundert, Cologne 2000, p. 392, ill. After a brief phase as a gallery owner, the American William N. Copley devoted himself entirely to his work as an artist in the 1950s. As an autodidact, he mainly devoted himself to figurative painting and worked completely autonomously, independent of any art-historical categories, such as abstract expressionism, which was on the rise during his lifetime. His work combines humor, eroticism, social criticism and motifs from art history and literature to create an exceptional visual language. His style can be defined by pop culture themes such as the depiction of women, sex, patriotism and automobiles as well as by his distinctive painting style, namely clear contours and a luminous, two-dimensional application of paint. By using current themes, Copley lends his works a high degree of topicality and establishes the first tendencies towards Pop Art early on. The reduction to the essential contours and the resulting visual language, which is strongly reminiscent of the comic style, increases the expressiveness of Copley's pictures. Surrealist references Influenced by surrealist art, Copley's works are also designed to test the viewer's existing expectations. Even at the beginning of his career, he received numerous positive reactions to his paintings from his role models such as Max Ernst, Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp, with whom he made contact during his time as a gallery owner. Shortly after giving up his gallery in Beverly Hills, Copley moved to Paris in the early 1950s, where he developed his so-called "private mythology" under the influence of the surrealist avant-garde. A repertoire of forms from which he would draw for his entire career. Here he mainly established motifs such as the male figure with a bowler hat, based on Magritte, female nudes such as prostitutes, as well as policemen and automobiles. In addition to his work as a painter, Copley is also a collector and over the years has amassed one of the most impressive international surrealist art collections. Lady Be Good, or: Reclining Nude His 1953 work "Lady Be Good" was also created during this time and will be exhibited at the largest Copley retrospective in 2016. It is organized by the Fondazione Prada in Milan in cooperation with The Menil Collection in Houston. The work comes into Kasper König's possession as a gift from the artist: "Copley gave me a painting as a present once, a nude that is strongly reminiscent of Henri Matisse [Reclining Nude, 1953]. There's something charming and awkward about it, but it is also a true masterpiece. It is a nude on a mattress without sheets. The buttons of the mattress are like spiders. The woman's armpit hair is painted in the same way as this mattress decor. In the top left corner there's a bidet shimmering through-he had overpainted it, but it came through again ... it is now covered, but for this reason maybe more visible than before. Somebody said to me that Copley was told to overpaint the bidet in the picture because it was regarded as indecent in America-which is indeed possible in the face of its puritan culture-which is an interesting, speculative assertion. The picture possesses a certain innocence and naiveté. It is about a male gaze, but it by no means excludes the female gaze." With the depiction of a prostitute, Copley refers to the art historical tradition of courtesan depictions such as those found in Manet or Pablo Picasso, which always place the female figure somewhere between object of lust and scapegoat. In "Lady Be Good", creative and compositional parallels can also be drawn with artists such as Pierre Klossowski. Make Love not War The "unknown whore" is a recurring motif in Copley's oeuvre. The artist, who wanted to free sexual hedonism from pornographic stigmas, often took the motif of the sex worker as his subject, to which he dedicated an entire exhibition "Projects for Monuments to the Unknown Whore" in 1966. Copley rejects the degradation and simultaneous fetishization of prostitutes in his work and adds an ironic undertone to the stigmatized motif: "Here the reclining nude is not the object of a disinterested aesthetic sensibility, and there is the suggestion of laughter at the idea that a reclining nude ever was". Reproaching society with its most primitive repressed instincts and liberating it from ossified thought patterns remains a permanent concern of the artist. Estimated shipping costs for this lot: Arrangement after the auction. Explanations to the Catalogue William Nelson Copley USA Surrealism Pop Art Post-War Art Post War 1950s Framed Nude Painting Oil Woman
"The Bruce Jenner Decathlon Suite" by William Nelson, 1976 Olympic Edition. A set of 10 lithograph prints in book form housed in a large plastic portfolio, each print signed by Bruce Jenner, the artist William Nelson, and numbered. It includes a certificate of authenticity, an information pamphlet, and a letter from the president of Art Appraisers Of America.
WILLIAM NELSON 1976 OLYMPIC PORTFOLIO: "The Bruce Jenner Decathlon Suite", contains Lithographs signed by both Nelson and Jenner, numbered 95/500, encased in original custom portfolio, overall dimensions 29.5" x 22.75".
"The Bruce Jenner Decathlon Suite" by William Nelson, 1976 Olympic Edition. A set of 10 lithograph prints in book form housed in a large plastic portfolio, each print signed by Bruce Jenner, the artist William Nelson, and numbered. It includes a certificate of authenticity, an information pamphlet, and a letter from the president of Art Appraisers Of America.
Artist: William Nelson, American (1942 - ) Title: Shot Put from the Bruce Jenner Decathlon Suite Year: 1976 Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil - autographed by Bruce Jenner Edition: AP 57 Image Size: 19 x 25.5 inches Size: 22 x 29 in. (55.88 x 73.66 cm)
Signed and dated 'Cply 59'. The present work is registered in the Estate of William N. Copley, New York. For William Copley, the late 1950s are characterised by widespread travelling that restlessly led him and his wife Noma halfway around the world. In addition to France, Mexico pertained to one of their favourite destinations where they repeatedly took up residence and where Copley worked intensively and intently. Themes of Mexican folk art and inspiration through paintings of the European Old Masters were equally incorporated into his oeuvre as were comic elements. Copley also integrated the painting techniques demonstrated by artist friends such as Roberto Matta and René Magritte in his quest for a distinctive form of expression. His motif vocabulary - to which he would remain permanently loyal - was also formed during this time. '[…] he catalogued everything from life's trivia to its epic struggles with Breughelian equanimity and bemusement. The thematic innovations during his self-imposed exile are myriad. Copley introduced new collage-inspired image layering and interweaving techniques to give the work a new sense of simultaneity and dynamism.' (Toby Kamps, in: William N. Copley, exhib.cat. The Menil Collection, Houston, Fondazione Prada, Milan 2016, p.30). This is evident in the pictorial language of this small work, borrowed from comics, in which the painter makes the thoughts of the portrayed person visible, as it were.
DESCRIPTION: William Nelson (American, b. 1961) Mixed media collage featuring a Geisha like figure surrounded by mounted wood carved panels, textiles, and Chinese cultural motifs. Signed "Nelson" lower right. Mounted in an acrylic frame with gold toned hardware. CIRCA: 20th Century. ORIGIN: USA DIMENSIONS: H: 32.75" x L: 32.75" Have a similar item to sell? Contact: Info@Akibaantiques.com. CONDITION: Great condition. See lot description for details on item condition. More detailed condition requests can be obtained via email (info@akibaantiques.com) or SMS(305)-332-9274. Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Akiba Antiques shall have no responsibility for any error or omission."
WILLIAM NELSON "DANCING WATERS" LIMITED EDITION COASTAL BOAT SCENE LITHOGRAPH PRINT WALL ART HOME DECOR -34 / 625 -SIGNED IN PENCIL -20" X 24" APPROX TO FRAME -14" X 17.5" APPROX TO ART WINDOW -VERY GOOD CONDITION -DP7621
NELSON, William, (American, 1942-): Chicago Street Scene at the Corner of Michigan Ave, Allerton Hotel and Gucci, Oil/Canvas, unstretched, 38" x 58", signed lower right and dated '84.
