Renaissance man and artist Larry Rivers is often referred to by scholars as the Godfather of Pop Art. Though his early career in the 1950s was defined by more traditional subjects and narrative themes, by 1960 he started to turn to everyday objects and commercial images for inspiration. His Dutch Masters series, begun in 1963, was not, as the name would imply, inspired directly by an artist, but by a brand of cigars whose billboard he had seen on the highway. The brand utilized Rembrandt’s Syndics of the Drapers’ Guild for their own commercial ends. Rivers, who was no stranger to reusing iconic, established imagery in his creations (one of his early successes was his 1953 painting Washington Crossing the Delaware), was immediately taken by this promotional reincarnation of a masterpiece and explored the theme over the course of several works. The resulting paintings, lithographs, and sculptures are wry, multivalent takes on twentieth century consumerism and the relationship between capitalism and high culture.
One night in the early sixties I passed something on the Long Island Expressway...The billboard advertising cigars, Dutch Masters. I realized it was sort of perfect...You're looking at Rembrandt – in neon! It was...irresistible.
Larry Rivers
Larry Rivers 1923–2002
Born Yitzroch Loiza Grossberg in 1923, Larry Rivers paved the way for the birth of Pop Art through his innovative marrying of Abstract Expressionism, Nouveau Réalisme and the iconic imagery of commercial advertising. Esteemed for his contributions by critics and contemporaries, Rivers occupies a singular place in the history of contemporary art as evinced in a statement by Andy Warhol, proclaiming “Larry’s painting style was unique - it wasn’t Abstract Expressionism and it wasn’t Pop, it fell into the period in between. But his personality was very Pop.”
From a young age, Rivers displayed a prodigious talent for the creative, especially in the form of jazz, and it was from his early band, Larry Rivers and the Mudcats, that at the age of 17, he chose his new moniker. Though he attended the prestigious Julliard School of Music, he ultimately decided to focus his efforts on the visual arts and began studying under the tutelage of Hans Hofmann. His early work was heavily influenced by the Abstract Expressionist movement, but he soon evolved into a versatile artist.
Merging his passion for painting with his love for music, literature, poetry and popular culture, his works were ceaseless explorations of media and themes. He was continuously pushing the boundaries of traditional art, drawing influence from many of his contemporaries in the New York and Paris art scenes such as Yves Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle, Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler and Willem de Kooning. Outside of the world of visual art, Rivers established close relationships with poets John Ashbery and Frank O’Hara and it was his relationship with the latter that would inspire some of his most iconic works.
Over the course of his career, Rivers evaded categorization. At times he was a filmmaker, a musician, an actor, a poet, and even a nightclub MC. He was also, though, a charismatic teacher and mentor with a profound desire to nurture the talents of younger artists and further the possibilities of what art could accomplish. The immense popularity Rivers enjoyed during his career still continues to today and his highly sought-after works can now be found in the collections of institutions worldwide such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Auction Results Larry Rivers
