Irene Sieberger
Senior Specialist
Lot 6*,TP
Larry Rivers(1923-2002)Last Veteran of the Civil War
1970
1970
Amended
15 October 2021, 15:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £87,750 inc. premium
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Larry Rivers (1923-2002)
Last Veteran of the Civil War
1970
oil on canvas, painted wood, plastic, cloth and mixed media
188 by 244 by 122 cm.
74 by 96 1/16 by 48 1/16 in.
This work was executed in 1970.
1970
oil on canvas, painted wood, plastic, cloth and mixed media
188 by 244 by 122 cm.
74 by 96 1/16 by 48 1/16 in.
This work was executed in 1970.
Footnotes
Provenance
Marlborough Fine Art, New York
The Commemorative Art Collection of the Florists' Transworld Delivery Association, Michigan
Bo Alveryd Collection, Sweden
Private Collection, Sweden
Thence by descent to the present owner
Exhibited
New York, Marlborough Fine Art, Larry Rivers: 1965 - 1970, 1970-1971
Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry, Each in His Own Way: the Commemorative Art Collection of the Florists' Transworld Delivery Association, 1971
Seattle, The Art Museum, American Art, 1973, p. 44, no. 55, illustrated in colour
Paris, Palais Galliera, 100 Tableaux Contemporains, 1974, n.p., no. 100, illustrated in colour
Sweden, Lunds Konsthall, Americans, 1977, n.p., illustrated in black and white
Literature
Sam Hunter, Larry Rivers, New York 1969, n.p., pl. 245, illustrated in colour
Art Media, LLC, 'What's the Flower Business doing in the Art World' in Art News, February 1972, n.p., illustrated in colour
American artist, Larry Rivers, created an innovative body of work during his oeuvre whose distinctive style formed a bridge between Abstract Expressionism and the beginnings of Pop Art. Coming of age during the rise of Abstract Expressionism in the 1940s and 1950s, and having initially studied under Hans Hoffman, the artist inherited the gesture, spontaneity, and extravagant painterly style of the New York School. Yet, he worked from a distinctively informed, if not postmodern, sensibility. Rivers began a lifelong fascination with reinterpreting the iconic imagery of American culture, throwing long-established clichés into question as he chose instead to render them in bold displays of richly textured paint. In some respects, Rivers's work foreshadowed Pop Art, his work has been labelled as 'proto-Pop', forming a link between Abstract Expressionism and the younger Pop artists such as Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, whom Rivers knew.
This present work, Last Veteran of the Civil War, executed in 1970, was originally created for a floral messaging service for the 'The Commemorative Art Collection of the Florists' Transworld Delivery Association' which was a floral wire service, retailer and wholesaler formed in 1910 for the purpose of helping its customers to send flowers remotely on the same day. Here, Rivers presents to us a three-dimensional construction depicting a Civil War Veteran laid to rest in his coffin, overlooked by a stoic figure dressed in Confederate uniform alongside the Confederate flag and a panel illustrating a delicate floristry design. He seeks to call into question our understanding of the past and encourages the viewer to reflect upon their own interpretation of historic events. Upon its execution the work was proudly executed in an exhibition organised by the Museum of Science and Industry titled Each in His Own Way: the Commemorative Art Collection of the Florists' Transworld Delivery Association. The work initially received some criticism, with audiences believing that in comparison to his paintings of the subject, that this installation piece focused too heavily on the reality of morbidity. However, today we might praise Rivers for his progressive and bold interpretation of a subject in history, that remains a hallmark of his body of work.
'The Last Civil War Veteran' is a subject matter Rivers repeated many times throughout his career, albeit perhaps more recognised in his monumental painted canvases. He reportedly became interested in the subject of a lost generation of soldiers having seen a photograph in a 1959 issue of Life magazine of Walter Williams, who was believed to be the last surviving Veteran of the Civil War. It was reported that the artist Ray Parker sent this issue of Life to Rivers, accompanied by the word: "Go!". This set the stage for Rivers and began one of the artist's most significant, politically charged series for which he is widely recognised. Rivers was intrigued by mass-circulation imagery and contemporary perspectives on historical events. He was not so much a storyteller but an observer of the ways that stories are told, and this present work encourages the viewer to engage in the boldest demonstration of experience.
An artist whose career defied traditional categorisation, Larry Rivers wanted his works to provoke and question. He would have known the political and social implications of featuring the Confederate flag, in his works, which underwent a divisive resurgence in the early 1960s. Yet, he instead depicts the Confederate flag, and here crated in faux flowers, as a piece of Americana, an emblem of history, or perhaps as a Pop icon.
A retrospective of Larry River's work toured five American museums in 1965 and that same year he created a 76-panel multimedia work titled The History of the Russian Revolution. In 2002 the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. held a major and most comprehensive retrospective of the artist; timely, as Larry Rivers was to pass away that same year. This present work has been widely exhibited since its execution and it is an absolutely signature piece to come to the market.
Saleroom notices
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