Arman, Hope for Peace, 1997

Arman

Hope for Peace, 1997

Permanent marker drawing held inside a softback monograph (Hand signed and inscribed to noted collector and philanthropist David Copley)

Signed and inscribed by Arman to noted collector and philanthropist David Copley

11 1/2 × 9 3/4 × 1/2 inches

The unique drawing, done in marker by Arman on the title page, is of his own monumental 1996 sculpture "Espoir de Paix/ Hope for Peace," depicted on the cover of the book. The Hope for Peace (Espoir de Paix) Monument is a monument in Yarze, Lebanon, made to celebrate the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990, designed by the French-born American artist Arman, whose full name was Armand Fernandez. It is located near Lebanon's Ministry of National Defence. Hope for Peace is the official monument to commemorate the end of the civil war in Lebanon. The monument is unusual in that it contains 78 military vehicles, from a range of eras and nations. It resembles a bombed-out building, with the vehicles positioned in it. The guns of the tanks and military vehicles stick out of it, mostly pointing in one direction.

The present drawing, done soon after Arman completed this major public sculpture, is hand signed and inscribed to noted collector and philanthropist David C. Copley, and was acquired from the latter's estate.

David Copley (January 31, 1952 – November 20, 2012), an American publishing heir, on the board of the Copley Press for over thirty years, becoming president and owner, as well as publisher of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He was a noted philanthropist. Until his death a resident of the San Diego neighborhood of La Jolla, California, Copley had been named in Forbes Magazine's 2005 list of the 400 richest Americans and according to Forbes magazine was a billionaire. Copley was a noted sponsor of the arts, both personally and through the James S. Copley Foundation, including the Old Globe Theatre and Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park, San Diego, and the La Jolla Playhouse. He supported the Museum of Contemporary Art both financially and on the board, leading to the establishment of The David C. Copley Chair and the David C. Copley Building, and from 2011 until his death he served as President of the Board of Trustees of the museum. He established The David C. Copley Center for the Study of Costume Design at UCLA with a $6 million grant in 2008. He also gave to animal shelters in San Diego and Escondido, as well as the San Diego Crew Classic and the new downtown library. Copley was an avid collector of contemporary art, which included a world class collection by Christo, as well as pieces by Andy Warhol, John Baldessari, and David Hockney.

About Arman:
“I specialize very much in… everything,” the French-born American artist Arman told an interviewer in 1968. “I have never been — how do you say it? A dilettante.” Regarded as one of the most prolific and inventive creators of the late 20th century, Arman’s vast artistic output ranges from drawings and prints to monumental public sculpture to his famous “accumulations” of found objects. His work—strongly influenced by Dada, and in turn a strong influence on Pop Art—is in the collections of such institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Born in Nice in 1928, Armand Pierre Fernandez showed a precocious talent for painting and drawing as a child. (Inspired by Vincent van Gogh, he signed his early work with his first name only; he retained a printer’s 1958 misspelling of his name for the rest of his career.) The son of an antiques dealer and amateur cellist, the artist absorbed an intense appreciation for music, the art of collecting and the cultivation of discriminating taste from an early age. After studies at the Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Nice, Arman decamped to Paris to study art history at the Ecole du Louvre. His work in these early years focused on abstract paintings inspired by the work of Nicolas de Staël. An avid reader, Arman sought inspiration through books and art reviews, as well as during frequent road trips throughout Europe with his artist friends from Nice, Claude Pascale and Yves Klein.

Book details:
Title: Arman
Publisher: Galerie Enrico Navarra
Publication Date: 1997
Binding: softcover
Measurements: 11.5 inches vertical by 9.75 inches by .5 inches
Pages: 143

Provenance:
Acquired from the collection and estate of the renowned West Coast philanthropist and arts patron David Copley