Jim Dine The Robert Fraser Gallery print, 1965

Jim Dine

The Robert Fraser Gallery London print, 1965

Lithograph. Hand Signed. Numbered. Unframed.

This cool Jim Dine lithograph was published on the occasion of his historic London exhibition at the Robert Fraser Gallery in June 1965.  This work is hand signed and numbered by the artist from the limited edition of 100 - a special signed and numbered lithograph on wove paper (apart from the poster edition which was unsigned).  In late 1966, after showing Dine’s works, the Fraser Gallery was served a summons under an antiquated vagrancy law that prohibited the public display of “obscene” material. As a statement issued by the gallery at that time indicated, 21 of Dine’s drawings, “some of them showing various parts of the human body, were seized by the police,” along with copies of the exhibition’s catalog. A court later ruled the exhibition, but not the confiscated artworks, to have been indecent and charged Fraser a fine. A 2015 article in Hypoallergic recounts how Robert Fraser, referring to the British government’s heavy-handedness, sent a telegram to Dine in the U.S. It stated, “REGINA VERSUS VAGINA. LOVE, ROBERT.” Eton-educated Robert Fraser - known as "Groovy Bob" (the title of a later biography on him) was the son of a wealthy financier (his father was a trustee of the Tate Gallery) who set his son up as a gallerist in the heart of London.  Fraser would become known as one of the top dealers and promoters of Pop Art in London during the Swinging Sixties. His hip gallery (and parties) were frequented by luminaries like Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Marianne Faithfull, and Paul and Linda McCartney; John and Yoko; Francis Bacon, Jim Dine, Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat; the British Pop artists Peter Blake, Jann Haworth, Clive Barker, Richard Hamilton, and Eduardo Paolozzi - along with many wealthy collectors, socialites and trendsetters.  The Robert Fraser Gallery became a focal point for modern art in Britain, and through his exhibitions he helped to launch and promote the work of many important new British and American artists including Peter Blake, Clive Barker, Bridget Riley, Jann Haworth, Richard Hamilton, Gilbert and George, Brian Clarke, Eduardo Paolozzi, Andy Warhol, Harold Cohen, Jim Dine and Ed Ruscha.  Long after Fraser's death, PACE Gallery organized a homage to "Groovy Bob", and decades later, his influence in the worlds of art and music has been more fully appreciated.  The present work is unframed and in very good condition other than gentle handling creases. It's very rare to find an edition of this historic print in such fine condition.

SIGNATURE

Hand signed and numbered by Jim Dine lower right recto (front).