Mark di Suvero, Afterstudy for Marianne Moore: Are Years What? 1976

Mark di Suvero

Afterstudy for Marianne Moore: Are Years What?, 1976

Color Lithograph on White Rives BFK paper

 41 1/2 × 54 1/10 × 1 inches 

Edition of 25

Mark di Suvero, nearly 87 years old, is perhaps one of the most famous and popular steel sculptors of the 1970s. This large (41.5 inches x 54.5 inches) dramatic, gorgeously framed statement piece is his best graphic work ever: "Afterstudy for Marianne Moore" - rarely seen on the market as it was created in a very small edition and most others are already in private, institutional and public collections. The work is based on his massive 1967 I-Beam construction "Are Years What?", now in the permanent collection of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C - which is the best piece he ever made. The present work is a must have for di Suvero collectors, as it's the best graphic work he ever did, from the best era of his career, based upon the best sculpture he ever made - bar none. "Afterstudy for Marianne Moore" is referenced in the Tyler Graphics catalogue raisonne, Plate 172:MD22, on page 126. The original sculpture was created in honor of renowned poet Marianne Moore's poignant poem, "What Are Years?", written in the 1940s. (see below for full text of the poem.) The artist himself has said that the present lithograph is his favorite graphic work. It represents a rare collaboration between di Suvero and Tyler Graphics in the mid 1970s. It is very rarely to market. If you are a fan, follower or serious collector of di Suvero's work -- this very limited edition graphic work (most of which are already in major museums and institutions worldwide such as the Walker Art Museum, National Museum of Australia, Grand Rapids Art Museum and many others) is a must have. For reference only, is a jpeg of a photograph of the (much younger) artist signing this edition at Tyler Graphics. Signed and numbered boldly in graphite from the limited edition of only 25.
Published by: Tyler Graphics
Framed and ready to hang
Framed in an elegant wood frame with Tyler Graphics label on the verso.
What Are Years? By Marianne Moore
What Are Years
What is our innocence,
what is our guilt? All are
naked, none is safe. And whence
is courage: the unanswered question,
the resolute doubt, —
dumbly calling, deafly listening—that
in misfortune, even death,
encourage others
and in its defeat, stirs
the soul to be strong? He
sees deep and is glad, who
accedes to mortality
and in his imprisonment rises
upon himself as
the sea in a chasm, struggling to be
free and unable to be,
in its surrendering
finds its continuing.
So he who strongly feels,
behaves. The very bird,
grown taller as he sings, steels
his form straight up. Though he is captive,
his mighty singing
says, satisfaction is a lowly
thing, how pure a thing is joy.
This is mortality,
this is eternity.

Published by: Tyler Graphics (Edition of only 25)

Framed 

note: the header image is a stock photograph showing RTP; the present work is numbered 18/25 (see second photograph). In excellent condition. Framed with Tyler Graphics label on the verso.

SIGNATURE

Boldly signed and numbered 18/25 in graphite on the recto (front). Bears Tyler Graphics distinctive blind stamp on the recto, and Tyler Graphics label on the verso.

PROVENANCE

Tyler Graphics, Mt. Kisco, New York (with label)