R. B. Kitaj, Hours with Men and Books (61, Kinsman), 1972

R. B. Kitaj

Hours with Men and Books (61, Kinsman), 1972

Silkscreen on paper

Pencil signed and numbered 60 from limited collection of 70 by R.B Kitaj on the front

29 1/2 × 21 3/4 inches

Unframed

Pencil signed and numbered from the limited edition of 70
Catalogue Raisonne References: Jane Kinsman, The prints of R.B. Kitaj, Aldershot, 1994, (colour illus.). no.61
Jennifer Ramkalawon, Kitaj prints: a catalogue raisonné, London, 2013, 162 (colour illus.). no.169
Provenance: Berry Hill Gallery Collection

The written word and the beautiful volumes in which it was delivered were a constant source of revelation for R. B. Kitaj. As his first New York show opened in 1965, the artist was interviewed by the local New York Times on the presence of books in his work: I’m not afraid of the word ‘literary’. I feel in good company. You might say that books have meant to me what trees mean to a landscapist…
Painter and printmaker of equal import, the American born Kitaj emerged as one of the most influential artists of his generation. Emigrating to England in the late 1950s, as an ex-serviceman he studied at Oxford University’s Ruskin School with support from the G. I. Bill before applying to the Royal College of Art alongside contemporaries David Hockney and Allen Jones.
Kitaj’s attraction to printmaking was first sparked as a student, and in 1962 he was introduced to the commercial screenprinter Chris Prater, with whom he would produce his finest body of prints. A self-confessed bibliophile, books frequently provided the impetus for Kitaj’s work, their torn covers appearing in early collaged prints alongside photographic negatives and hand drawn designs.
R. B. Kitaj was born in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1950 he studied at the Cooper Union Art Institute, New York, then in 1951, at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna. He settled in England and studied at the Royal College of Art (1960-62), where David Hockney became a long-lasting friend. Kitaj's first solo exhibition was at the Marlborough Gallery, London in 1963. He became a professor at University of California, Berkeley in 1967¬68 and, in 1993, married American painter, Sandra Fisher, in London. Kitaj was created ARA in 1984 and RA in 1991. A major retrospective of his work was shown at the Tate Gallery in 1994, and subsequently toured in the US. In 1997 Kitaj moved to Los Angeles where he continued to work until his death ten years later.

Bibliography:
Jane Kinsman, The prints of R.B. Kitaj, Aldershot, 1994, (colour illus.). no.61
Jennifer Ramkalawon, Kitaj prints: a catalogue raisonné, London, 2013, 162 (colour illus.). no.169

Provenance:
Berry Hill Gallery Collection

Published by Marlborough Graphics, London; printed by Chris Prater, Kelpra Studio, Kentish Town, UK