Untitled (Check Painting)

RICHARD PRINCE (B. 1949)

Untitled (Check Painting)

acrylic, printed paper, duct tape and staples on canvas

24 x 20 inches (61 x 50.8 cm)

Executed in 2013.

PROVENANCE:

Acquired from the artist by the present owner, 2017

NOTES:

Born in the Panama Canal Zone in 1949, Richard Prince is a pioneering artist best known for his appropriation techniques that challenge ideas of authorship and originality in contemporary art. His work remains highly influential for its sharp commentary on pop culture, consumerism, and identity. In Untitled (Check Painting), Prince continues this exploration by incorporating imagery of personal and financial exchange. The piece features two printed paper "checks," one belonging to Prince himself and the other issued by Peter and Stephanie Brant to the Yankee Foundation. Layered over and beside the checks the names Howard Johnson and Fulton Ryder are stamped in black ink, the latter a reference both to Prince’s alter ego pseudonym and his allusive bookstore-gallery that he ran until its closure in 2014.