Provenance
James Corcoran Gallery, New York; Private Collection, New York; Max Lang Gallery, New York; Collection of Mark Neuberger, New York
Catalogue Essay
Ed Ruscha's dramatic 1996 painting entitled Doric belongs to a body of work influenced by the secondary effects of light. As the title suggests, the silhoutte of an ancient Greek temple forms the subject of the present lot. Executed in nuances of black, blue and white, Ruscha was influenced by the Abstract Expressionist painter Franz Kline. "I remember this notion I had in school about Franz Kline, thinking how great it was that this man only worked with black and white. I thought at some point in my life I would also work with black and white, and here it is."(Ed Ruscha as quoted in R. D.Marshall, Ed Ruscha, NewYork, p. 210)
In contrast to Franz Kline's vigorous brushstrokes however, Ruscha's "intent is to produce a flat, photographic finish.The dark paintings came mostly from photography, although they are not photographically done or anything. I feel that they are related to the subject of photography.They are dark and strokeless.They're painted with an airbrush." (Ibid, p. 211) Another artist influenced by photography is Andy Warhol whose Shadow paintings immediately come to mind when viewing Ed Ruscha's Doric. In fact both Ruscha and Warhol share a common desire evident throughout their oeuvre to depict negative space as a sacred, ephemeral force.The stillness and calm of Ruscha's Doric, likeWarhol's Shadows, hints at therepresentation of the divine.
Artist Biography
Ed Ruscha
American • 1937
Quintessentially American, Ed Ruscha is an L.A.-based artist whose art, like California itself, is both geographically rooted and a metaphor for an American state of mind. Ruscha is a deft creator of photography, film, painting, drawing, prints and artist books, whose works are simultaneously unexpected and familiar, both ironic and sincere.

His most iconic works are at turns poetic and deadpan, epigrammatic text with nods to advertising copy, juxtaposed with imagery that is either cinematic and sublime or seemingly wry documentary. Whether the subject is his iconic Standard Gas Station or the Hollywood Sign, a parking lot or highway, his works are a distillation of American idealism, echoing the expansive Western landscape and optimism unique to postwar America.
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20

Ed Ruscha

Doric

1996
Acrylic on canvas.
137.2 by 101.6 cm. (54 x 40 in).

Signed and dated 'Ed Ruscha 1996' on the reverse; titled 'Doric' on the overlap; signed, titled and dated 'Ed Ruscha Doric 1996' on the stretcher.
This work will be included in the forthcoming Edward Ruscha: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Volume Five: 1993-1997, edited by Robert Dean and Lisa Turvey

Estimate
£250,000 - 350,000

Contemporary Evening Sale

29 June 2009, 7pm
London

1
Gert and Uwe Tobias
Untitled
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ♠
Sold for £32,450
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2
Sergej Jensen
Odd Couple
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ‡♠
Sold for £26,250
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3
Barry McGee
Untitled
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000
Sold for £22,500
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4
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (large colored butterfly white background 10 wings)
Estimate £70,000 - 100,000 ≠†
Sold for £145,250
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5
Wim Delvoye
Clio
Estimate £25,000 - 35,000 ♠
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6
James Turrell
Acro, Blue
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000
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7
Mario Merz
Senza titolo (Una somma reale è una somma di gente)
Estimate £180,000 - 250,000
Sold for £217,250
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8
Florian Maier-Aichen
Untitled
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 ≠♠†
Sold for £51,650
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9
Roni Horn
Seen in the distance
Estimate £35,000 - 45,000
Sold for £82,850
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10
Andy Warhol
Five Guns
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000
Sold for £211,250
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11
Ed Ruscha
That Was Then This Is Now
Estimate £600,000 - 800,000
Sold for £713,250
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12
Richard Prince
Spiritual America IV
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ‡
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13
Jack Goldstein
Untitled
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000
Sold for £121,250
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14
Thomas Schütte
Stahlfrau Nr. 7 (Steel Woman no. 7)
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ♠
Sold for £457,250
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15
John Chamberlain
Mr. Moto
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ‡
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16
Robert Rauschenberg
Wolf Wood (Urban Bourbon series)
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡
Sold for £289,250
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17
Anselm Reyle
Untitled
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ♠
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18
Jeff Koons
Mermaid Troll
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19
Zhang Xiaogang
Untitled
Estimate £300,000 - 400,000 ≠†
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20
Ed Ruscha
Doric
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000
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21
Gerhard Richter
Schatten 6
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ‡♠
Sold for £133,250
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22
Wilhelm Sasnal
Cemetery
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ‡♠
Sold for £37,250
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23
Kehinde Wiley
Passing/Posing - St. Helena
Estimate £25,000 - 35,000 ‡
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24
Robert Indiana
Art
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 Ω
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25
Yan Pei-Ming
Timonier 009
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26
Yoshitomo Nara
Your Dog
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27
Yue Minjun
Untitled
Estimate £250,000 - 300,000 ≠†
Sold for £421,250
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28
Alighiero Boetti
Tutto
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29
Kenneth Noland
Shift
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30
Tal R
Fungusia
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ≠♠†
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31
Anselm Reyle
Untitled
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ≠♠†
Sold for £85,250
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32
Feng Zhengjie
Chinese Portrait P Series 2006 No. 2
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ≠†
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33
Inka Essenhigh
Pegasus
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34
Michael Raedecker
ins and outs
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35
Wang Guangyi
Art Go
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36
Damien Hirst
Beautiful Lazarides Inc. Auction Spinny Thingy Where Will It All End, Money For Old Rope, Buy This You Bugger, Its Got Kline Blue Bloody Splashes In It For Fuck's Sake, Love You Really Painting (with xxxxx)
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ‡♠
Sold for £193,250
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37
Jonathan Meese
Die Verschworung des Dr. Pottsau
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ‡♠
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38
Jitish Kallat
Collidonthus
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39
Wim Delvoye
Cabinet (Installation of 14 Delft sawblades and 2 Delft gas canisters)
Estimate £55,000 - 65,000 ♠
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40
Ashley Bickerton
Herr Schoendorff
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000
Sold for £51,650
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Contemporary Evening Sale

29 June 2009, 7pm London

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Provenance

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

Ed Ruscha

20

Ed Ruscha

Doric

Contemporary Evening Sale

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29 June 2009, 7pm
London