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“This was a metaphor for my past life and my future: yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”
—James RosenquistThe largest print ever made at the time of its production, Off the Continental Divide’s scale reflects the magnitude of the decision that inspired it: whether Rosenquist would move to California with his new girlfriend or reside in familiar New York, where he had lived with his wife and son. Rosenquist and his wife Mary Lou Adams had grown distant following their traumatic 1971 Florida car accident, the incident causing Rosenquist great anguish and a sense of needing to escape from the aftermath. “One way or another, you leave your home, you slip off the Continental Divide, which goes east or west… Originally I had decided to go east but now I asked myself, where am I?”i California, the home state of his then-girlfriend, seemed like a preferable option, Rosenquist having first visited California in 1951 at the age of seventeen. Young and wide-eyed, he had been enamored with the idealized California lifestyle: custom cars, surfing, and the Sierras.ii However, it was not an easy choice; Rosenquist would later refer to this period of decision-making as a “critical point” in his life.
Source and Preparatory Sketch for Slipping Off the Continental Divide, 1973. Collage and mixed media on paper. 8 1/4" x 6 5/16" (21.0 x 16.0 cm) - book endpaper; 13 5/16" x 25 3/8" (33.8 x 64.5 cm) - collage element. Destroyed in studio fire 4/25/09. © James Rosenquist Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Used by permission. All rights reserved. On his extensive visit to California with girlfriend Susan Hall, Rosenquist turned her parent’s garage into a workspace and began converting an old barn into a studio before he realized California may not be for him. While the Northern California light was beautiful, the nearby wilderness attractive, he found it difficult to communicate with New York, where both his gallery and the majority of his friends were, on a reasonable timeline. He briefly returned to New York before going back to work with Donald Saff at Graphicstudio in Tampa, where he created the present print. Rosenquist continued traveling back and forth between New York and Florida for the rest of his career, having finally found his new second home in the Sunshine State.
i James Rosenquist, Painting Below Zero: Notes on a Life in Art, 2009, p. 214.
ii Ibid., p. 21.
Exhibited
Cologne, Museum Ludwig, James Rosenquist: Painting as Immersion, November 18, 2017 – March 4, 2018 (this impression)
ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, James Rosenquist: Painting as Immersion, April 14 – August 19, 2018 (this impression)Literature
Esther Sparks 17
Constance Glenn 69 (this impression illustrated, fig. 70, pp. 72-73)
Walter Hopps and Sarah Bancroft, James Rosenquist: A Retrospective, 2003, no. 251, p. 349 (this impression illustrated)
Stephan Diederich and Yilmaz Dziewior, James Rosenquist: Painting as Immersion, 2017, no. 211, p. 201 (this impression illustrated)
223
Off the Continental Divide (S. 17, G. 69)
1973-74
Lithograph in colors, on Japan handmade paper, the full sheet.
S. 42 x 78 1/2 in. (106.7 x 199.4 cm)
Signed, titled, dated and numbered 'artist's proof 1/5' in pencil (the edition was 43), published by Universal Limited Art Editions, West Islip, New York (with their blindstamp), framed.
Estimate
$7,000 - 10,000
Sold for $6,985
Works from the James Rosenquist Estate
New York Auction 15 February 2024
200
James Rosenquist
Circles of Confusion, from 11 Pop Artists, Volume I (G. 10)
Estimate $800 - 1,200
Sold for $2,794
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201
James Rosenquist
Whipped Butter for Eugene Ruchin, from 11 Pop Artists, Volume II (G. 11)
Estimate $400 - 600
Sold for $3,556
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202
James Rosenquist
For Love, from 11 Pop Artists, Volume III (G. 13)
Estimate $1,000 - 2,000
Sold for $2,540
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203
James Rosenquist
F-111 (Leo Castelli Gallery)
Estimate $800 - 1,200
Sold for $6,350
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204
James Rosenquist
A Drawing While Waiting for an Idea (S. 6, G. 14)
Estimate $800 - 1,200
Sold for $2,794
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205
James Rosenquist
Morning Mirror (G. 15)
Estimate $600 - 900
Sold for $2,286
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206
James Rosenquist
Circles of Confusion & Lite Bulb
Estimate $600 - 900
Sold for $3,556
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207
James Rosenquist
Small Doorstop
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $95,250
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208
James Rosenquist
Forehead I; and Forehead II (G. 20 & 21)
Estimate $2,000 - 3,000
Sold for $3,048
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209
James Rosenquist
See-Saw, Class Systems (G. 22)
Estimate $500 - 700
Sold for $2,794
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210
James Rosenquist
Night Smoke II (S. 15, G. 26)
Estimate $1,500 - 2,500
Sold for $3,302
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211
James Rosenquist
Spaghetti (G. 31)
Estimate $3,000 - 5,000
Sold for $10,795
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212
James Rosenquist
Tumbleweed (G. 32)
Estimate $600 - 900
Sold for $889
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213
James Rosenquist
Delivery Hat, from Cold Light Suite (G. 35)
Estimate $400 - 600
Sold for $1,651
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214
James Rosenquist
Mirrored Flag; Moon Beam Mistaken for the News; and Cold Light, from Cold Light Suite (G. 37-38 & 40)
Estimate $3,000 - 5,000
Sold for $7,620
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215
James Rosenquist
Earth and Moon, from Cold Light Suite (G. 43)
Estimate $800 - 1,200
Sold for $5,715
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216
James Rosenquist
Pulling Out (G. 47)
Estimate $600 - 900
Sold for $3,048
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217
James Rosenquist
Hey! Let's Go for a Ride (G. 55)
Estimate $3,000 - 5,000
Sold for $9,525
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218
James Rosenquist
Brighter than the Sun (G. 57)
Estimate $600 - 900
Sold for $3,048
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219
James Rosenquist
Short Schedule (S. 1972.05, G. 61)
Estimate $500 - 700
Sold for $2,540
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220
James Rosenquist
Banner #1
Estimate $3,000 - 5,000
Sold for $3,302
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221
James Rosenquist
Banner #2
Estimate $3,000 - 5,000
Sold for $9,525
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222
James Rosenquist
First [When was the first time you had your eyes examined?] (G. 64)
Estimate $800 - 1,200
Sold for $2,286
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223
James Rosenquist
Off the Continental Divide (S. 17, G. 69)
Estimate $7,000 - 10,000
Sold for $6,985
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224
James Rosenquist
F-111 (south) (west) (north) (east) (G. 73)
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
Sold for $228,600
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225
James Rosenquist
Tampa—New York 1188 (G. 81)
Estimate $2,000 - 3,000
Sold for $9,525
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226
James Rosenquist
Head Stand (G. 777, G. 104)
Estimate $800 - 1,200
Sold for $2,286
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227
James Rosenquist
Terrarium (G. 154)
Estimate $1,000 - 1,500
Sold for $2,286
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228
James Rosenquist
Industrial Cottage (G. 159)
Estimate $1,000 - 1,500
Sold for $2,286
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229
James Rosenquist
Sheer Line (S. 1979.41, G. 163)
Estimate $800 - 1,200
Sold for $4,826
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230
James Rosenquist
Idea I; and Idea II (G. 165 & 166)
Estimate $600 - 900
Sold for $1,397
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231
James Rosenquist
Doorskin (G. 168)
Estimate $1,000 - 2,000
Sold for $1,651
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232
James Rosenquist
Chambers (S. 19, G. 173)
Estimate $800 - 1,200
Sold for $1,270
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233
James Rosenquist
Dog Descending a Staircase (S. 20, G. 174)
Estimate $6,000 - 9,000
Sold for $16,510
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234
James Rosenquist
High Technology and Mysticism: A Meeting Point (G. 180-186)
Estimate $4,000 - 6,000
Sold for $4,826
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235
James Rosenquist
The Glass Wishes: eight plates (G. 1014-1016, 1018-1019, 1021, 1023 & 1024, G. 187-189, 191-192, 194, 196 & 197)
Estimate $4,000 - 6,000
Sold for $3,810
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236
James Rosenquist
The Kabuki Blushes, from Secrets in Carnations (G. 206)
Estimate $2,000 - 3,000
Sold for $7,620
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237
James Rosenquist
Welcome to the Water Planet (G. 211)
Estimate $4,000 - 6,000
Sold for $10,160
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238
James Rosenquist
The Prickly Dark (G. 212)
Estimate $3,000 - 5,000
Sold for $6,096
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239
James Rosenquist
The Bird of Paradise Approaches the Hot Water Planet, from Welcome to the Water Planet (G. 214)
Estimate $8,000 - 12,000
Sold for $44,450
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240
James Rosenquist
Time Door Time D'Or, from Welcome to the Water Planet (G. 218)
Estimate $10,000 - 15,000
Sold for $30,480
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241
James Rosenquist
Space Dust, from Welcome to the Water Planet (G. 219)
Estimate $10,000 - 15,000
Sold for $21,590
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242
James Rosenquist
Caught One Lost One for the Fast Student or Star Catcher, from Welcome to the Water Planet (G. 222)
Estimate $2,000 - 3,000
Sold for $7,620
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243
James Rosenquist
House of Fire (G. 223)
Estimate $15,000 - 25,000
Sold for $25,400
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244
James Rosenquist
The Light Bulb Shining (G. 228)
Estimate $2,500 - 3,500
Sold for $7,620
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245
James Rosenquist
Speed of Light
Estimate $15,000 - 25,000
Sold for $39,370
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246
James Rosenquist
The Stowaway Peers Out at the Speed of Light
Estimate $15,000 - 25,000
Sold for $27,940
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247
James Rosenquist
The Xenophobic Movie Director or Our Foreign Policy
Estimate $7,000 - 9,000
Sold for $6,985
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248
James Rosenquist
The Memory Continues but the Clock Disappears
Estimate $2,000 - 3,000
Sold for $10,160
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249
James Rosenquist
Time Lines
Estimate $2,000 - 3,000
Sold for $7,938
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