Provenance
Sidney Janis Gallery, New York; Green Gallery, New York; The Collection of Samuel and Luella Maslon
Exhibited
New York, The American Federation of Arts, The Figure-International, September 1965 - September 1966
Literature
American Federation of Arts, ed. The Figure-International, 1965, cat. no. 34 (illustrated)
Catalogue Essay

Pop artist Tom Wesselmann’s celebrated Great American Nudes series began in 1961 as an afterthought of a dream concerning the phrase “red, white, and blue.” From there, he decided to paint his nudes in a palette limited to those colors and any colors associated with patriotic motifs such as gold and khaki. By 1964, he began the shaped nudes, such as the present lot, which took their entire shape from the silhouette of the body but cropped as though it were still within a rectangular painting.The works from this series produced a visually stunning foray into the artistic motifs explored in an American society just before the explosion of the sexual revolution where nudity in publications was still illegal and sexual freedom was a topic only whispered about.
Despite the controversial nature of the artist’s Nudes, the artist continued to push the boundaries of manipulating the female form into sensual abstraction. At times, he struggled deeply with how to create works that penetrated beyond the simplicity of a beautiful, naked woman into depicting a bold, mystical creature made up entirely of line and form. As Silm Stealingworth stated in his seminal monograph Tom Wesselmann, “The artist was conflicted on how to handle his nudes- whether to make them more abstract or more realistic.Wesselmann lends his talents to a gradual abstraction, the figure of the nude is one large shape with few details.The mass dominates the sense of realness.The figures dealt primarily with their presence. Almost all faces were left off because the nudes were not intended to be portraits in any sense. Personality would interfere with the bluntness of the fact of the nude. When body features were included, they were those important to erotic simplification, like lips and nipples. There was no modelling, no hint at dimension. Simply drawn lines were virtually a collage element- the addition of drawing to the painting. Historically, the nude as a subject has a somewhat intimate and personal relationship to the viewer. Wesselmann’s nudes transcended these characteristics. They abandoned human relationships and as a presence became more blunt and aggressive.” (S. Stealingworth, Tom Wesselmann, 1980, NewYork, pp. 23-24).
Artist Biography
Tom Wesselmann
American • 1931 - 2004
As a former cartoonist and leading figure of the Pop Art movement, Tom Wesselmann spent many years of his life repurposing popular imagery to produce small to large-scale works that burst with color. Active at a time when artists were moving away from the realism of figurative painting and growing increasingly interested in abstraction, Wesselmann opted for an antithetical approach: He took elements of city life that were both sensual and practical and represented them in a way that mirrored Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol's own methodologies.
Wesselmann considered pop culture objects as exclusively visual elements and incorporated them in his works as pure containers of bold color. This color palette became the foundation for his now-iconic suggestive figurative canvases, often depicting reclining nudes or women's lips balancing a cigarette.
View More Works

32

Tom Wesselmann

Study for Great American Nude # 75

1965
Acrylic and pencil on paper.
13 x 12 1/8 in. (33 x 30.8 cm).
Signed and dated “Wesselmann 65” upper left; dated “3/65 upper right.

Estimate
$150,000 - 200,000

Sold for $140,500

Contemporary Art Part I

13 Nov 2008, 7pm
New York

1
Rachel Harrison
Marlon and Indian
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
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2
Terence Koh
The Road to the Winterland of My Discontent, I Know Not Where I Lead
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3
Wade Guyton
Untitled
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4
Christopher Wool
Untitled (P489)
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5
Matthew Barney
Cremaster 3: Imperial Demolition
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6
Richard Prince
Untitled (Tire Planter)
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7
Kendell Geers
The Fall
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8
Richard Prince
Untitled (Protest Painting)
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9
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled
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10
Dan Flavin
Untitled (for Prudence and her new baby) a
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11
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (Orange Butterfly)
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12
Donald Judd
Untitled (87-23 STUDER AG)
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13
Robert Indiana
Four Diamond Peace (Blue)
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14
Anish Kapoor
Untitled (Mirror)
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15
Donald Judd
Untitled (77/23 - Bernstein)
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16
Ugo Rondinone
Vierzehnterjunineunzehnhundertneunundneunzig
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17
Damien Hirst
Beautiful Artemis Thor Neptune Odin Delusional Sapphic Inspirational Hypnosis Painting
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18
Damien Hirst
Happy Head No. 7
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19
Anselm Reyle
Untitled
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20
Yoshitomo Nara
Winter Long
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21
Takashi Murakami
Eye Love SUPERFLAT
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22
Damien Hirst
4-Fluoro-3-Nitrotoluene
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23
Andreas Gursky
Säulenheilige
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24
John Currin
Standing Nude
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25
Cindy Sherman
Untitled #212
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26
Kiki Smith
Untitled (Roses)
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27
Richard Artschwager
Untitled (Splatter Desk, Chair, Typewriter)
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28
David Salle
Rips in the Mirror
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29
John Chamberlain
BAMBOOZLEDCLARITY
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30
Jean-Michel Basquiat
J.D. CARD
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31
Roy Lichtenstein
Mobile
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32
Tom Wesselmann
Study for Great American Nude # 75
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33
Robert Indiana
Norma Jean Loved
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34
Andy Warhol
$
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35
Frank Stella
Brazilian Merganser
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36
Andy Warhol
Details of Renaissance Paintings (Paolo Uccello, St. George and the Dragon, 1460)
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37
Andy Warhol
Portrait of R. C. Gorman
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38
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Thirty-Sixth Figure
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39
John Chamberlain
Untitled
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40
Gary Hume
Into the Dangerous World...
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41
Albert Oehlen
Grazie
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42
Anselm Kiefer
Dein Hausritt die Finstere Welle
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43
Thomas Struth
Paradise 6
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44
Isa Genzken
Untitled
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45
Dirk Skreber
Untitled (Train)
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46
Thomas Schütte
Wicht
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47
George Condo
Big Game Hunter
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48
Yoshitomo Nara
Crated Room #4
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49
Francesco Vezzoli
La Devoradora (Evil Woman)
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50
Subodh Gupta
Magic Wands 6
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51
John McCracken
Bit
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52
Tom Friedman
Untitled
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53
Gert and Uwe Tobias
Untitled
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54
Piotr Uklański
Untitled (Agnes)
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55
Konrad Klapheck
Das Verhängnis (Fate)
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56
Florian Maier-Aichen
Untitled
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