Madama Butterfly 1978

Year1978

Hand SignedHand-signed By the Artist in Yellow Crayon  

Condition Excellent 

Not Framed 

Purchased fromGallery 

Provenance / HistoryCircle Gallery, NY 

Story / Additional InfoCatalog / Addt'l Info: Paper: Hand-Made Japanese rice paper Printer: Fernand Mourlot Publisher: Atelier Mourlot / Mourlot Studios, Paris, France Notes: From the collection of original graphic works by renowned contemporary artists "presenting their graphic interpretations of eight distinguished operas from the Met's 1978 season, and six opera from the Met's 1984 season.  

Certificate of AuthenticityArt Brokerage 

LID120261

Larry Rivers - United States

Art Brokerage: Larry Rivers American Artist: b. 1923-2002. Larry Rivers was a colorful and often controversial figure in the world of the visual arts. He was a painter, sculptor, writer, poet, teacher and occasional actor and filmmaker. He was born Yitzroch Loiza Grossberg; his parents were Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. Before he turned to visual arts, Rivers was a saxophonist in a band playing the so-called "borscht belt", the resort circuit in the Catskill Mountains favored by New York's Jewish community. He was a bandsman in the Army Air Corps before receiving an honorable discharge on medical grounds, and became part of the emerging bebop scene in New York, where he studied at Juilliard School of Music for a time. He became friendly with Miles Davis at Juilliard, and met Charlie Parker through him, but turned to painting instead. As he recalled in his autobiography, he decided that art was an activity on a "higher level" than jazz after discovering Cubism. He returned to music in later years, however. He played the saxophone with several bands, and remained active until his death. His East 13th Street Band made recordings in the 1980s and early 1990s. His last group was called the Climax Band. He produced many prints and original paintings throughout his musical career. Listings wanted.