1970
Figurative artist Larry Rivers was born in the Bronx in 1923 to Ukrainian Jewish parents, and was named Yitzak Loiza Grossberg. Rivers belonged to the second generation of the New York School of painters, although unlike most of his contemporaries he stayed away from abstraction instead preferring narrative paintings. He began his artistic career playing the jazz saxophone, and when one night his group was introduced as "Larry Rivers and the Mudcats," he decided to keep the name.
After a brief period in the army during World War II, Rivers attended Juilliard School of Music for one year before returning to the jazz saxophone. After he met the painter Jane Freilicher, he decided to devote himself to painting. Rivers attended Hans Hofmann's school for nearly two years. In 1949, he had his first solo show at the Jane Street Gallery, an artist's co-op in the Village. Rivers received favorable reviews and was invited to join the Tibor de Nagy Gallery uptown.
Rivers continued to show annually at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery from 1952 to 1962. In 1963, he joined the Marlborough Gallery, where he stayed until his death. In 1955, The New York Museum of Modern Art acquired his painting Washington Crossing the Delaware, and in 1956 the Whitney Museum purchased Double Portrait of Berdie, two of his more famous paintings. He had periodic museum shows in Europe and the United States throughout his career.
Rivers had two sons, Joseph and Steven, by his first wife, Augusta. In 1961 he married Clarice Price and had two more children, Gwynne and Emma. In the 1970s he had another son with the painter Daria Deshuk.
The subjects of River's figurative paintings were family, history, politics, religion and sex. His work done in oils often included the use of stencils, cutouts, blank canvas and image reversals. He often painted family members including his mother in law, his sons and his ex-wife. Rivers favored historical subjects such as History of Matzah: The Story of the Jews (1984-85), History of the Russian Revolution (1965) and often painted parodies including his Washington Crossing the Delaware. He enjoyed controversial subjects and shocking the public. Lapman Loves It (1966) is a nine-foot electrified assemblage complete with strategically located light bulbs. French Vocabulary Lesson (1961-62) is a nude with body parts labeled in French.
Rivers was also a writer. In 1979 he published Drawings and Digressions with Carol Brightman. In 1992 he published What Did I Do? The Unauthorized Autobiography with Arnold Weinstein.
Find original Larry Rivers prints and paintings on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by Lincoln Glenn)
Those who Fire, Those Who Run (Boston Massacre), Larry Rivers
By Larry Rivers
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Larry Rivers (1923-2002) Title: Those who Fire, Those Who Run (Boston Massacre) Year: 1970 Medium: Silkscreen and collage on wove paper Edition...
Mixed Media, Screen
40th Regiment (Boston Massacre), Larry Rivers
By Larry Rivers
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Larry Rivers (1923-2002) Title: 40th Regiment (Boston Massacre) Year: 1970 Medium: Silkscreen and collage on wove paper Edition: 25/150, plus p...
Screen, Mixed Media
Golden Tales, Larry Rivers
By Larry Rivers
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Larry Rivers (1923-2002) Title: Golden Tales Year: 1990 Medium: Lithograph with hand coloring on wove paper Edition: H.C. VI/VIII; 35, plus proofs Size: 53.25 x 40.25 inches ...
Lithograph
Dutch Masters, Larry Rivers
By Larry Rivers
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Larry Rivers (1923-2002) Title: Dutch Masters Year: 1991 Medium: Lithograph and silkscreen on wove paper Edition: 23/500, plus proofs Size: 25 x 3...
Lithograph, Screen
Gershwin Brothers, after Larry Rivers
By Larry Rivers
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: After Larry Rivers (1923-2002) Title: Gershwin Brothers, exhibition poster Year: 1966 Medium: Lithograph on wove paper Size: 37 x 26 inches Condition: Excellent Notes: Publis...
Lithograph, Offset
Introduction for a Blues Queen (Gelburd/Rosenberg 70-77), Jazz Series
By Romare Bearden
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Romare Bearden (1911-1988) Title: Introduction for a Blues Queen (Gelburd/Rosenberg 70-77) Year: 1979 Medium: Lithograph on vélin d’Arches paper Edition: 47/175, plus proofs ...
Lithograph
Untitled
By Larry Rivers
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Untitled (Picasso) Screen print, 1974 Signed, numbered and dated in red pencil lower right (see photo) from Homage to Picasso (Hommage à Picasso) Publisher: Propyläen-Verlag, Berlin ...
Screen
Van Gogh's Criminal Obsessions by Jose Luis Cuevas - original lithograph
By José Luis Cuevas
Located in New York, NY
This original lithograph of an abstract depiction of Van Gogh by Jose Luis Cuevas was printed at the Atelier Mourlot in 1968 and is dated in the plate on the bottom right of the image. Certificate of Provenance: Each individual work of art carefully curated by Mourlot Editions comes with a Certificate of Provenance, signed, dated, stamped, and numbered by Eric Mourlot. Stored in a clear protective sleeve accompanying your piece, this certificate guarantees the origin and authenticity of your personal lithograph. About the Artist: José Luis Cuevas is a Mexican artist who worked primarily with etchings, illustrations, sculptures, and paintings, though he is perhaps best known for his drawings. According to Cuevas, “perhaps because I was born in a paper mill and pencil factory, paper has always had a great fascination for me.” He briefly attended the eminent Mexican institution Escuela de Pintura, however Cuevas considers himself a self-taught draughtsman in search of an alternative to the Mexican Muralists and their social messages. For Cuevas, his drawings represent the isolation of man and an inability to communicate, many of his drawings featuring distorted human figures and figures transformed into animals. His work was inspired by the graphic styles of Francisco de Goya, Pablo Picasso, and José Guadalupe Posada...
Lithograph
Golden Tales Lithograph, Hand-Signed, Mixed Media, Pop Art, 1990
By Larry Rivers
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This unique lithograph by the celebrated artist Larry Rivers stands out due to the individual brushstrokes added manually by the artist to each piece in the edition, ensuring that no...
Mixed Media
An Outline of History from the Kent Bicentennial Portfolio by Larry Rivers
By Larry Rivers
Located in Long Island City, NY
An Outline of History by Larry Rivers, American (1923–2002) Date: 1975 Offset Lithograph (unsigned as issued) Image Size: 9.5 x 13 inches Size: 14 in. x 17 in. (35.56 cm x 43.18 cm) ...
Offset
Living at the Movies
By Larry Rivers
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color lithograph on Rives BFK. Signed and numbered (64/175) in pencil in lower right margin. Dated (1974) in pencil in lower left margin. Full margins...
Color, Lithograph
Original Vintage Pop Art 1965 Collage Lithograph Larry Rivers Poster Brandeis
By Larry Rivers
Located in Surfside, FL
Larry Rivers Modernist mixed media "Brandeis Show Collage" work on cut paper. (this appears to be a vintage lithograph. It has a label that describes it as watercolor and charcoal...
Lithograph
