Edward Ruscha
(b. 1937)
"Hollywood in the Rain," from "Hollywood Collects," 1970
Offset lithograph in colors on paper
Edition: 104/220
Signed and numbered in pencil directly below the image: Ed Ruscha; with the title, date and copyright of the original 1969 lithograph printed in black ink directly below the image, at right, and the "Hollywood Collects" exhibition information printed in red in the center of the lower margin; Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA, pub.
Image: 8" H x 32.5" W; Sheet: 23" H x 35" W
Provenance: The Estate of Oscar and Barbara Leidenfrost

Literature: Engberg M19

Other Notes: Proceeds to benefit non-profit organizations and educational institutions.

Ed Ruscha's depictions of the "Hollywood" sign remains one of the most recognizable images in the artist's oeuvre. This particular image was commissioned and published by the Otis College of Art and Design art gallery for its "Hollywood Collects" exhibition held in 1970.

Described by the Los Angeles Times as "an exhibition of 20th Century art culled from the living rooms of leading Hollywood personalities," "Hollywood Collects" featured works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Jean Dubuffet, Pierre Bonnard, and Pierre Auguste Renoir that were contemporaneously valued at over $10 million, lent by celebrities including Julie Andrews, Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck, and Dennis Hopper.

Other impressions of this print are held in the collections of the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco and the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas.

Related artists include John Anthony Baldessari, Robert Barry, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, Mel Bochner, Robert Cottingham, Jim Dine, Charles Gaines, David Hockney, Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns, Alex Katz, Ellsworth Kelly, Sol LeWitt, Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Moses, Bruce Nauman, Claes Oldenburg, Richard Pettitbone, Larry Rivers, Kay Rosen, James Rosenquist, Kenny Scharf, Frank Stella, Wayne Thiebaud, Lawrence Weiner, and Tom Wesselmann.

The full sheet. Pale old damp staining with attendant cockling affecting both the left and right portions of the sheet, showing mostly in the blank sections and verso of the sheet. A short handling crease and several rice-sized pressure marks in the upper margin. Occasional scattered specks of surface skinning related to the old damp staining and also some foxmarks, mostly near the right margin edge. Occasional minute paper losses along the extreme right margin edge. The sheet is loose, not mounted. Condition reports are offered as a courtesy and are typically published in Moran's catalogue or can be made available upon request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of others. Buyers are responsible for determining to their own satisfaction the true nature and condition of any lot prior to bidding. Though buyers are not legally required to inspect lots prior to purchase, failure to do so may constitute a waiver of complaint that an item was not delivered in a condition equal to the existent condition at the auction.