Offset color lithograph on wove paper
USA, 1972
Mel Ramos (b. 1935) – American Pop artist
‘Del Monte’
Signed and dated in pencil lower right ‘Mel Ramos 72’
Numbered in ink verso ‘A.p. 156/300’
Published by Edition Bischofberger, Zurich with ink stamp verso
Full margins, matted
Sheet dimensions: 30 7/10 x 25 1/10 in. (77.9 x 63.8 cm.)
Overall dimensions: 38 x 32 ¼ in. (96.5 x 81.9 cm.)
Very good condition

First developing his most notable works depicting nude pin-up girls alongside mass-marketed products in 1965, Mel Ramos continually explores the ways in which modern culture has cast the female body as interchangeable with beauty and consumerism.A.C. Annie features a blonde, tanned woman with a bottle of Del Monte ketchup, her body partially obscured by the enlarged bottle. Her pose is bold, with arms crossed and face confronting the viewer.

Executed in 1972, this offset color lithograph on wove paper is signed, dated and numbered one hundred and fifty-six from an edition of three hundred, an artist’s proof. Published by Edition Bishofberger, Zurich, the work has full margins and it matted. The sheet measures 30 7/10 x 25 1/10 inches. It is in overall good condition with no evidence of tears or repairs. In overall good condition with no stains or repairs but with a very small, soft handling crease in the extreme upper right corner of sheet.

Mel Ramos (American, b. 1935)

Mel Ramos is an American Pop artist famous for his comic-book like images of naked, voluptuous females mixed the popular culture imagery. A prolific artist from his emergence in the 1960s onward, Ramos has often based his nudes on the female celebrities of the day, from Marilyn Monroe to Scarlett Johansson. His work appeared alongside Roy Lichtenstein (American, 1923–1997) and Andy Warhol (American, 1928–1987) at a Pop Art show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1963. In 1965, he first developed his most notable works depicting nude pin-up girls alongside mass-marketed products. Ramos has exhibited internationally and been featured in numerous museums, including the Whitney and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He has also held teaching positions at California State University, Syracuse University, and the University of Wisconsin.