Acrylic on paper, framed. Abstract composition. Signed and attr. Jasper Johns (American, born 1930) on the lower left corner. 9.4 x 7.5 in. (24 x 19 cm). Jasper Johns is an iconic American artist who came to define the period between Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. In Flag (1954–1955), perhaps his most famous work—a collage of paper, encaustic oil, and fabric—Johns makes a formal abstraction from the American stars and stripes while also muting its power. “I think that one wants from a painting a sense of life,†the artist mused. “The final suggestion, the final statement, has to be not a deliberate statement but a helpless statement. It has to be what you can't avoid saying.†Born on May 15, 1930 in Augusta, GA, Johns left his course of study at the University of South Carolina after one year and moved to New York. While in New York, he met Robert Rauschenberg, Merce Cunningham, and John Cage. Along with the work of his close friend, Rauschenberg, Johns’s sculptural paintings and readymades signified the resurgence of Marcel Duchamp’s influence upon contemporary art. Their Neo-Dada works, which blended cultural imagery—signs, maps, and targets—paralleled the advancements made by Pop artists like Andy Warhol. Johns was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1988, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. He currently lives and works in Sharon, CT. The artist’s works are held in the collections of Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Tate Gallery in London, among others. PROVENANCE: Southern Ontario estate

All authorship of items in this catalog are described according to the following terms:

By [Artist Name] : In our opinion, the work is by the artist.

Attributed to [Artist Name] : In our opinion, the work may be ascribed to the artist on the basis of style, but there may be some question as to actual authorship.

In the manner of [Artist Name] : In our opinion, the work was executed by an unknown hand, but was designed deliberately to emulate the style of the artist.

After [Artist Name] : In our opinion, the work was executed by an unknown hand, but is a deliberate copy of a known work by the artist.

Circle of [Artist Name] : In our opinion, a work of the period of the artist showing his influence, closely associated with the artist but not necessarily his pupil.

Follower of [Artist Name]: In our opinion, a work by a pupil or a follower of the artist (not necessarily a pupil).

American, 19th century : In our opinion, this work was executed by an unknown hand, and can only be identified by origin (i.e., region, period).

Bears signature : In our opinion, the signature on the artwork may be spurious.
Apocryphal : Of doubtful authenticity.