Frank Stella Extracts, 1993 is eighth installment in the artist’s Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series of 1993. This work gets its name from the sections in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick that are quotations from outside sources that mention whales. These “extracts” range from passages in the bible to popular literature. In this work, similarly to how the author references outside sources, Stella references previous installments in this series. The flag with a black cross in the top right corner, black and white grid-marks in the upper left, and all of the collage pieces that fall below are pieces taken from the seven works that appear before this work in his Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series. A grid-like pattern of dots in the background that appears in every work in this series gives the work the illusion of a three-dimensional work. This collage of several printmaking techniques showcases Stella’s mastery over several mediums.

Frank Stella Extracts, 1993 is part of a portfolio of eight works in the artist’s Moby Dick Deckle Edges series of 1993. This body of work derives its name from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and depicts dense compositions of bright colors and stunning abstract imagery. Also featured in this portfolio are The Whale-Watch, The Battering Ram, Monstrous Pictures of Whales, The Pequod Meets the Jeroboam. Her Story, Ambergris, The Monkey-rope, A Bower in the Arsacides, The Affidavit, and Extracts, State I.

Created in 1993, this lithograph, etching, aquatint, relief and screenprint on white TGL handmade paper is hand-signed by Frank Stella (Massachusetts, 1936 - New York, 2024) in pencil in the lower center image and numbered from the edition of 40 in pencil in the lower center image.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Frank Stella Extracts, from the Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series, 1993 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the sale of the work).

1. Axsom, Richard. The Prints of Frank Stella: A Catalogue Raisonné 1967–1984. Hudson Hills Press: New York, 1983. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 221 on pg. 325.

2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

About the Framing:

Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Frank Stella Extracts, from the Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series, 1993 is presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.