Frank Stella, The Monkey-Rope, from the Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series, 1993 |
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| Artist: | Frank Stella (1936 - 2024) |
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| Title: | The Monkey-Rope, from the Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series, 1993 |
| Reference: | Axsom 218 |
| Series: | Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series, 1993 |
| Medium: | Lithograph, etching, aquatint, relief, screenprint on white TGL handmade paper |
| Image Size: | 68 ½ in x 23 ¾ in (173.4 cm x 60.3 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 68 ½ in x 23 ¾ in (173.4 cm x 60.3 cm) |
| Edition: | Numbered from the edition of 32 in pencil in the lower left image. |
| Signature: | This work is hand-signed by Frank Stella (Massachusetts, 1936 - ) in pencil in the lower left image. |
| Condition: | This work is in excellent condition. |
| ID # | W-7135 |
Frank Stella The Monkey-Rope, 1993 is fifth installment in the artist’s Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series of 1993. This work derives its name from the 72nd chapter in the novel and refers to the moment a harpooner aboard the Pequod is lowered onto a captured whale’s back with the use of a “monkey-rope.” Black and white forms that mimic ropes or netting one might find aboard a whaling ship glide across the composition; meanwhile, a collage of other forms are placed haphazardly throughout the work and showcase the artist’s ability to create an abstract narrative. 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 Ambergris, 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, The Monkey-rope, A Bower in the Arsacides, The Affidavit, Extracts, and Extracts, State I.
Created in 1993, this lithograph, etching, aquatint, relief and mezzotint on white TGL handmade paper is hand-signed by Frank Stella (Massachusetts, 1936 - ) in pencil in the lower center image and numbered from the edition of 20 in pencil in the lower center image.
Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Frank Stella The Pequod Meets the Jeroboam. Her Story, 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. 216 on pg. 322.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.
About the Framing:
Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Frank Stella Ambergris, from the Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series, 1993 is presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.
