SAM MIDDLETON (1927 - 2015) Signed Lithograph Print “Duet” dated 1963
$1,600.00
Lithograph print by Sam Middleton titled in pencil “Duet”, numbered 9/10 and signed “Middleton 1963”. One of a series of black and white abstract prints that he completed in 1963, this is the lowest print run I have seen of these - most were in the 20 to 80 range. This print is not without condition issues, there is toning visible, it is clear that this piece was framed at one point, there is a strip of tape across the back top where it was hinged to the mat, and there are a number of creases where the print was not handled properly. With that said, when this piece is framed, it will look fantastic. The full sheet measures 14 x 17 inches, and the image measures 10.5 x 12.5 inches. Unframed.
Biography:
Sam Middleton made paper collages that he dubbed “improvised solo[s]” long after he had relocated away from the jazz scene around downtown New York and Harlem, where he grew up, to a permanent home in the Netherlands. Middleton, who was largely self-taught, often saw jazz masters like Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker play live in the 1950s, and was inspired to translate the spontaneity of their music to works on paper. In works such as Slashes of Sound (1967), he added his typical red accents on top of lines of a musical score that are rendered illegible by a splash of paint that signifies sound. When he wasn’t using music sheets, Middleton collaged elements like newspapers, tickets, magazines, and cards he’d collected, famously attaching them with Elmer’s glue. He exhibited regularly from the 1960s through the 1980s, including a group show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1960, and had a 2003 retrospective at the Cobra Museum. (Courtesy artsy.com)
Biography:
Sam Middleton made paper collages that he dubbed “improvised solo[s]” long after he had relocated away from the jazz scene around downtown New York and Harlem, where he grew up, to a permanent home in the Netherlands. Middleton, who was largely self-taught, often saw jazz masters like Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker play live in the 1950s, and was inspired to translate the spontaneity of their music to works on paper. In works such as Slashes of Sound (1967), he added his typical red accents on top of lines of a musical score that are rendered illegible by a splash of paint that signifies sound. When he wasn’t using music sheets, Middleton collaged elements like newspapers, tickets, magazines, and cards he’d collected, famously attaching them with Elmer’s glue. He exhibited regularly from the 1960s through the 1980s, including a group show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1960, and had a 2003 retrospective at the Cobra Museum. (Courtesy artsy.com)
Lithograph print by Sam Middleton titled in pencil “Duet”, numbered 9/10 and signed “Middleton 1963”. One of a series of black and white abstract prints that he completed in 1963, this is the lowest print run I have seen of these - most were in the 20 to 80 range. This print is not without condition issues, there is toning visible, it is clear that this piece was framed at one point, there is a strip of tape across the back top where it was hinged to the mat, and there are a number of creases where the print was not handled properly. With that said, when this piece is framed, it will look fantastic. The full sheet measures 14 x 17 inches, and the image measures 10.5 x 12.5 inches. Unframed.
Biography:
Sam Middleton made paper collages that he dubbed “improvised solo[s]” long after he had relocated away from the jazz scene around downtown New York and Harlem, where he grew up, to a permanent home in the Netherlands. Middleton, who was largely self-taught, often saw jazz masters like Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker play live in the 1950s, and was inspired to translate the spontaneity of their music to works on paper. In works such as Slashes of Sound (1967), he added his typical red accents on top of lines of a musical score that are rendered illegible by a splash of paint that signifies sound. When he wasn’t using music sheets, Middleton collaged elements like newspapers, tickets, magazines, and cards he’d collected, famously attaching them with Elmer’s glue. He exhibited regularly from the 1960s through the 1980s, including a group show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1960, and had a 2003 retrospective at the Cobra Museum. (Courtesy artsy.com)
Biography:
Sam Middleton made paper collages that he dubbed “improvised solo[s]” long after he had relocated away from the jazz scene around downtown New York and Harlem, where he grew up, to a permanent home in the Netherlands. Middleton, who was largely self-taught, often saw jazz masters like Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker play live in the 1950s, and was inspired to translate the spontaneity of their music to works on paper. In works such as Slashes of Sound (1967), he added his typical red accents on top of lines of a musical score that are rendered illegible by a splash of paint that signifies sound. When he wasn’t using music sheets, Middleton collaged elements like newspapers, tickets, magazines, and cards he’d collected, famously attaching them with Elmer’s glue. He exhibited regularly from the 1960s through the 1980s, including a group show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1960, and had a 2003 retrospective at the Cobra Museum. (Courtesy artsy.com)
Lithograph print by Sam Middleton titled in pencil “Duet”, numbered 9/10 and signed “Middleton 1963”. One of a series of black and white abstract prints that he completed in 1963, this is the lowest print run I have seen of these - most were in the 20 to 80 range. This print is not without condition issues, there is toning visible, it is clear that this piece was framed at one point, there is a strip of tape across the back top where it was hinged to the mat, and there are a number of creases where the print was not handled properly. With that said, when this piece is framed, it will look fantastic. The full sheet measures 14 x 17 inches, and the image measures 10.5 x 12.5 inches. Unframed.
Biography:
Sam Middleton made paper collages that he dubbed “improvised solo[s]” long after he had relocated away from the jazz scene around downtown New York and Harlem, where he grew up, to a permanent home in the Netherlands. Middleton, who was largely self-taught, often saw jazz masters like Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker play live in the 1950s, and was inspired to translate the spontaneity of their music to works on paper. In works such as Slashes of Sound (1967), he added his typical red accents on top of lines of a musical score that are rendered illegible by a splash of paint that signifies sound. When he wasn’t using music sheets, Middleton collaged elements like newspapers, tickets, magazines, and cards he’d collected, famously attaching them with Elmer’s glue. He exhibited regularly from the 1960s through the 1980s, including a group show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1960, and had a 2003 retrospective at the Cobra Museum. (Courtesy artsy.com)
Biography:
Sam Middleton made paper collages that he dubbed “improvised solo[s]” long after he had relocated away from the jazz scene around downtown New York and Harlem, where he grew up, to a permanent home in the Netherlands. Middleton, who was largely self-taught, often saw jazz masters like Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker play live in the 1950s, and was inspired to translate the spontaneity of their music to works on paper. In works such as Slashes of Sound (1967), he added his typical red accents on top of lines of a musical score that are rendered illegible by a splash of paint that signifies sound. When he wasn’t using music sheets, Middleton collaged elements like newspapers, tickets, magazines, and cards he’d collected, famously attaching them with Elmer’s glue. He exhibited regularly from the 1960s through the 1980s, including a group show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1960, and had a 2003 retrospective at the Cobra Museum. (Courtesy artsy.com)