Target (ULAE 147)
34 7/8 x 27 3/8 inchesTarget (ULAE 147), 1974
paper: 34 7/8 x 27 3/8 inches
frame: 35 1/4 x 28 3/4 inches
edition: 70 with 9 AP's
signed & dated "J. Johns ‘74" in pencil lower left
numbered lower right in pencil
with the Simca Print Artists, Inc., blindstamp, lower left
printed by Simca Print Artists, Inc., New York
published by Jasper Johns and Simca Print Artists, New York
© 2024 Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Provenance
Jasper Johns and Simca Print Artists, New York
Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
Private Collection, New York
Literature
Richard Field, Jasper Johns Prints 1970-1977, Wesleyan University, Middletown, 1978, Catalogue Reference 192, p. 95, another impression reproduced in black and white
Reba and Dave Williams, The Early History of the Screenprint, Print Quarterly Vol. 3, no. 4 (1986): 290, no. 177., another impression reproduced.
Reba and Dave Williams, American Screenprints, Exhibition catalog., National Academy of Design, New York, 1987: no. 1., another impression reproduced.
Reba and Dave Williams, American Screenprints from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams, Exhibition catalog., New York, 1991: 3, no. 1., another impression reproduced.
Shigeo Chiba, Jasper Johns Prints Exhibition 1960–1989, Tokyo, 1990, Japan Art and Culture Association/Kokusai Geijutsu Bunka Shinkokai, n.p., plate 34, another impression reproduced.
Richard Field, The Prints of Jasper Johns 1960-1993: A Catalogue Raisonne, ULAE, New York, 1994, Catalogue Reference ULAE 147, n.p., another impression reproduced in full-page color.
Riva Castleman Jasper Johns: A Print Retrospective, New York: The Museum of Modern Art; Boston: New York Graphic Society, Books/Little Brown and Company, 1986, pg 96, another impression reproduced in full-page color.
Reba and Dave Williams, American Screenprints from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams, Exhibition catalogue, New York, 1991, no. 1, another impression reproduced in color.
Roberta Bernstein, Jasper Johns The Screenprints, Fisher Landau Center, 1996, plate 11, n.p., another impression reproduced in color.
Exhibited
The Seibu Museum of Art, Tokyo, Prints Exhibition 1960–1989, Traveled to The Seibu Department Store, Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, April 26th—May 15th, 1990, Isetan Department Store, Niigata, June 7-19, 1990, Isetan Department Store, Urawa, July 18-24, 1990, Isetan Department Store, Matsudo, August 9—August 14, 1990, Isetan Department Store, Shizuoka, August 23—August 28, 1990, another impression exhibited.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Jasper Johns: A Print Retrospective, May 19–Aug 19, 1986, Traveled to Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Wiener Secession; Fort Worth Art Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Hara Museum, Gunma-Ken, Japan; National Museum of Art, Osaka; and Kitakyushu City Museum of Art, Japan, another impression exhibited.
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, An Art of Changes: Jasper Johns Prints, 1960–2018, October 12–January 20, 2020, another impression exhibited; exhibition traveled to these venues:
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, February 16, 2020–January 3, 2021
Tampa Art Museum, Florida, April 28–September 5, 2021
Grand Rapids Art Museum, Michigan, October 2–January 9, 2022
Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, New York, April 23–July 10, 2022
Selected Museum Collections
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Davison Art Center, Middletown
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle
Additional Photos
Full Sheet
Detail of Signature & Date lower right
A master printmaker since 1960, Jasper Johns Target, (ULAE 147), 1974 color screenprint is one of the Artist's most iconic prints; without question, considered an important example from his Target series. Technically, Jasper Johns Target, (ULAE 147), 1974 color screenprint has the similar complexity of Jasper Johns unique encaustic works on canvas, which have a rich depth or layering. Jasper Johns has mastered the screenprinting technique utilizing 27 color screens, that mimic the layering achieved in his series of encaustic paintings.
THE ENDURING LEGACY OF JASPER JOHNS TARGET SERIES
A master printmaker since 1960, Jasper Johns Target, (ULAE 147), 1974 color screenprint is one of the Artist's most iconic prints; without question, considered an important example from his Target series. Technically, Jasper Johns Target, (ULAE 147), 1974 color screenprint has the similar complexity of Jasper Johns unique encaustic works on canvas, which have a rich depth or layering. Jasper Johns has mastered the screenprinting technique utilizing 27 color screens, that mimic the layering achieved in his series of encaustic paintings.
Stunning visually, Jasper Johns Target, (ULAE 147), 1974 is among the most complex screenprints published during the Artist's extraordinary seven decades of creating limited edition prints. Jasper Johns Target, (ULAE 147), 1974 has been so successfully created, it feels like one of his unique works on paper, right down to the many drips of paint which is why it appeals to both print collectors as well as painting collectors who cannot afford the 7 figure price tag of a Jasper Johns unique work on paper.
Collection the Art Institute of Chicago
Sold by Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd.
Target ranks among the iconic images that first brought Jasper Johns fame, endlessly reproduced in the last half century. Jasper Johns Target Four Faces, 1955, now in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, and Jasper Johns Target, 1961, which is now in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, each painted in encaustic, an ancient tradition requiring heating wax, brushing it on evenly as one would frost a cake. They, have themselves become a form of advertising, a logo for American postwar art. Before Joseph K. Levene established Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd., he was President/COO, Petersburg Press, Inc. In 1989, Joseph K. Levene had the distinct privilege of selling the aforementioned Jasper Johns Target, 1961, encaustic on canvas, to a private collector in Japan, who a decade later sold it to the late Stefan T. Edlis
Renowned Jasper Johns expert Roberta Bernstein, Professor Emeritus of Art History, University of Albany, State University of New York, the foremost scholar of Jasper Johns art, and author of several authoritative Jasper Johns monographs, including Jasper Johns: Catalogue Raisonne of Painting and Sculpture remarked upon first viewing Jasper Johns Flag and Target, each masterful encaustic on canvas works: “My trust in my perceptions was shaken up. This happened with the flags and targets that initially looked like the objects themselves and then became something else when looking at their surfaces.”
Jasper Johns explained, the imagery derives from “things the mind already knows,” utterly familiar icons such as Flags, Targets, Numbers and Maps. Of those four earliest icons that occupy his work, the Target is Jasper Johns' most abstract image, representing something anonymous and universal, the familiar target continues to appear in Johns' work.
Over the last four decades other impressions of Jasper Johns Target, (ULAE 147), 1974 have been included in numerous museum retrospectives including Jasper Johns: A Print Retrospective, the 1986 print retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art, curated by the legendary Riva Castleman featuring 175 Jasper Johns lithographs, screenprints, etchings and monotypes.
Printmaking has had a profound effect on Johns’s artistic career. The variety of techniques allowed the Artist to refine and hone his ideas. Jasper Johns has worked with and continues to work with many of the most esteemed and talented technical printmakers of the 20th century, including Atelier Crommelynck, Petersburg Press, Gemini G.E.L., Universal Limited Art Editions, John Lund, Low Road Studios and Simca Print Artists.
An impression of Johns Target, 1974 was included in An Art of Changes: Jasper Johns Prints, 1960–2018 exhibit organized by the Walker Art Center, one of 90 prints seen in museums around the country, including:
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, October 12–January 20, 2020
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, February 16, 2020–January 3, 2021
Tampa Art Museum, Florida, April 28–September 5, 2021
Grand Rapids Art Museum, Michigan, October 2–January 9, 2022
Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, New York, April 23–July 10, 2022
May 19, 1986–August 19, 1986
The Museum of Modern Art, New York; installation view
Jasper Johns: Mind/Mirror, the 2021-2022 simultaneous Jasper Johns retrospective jointly organized at the Philadelphia Museum and The Whitney Museum of American Art, was a massive exhibition which took place simultaneously in both museums, the largest retrospective exhibition ever devoted to the Artist. From his iconic flags to lesser-known and recent works, the exhibition featured paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints-nearly 500 artworks across the two museums, many of which are from Johns’s personal collection, shown publicly for the first time. Inspired by Jasper Johns’ long-standing fascination with mirroring and doubles, each half of the exhibition acts as a reflection of the other, inviting viewers to look closely to discover the themes, methods, and coded visual language that echo across the both venues.
Recently an impression of Jasper Johns Target, (ULAE 147), 1974, consigned by the late Paul Allen, achieved an auction world record selling for $415,800 at Christie's New York, November 10, 2022. A recognized Jasper Johns authority, Joseph K. Levene Fine, Art, Ltd. has sold several impressions of Jasper Johns Target (ULAE 147), 1974 color screenprints to private collectors. Currently Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd. can offer discriminating collectors who appreciate outstanding condition a museum quality impression from the regular numbered edition of Jasper Johns Target (ULAE 147), 1974 with particularly vibrant, fresh colors and no condition issues.
#JasperJohns Simca Target signed, numbered & dated 1974 color screenprint fetches $315,000, including buyer’s premium, doubling low estimate @Phillipsedition, October 19, 2021. https://t.co/HgQKXYnItT pic.twitter.com/YwnZDSQohb
— Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd. (@JKLFA) October 19, 2021
The condition of Jasper Johns prints plays a pivotal role in preserving the integrity and value of these artworks. The presence of mat staining, fox marks, and attenuated colors can significantly impact the overall aesthetic and historical integrity of these artworks. When considering a purchase of a Jasper Johns print, it is crucial to be wary of dealers who claim prints are in good condition despite such issues, as this may be a deliberate attempt to mislead buyers. Transparency is imperative in the art market and dealers who purposefully omit condition details are not acting in the best interest of the collector. It is also advisable to avoid dealers who artificially enhance colors in photos, distorting the true condition of the artwork. Choosing dealers who provide accurate representations, even if it reveals imperfections, ensures that buyers make well-informed decisions, maintaining the authenticity and value of Jasper Johns prints over time.
