MASTER PRINTER SELLS PERSONAL COLLECTION AT RAGO IN NOVEMBER – WORKS FROM RED GROOMS, LARRY RIVERS, ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG, WILLEM DE KOONING.

Lambertville, NJ:  Nationally recognized for contemporary American printmaking, Vermillion Editions Limited was founded in 1977 by entrepreneur and master printer Steven M. Andersen. In its fifteen years of operation, Vermillion published the works of such renowned artists as Red Grooms, Robert Mapplethorpe, James Rosenquist, Malcolm Morley, Sam Gilliam and William Wegman. 

Steve Anderson and Meredith Hilferty, Director of Fine Art at Rago, have selected over 200 of these from a personal collection of original works and prints to bring to market on November 16th as the Vermillion Editions Limited Collection.

Highlights from the sale include the work of Nicolas Africano, Jennifer Bartlett, Joseph Beuys, Stanley Boxer, Willem de Kooning, Dan Flavin, Sam Gilliam, Red Grooms, Duncan Hannah, Keith Haring, Jasper Johns, Robert Kushner, Matthew McConville, George Morrison, Tom Otterness, Robert Rauschenberg, Herb Ritts, Larry Rivers, James Rosenquist, Rupert Jasen Smith, Wayne Thiebaud, John Walker, Andy Warhol, William Wegman and Adja Yunkers.

“Artists from Arakawa to Warhol were eager for Andersen's expertise and his willingness to translate unconventional ideas into print. He relished both technical challenges and the audacity of artists rethinking what a print could be,” says Meredith Hilferty, “Plus I understand he was really fun to hang with."

A self-described juvenile delinquent from Minnesota who designed and built race cars, Andersen took his first lithography course by accident, thinking he was signing up for topography. His professor, master printer Zigmunds Priede, took Andersen to New York to work at Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE), one of the best-known fine print publishers in the country.

From the start Andersen was a brilliant printer, never compromising quality, always ready for new technical and artistic challenges. Before he graduated, he was collaborating with Chuck Close, Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Marisol and Larry Rivers. After graduation, he set up the Styria Studio and the print studio at Parsons School of Design and joined the faculty of Cooper Union. He printed James Rosenquist's massive four panel litho and screen print Horse Blinders and Andy Warhol's Chairman Mao series.  

The impetus to start Vermillion came from Samuel Sachs, Director of the Minnesota Institute of Arts.  Andersen sparked to the idea of work in a booming, but more intimate artistic community. He moved back to Minneapolis. Friends from NYC including Rosenquist, Allan D'Arcangelo, Close and Arakawa soon made the journey west to work with him. He partnered extensively with Arakawa as well as Red Grooms and Sam Gilliam, and also took on work for, Robert Cumming, Martha Diamond, Robert Moskowitz, John Newman, Hollis Sigler, as well as the aforementioned Nicolas Africano, Robert Mapplethorpe, James Rosenquist, Malcolm Morley and William Wegman.

Andersen will be at Rago during its auction exhibition on Tuesday, November 12th and Wednesday, November 13th for all who would like to meet him and speak with him about the work in the sale. He will also be the featured speaker at the Rago Open House on November 13th, with a freewheeling and unscripted reminiscence on his start in printmaking and the disruptive artists with whom he collaborated.

Auction Dates/Times

- 19th/20th C. American and European Art: Saturday, November 16 at 11 a.m.

- Post-War and Contemporary Art: Saturday, November 16 at 1 p.m.

Auction Exhibition/Preview

- Saturday, November 9 – Thursday, November 14, 12-5 p.m., Friday, November 15, 12-7 p.m., and by appointment. Doors open on November 16 at 9 a.m.

- Open House/Lecture, Stephen Andersen, Master Printer and Founder Vermillion Editions Limited “Why Can’t We Do This? Renegade Artists and Contemporary Art”, Wednesday, November 13. Reception at 5 p.m., lecture at 6 p.m. Please R.S.V.P. to raac@ragoarts.com or 609-397-9374 ext. 119.

- Rago is located midway between New York City and Philadelphia. Directions online at ragoarts.com.

Catalogues

- View complete catalogues with color images online at ragoarts.com as of October 28.

- Catalogues are available for $20, available by calling 609.397.9374 or emailing a request to info@ragoarts.com.  

Auction Contact Information

- 609-397-9374 or info@ragoarts.com

TO THE EDITOR

High resolution images available on request.

About Rago Arts and Auction Center

Rago is a leading U.S. auction house with $30 million in annual sales. We serve thousands of sellers and buyers internationally with a singular blend of global reach and personal service. Rago holds auctions of 20th/21st c. design, fine art, decorative arts, furnishings, jewelry, militaria, coins and currency, Asian, historic ephemera, and ethnographic property.  A world-class venue through which to buy and sell, it offers valuations for personal property (from a single piece to collections and estates), appraisals, estate services, exhibitions and lectures in house and online. Rago is based in New Jersey, midway between Philadelphia and New York City.

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