Frank Stella, Ambergris, from the Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series, 1993 |
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| Artist: | Frank Stella (1936 - ) |
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| Title: | Ambergris, from the Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series, 1993 |
| Reference: | Axsom 217 |
| Series: | Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series, 1993 |
| Medium: | Lithograph, etching, aquatint, relief, engraving, screenprint on white TGL handmade paper |
| Image Size: | 52 ½ in x 41 ¾ in (133.4 cm x 106 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 52 ½ in x 41 ¾ in (133.4 cm x 106 cm) |
| Edition: | Numbered from the edition of 32 in pencil in the lower center image. |
| Signature: | This work is hand-signed by Frank Stella (Massachusetts, 1936 - ) in pencil in the lower center image. |
| Condition: | This work is in excellent condition. |
| ID # | W-7118 |
Frank Stella Ambergris, 1993 is fourth installment in the artist’s Moby Dick Deckle Edges Series of 1993. This work derives its name from the 92nd chapter in the novel and refers to what is often described as one of the world’s strangest natural occurrences. Ambergris is a waxy solid substance that is produced in the digestive system of sperm whales and can be worth a great sum of monetary value. This substance may be symbolized in this work by the cloudy pink and ochre tones toward the bottom of the composition that is surrounded by white cetacean form. 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 Ambergris, 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).
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.
