Morisa Rosenberg
Head of Department
Lot 4
RICHARD DIEBENKORN(1922-1993)Green
19 November 2025, 15:00 EST
New YorkUS$300,000 - US$500,000
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Victoria Zaks
Specialist, Head of Sale
Catherine Lay
Cataloguer
RICHARD DIEBENKORN (1922-1993)
Green (Liguori 294), 1986
Etching with aquatint and drypoint in colors on Somerset paper, initialed in pencil, dated and numbered 56/60 (there were also 10 artist's proofs), with the blindstamp of the publisher/printer, Crown Point Press, Oakland, with full margins, framed, colors fresh.
plate 44 15/16 x 35 1/2 in. (114.1 x 90.2 cm.)
sheet 53 3/8 x 41 in. (135.6 x 104.1 cm.)
Etching with aquatint and drypoint in colors on Somerset paper, initialed in pencil, dated and numbered 56/60 (there were also 10 artist's proofs), with the blindstamp of the publisher/printer, Crown Point Press, Oakland, with full margins, framed, colors fresh.
plate 44 15/16 x 35 1/2 in. (114.1 x 90.2 cm.)
sheet 53 3/8 x 41 in. (135.6 x 104.1 cm.)
Footnotes
Provenance
Crown Point Press, San Francisco.
Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle.
Acquired by the late owner from the above in 1995.
Green is not only the largest and most important print of the prominent Ocean Park series, but also of Richard Diebenkorn's entire oeuvre. The composition's delicate, yet calculated balance of abstract elements, vibrant colors and sheer size were a culmination of Diebenkorn's triumphs in printmaking and his long-standing relationship with Crown Point Press.
Diebenkorn began printing with the Bay Area print shop in 1963, just a year after its founding, and returned frequently from 1977 until his death. In October 1985, Diebenkorn returned to Crown Point Press after two years away and embarked on a two-week residency in the print shop. After 6 days working on Green, he relinquished the work to focus on smaller prints which later he incorporated elements into Green. He would not complete this masterpiece until his return to Oakland in January 1986. The printing process for the edition of Green was a challenging, experimental, time-consuming project as the final printing took seven plates, three different greens and five printers to complete. Given the monumental size and intricacy of the image, the printers needed an hour and a half to ink the plate and two hours to print each impression.
The artist worked closely with the master printers making numerous changes, resulting in dozens of different states and working proofs. Kathan Brown, founder of Crown Point Press, recalls "after the printers pulled a proof, he pasted or pinned cutout shapes to it until he got something he thought might work. Then the printers helped him figure out how to put the changes he wanted into the plates." Green's creation is the pinnacle of collaboration as the printers' ingenuity and mastery of the medium allowed for Diebenkorn to push the boundaries of the technique and bring his ambitious vision to life.