Helena’s Australia
- Date
- 1988
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 118 1/4 x 88 1/8 in. (300.4 x 223.8 cm)
framed: 119 x 88 3/4 in. (302.3 x 225.4 cm) - Credit Line
- Friends Endowment Fund and funds given anonymously
- Rights
- © The Estate of Sigmar Polke / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2013
- Object Number
- 16:2003
NOTES
For this canvas, Sigmar Polke joined two strips of polyester fabric, producing a diagonal seam that runs from the top of the canvas to the bottom. He laid the stretched canvas face down and poured synthetic resin on the back. Areas of translucency resulted where the resin saturated the fabric. On the front, he created abstract imagery and patterns using acrylic paint. Helena’s Australia demonstrates Polke’s experimentation with unorthodox materials and methods, a career-long focus that earned him the reputation as an artistic alchemist.
Provenance
1988 -
Sigmar Polke
- 1992
Private Collection, Cologne [1]
1992 -
Collection Hans Grothe [2]
- 2003
Michael Werner Gallery, New York, NY, USA; Cologne, Germany
2003 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from the Michael Werner Gallery [3]
Notes:
[1] "Helena's Australia" was auctioned at Christie's in New York on November 13, 2001. This provenance record is based on the data provided in the sales catalogue [citation for sales catalogue].
[2] See note [1].
[3] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 4, 2003; and the Minutes of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 10, 2003.
Sigmar Polke
- 1992
Private Collection, Cologne [1]
1992 -
Collection Hans Grothe [2]
- 2003
Michael Werner Gallery, New York, NY, USA; Cologne, Germany
2003 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from the Michael Werner Gallery [3]
Notes:
[1] "Helena's Australia" was auctioned at Christie's in New York on November 13, 2001. This provenance record is based on the data provided in the sales catalogue [citation for sales catalogue].
[2] See note [1].
[3] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 4, 2003; and the Minutes of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 10, 2003.
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