Acrylic on canvas. Signed "cply" and dated in the lower right of the image. Titled and inscribed “18” on the stretcher. 96.5 x 130 cm.
- From the celebrated “X-rated” series (1972-1975), which links Copley’s obscene and erotic motifs with the titles of classic Hollywood films and stage plays. - In 1974, part of the legendary Copley exhibition “X-Rated” at the New York Cultural Center. - The provocateur and pop art surrealist has shaped American and European postwar art with his unique artwork. - In 1972, Copley was represented at documenta 5 in Kassel for the first time. - Works from the early 1970s are found in major museum collections today, including the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Fondazione Prada in Milan, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
This work is registered in the archive of the William N. Copley Estate in New York. We are grateful to Anthony Atlas for his kind expert advice.
LITERATURE: Paul Kasmin Gallery (ed.) and Anne Doran, exhibition catalog: William N. Copley. X-Rated, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, Nov. 6-Dec. 11, 2010, p. 10 (illustrated). Germano Celant (ed.), exhibition catalog William N. Copley, The Menil Collection, Houston / Fondazione Prada, Milan 2016, pp. 208ff., cat. no. 429 (illustrated). Paul Kasmin Gallery (ed.), exhibition catalogue William N. Copley. Women, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York 2017, p. 71 (illustrated).

CPLY/X-Rated. An Exhibition of New Paintings and Drawings, New York Cultural Center (in collaboration with Fairleigh Dickinson University), New York, March 22-May 19, 1974, cat. no. 22 (titled "The Blue Angel"). William N. Copley und Andreas Slominski - X-Rated, me Collectors Room, Berlin, Jan. 30-May 8, 2011, p. 7 (illustrated, installation view). William N. Copley. The New York Years, Kasmin Gallery, New York, Mar. 11-Sept. 26, 2020 (with the label on the stretcher)

Estate of William N. Copley, New York. David Nolan Gallery, New York. Private collection, New York (acquired in 2006). Private collection, New York (acquired from the above in 2010)

An expressive, provocative work in very good condition. The edges and corners of the image are slightly rubbed in places and very slightly soiled. There are a few fine traces of rubbing in the upper left corner of the light green color field and in the lower left corner of the blue patterned area. There are a few tiny studio marks and isolated paint deposits. The condition report was compiled in daylight with the aid of a UV light source, and to the best of our knowledge and belief.