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Signed by the artist and numbered 49/50 lower left in pencil. Color lithograph on mauve Wookey Hole handmade waterleaf paper.
This print features the encounter between an alluring woman dressed in red, and a man with his back to the viewer. The light of a streetlamp is beautifully imitated with speckled texture that silhouettes the man.
The composition of A Life is based on Kitaj’s pastel work Femme de Peuple II, and a pulp novel’s salacious cover.
Known for his expressive style and charged imagery, Kitaj went against the grain of abstraction during his career, producing nuanced figurative work. This image displays Kitaj’s ability to evoke emotion and drama with fluid lines and bold color.
Copies of this lithograph are in the collections of the British Council, London; and the British Museum, London.
