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Aquatint with four plates in 8 colors and black on Rives paper.
Plate: 11.75 x 9.3 in. / 29.8 × 23.7 cm
Paper: 19.9 x 16.33 in. / 50.5 x 41.5 cm
Signed by the artist and marked Trial proof lower right in pencil. Edition 75 with 10 proofs. Printed by the artist and Aldo Crommelynck at Atelier Crommelynck, Paris.
According to Gesine Tosin, Richard Hamilton irritated contemporary critics in the 1970s with a series of works — romantic images of flowers, still lifes and landscapes, interspersed with scatological motifs. “Once exhibited, the critics regarded the paintings as evidence either of a kinky sexual aberration or an early onset of senility.” (Hamilton 1982, p.79. ) Trichromatic flower-piece is one of these works, which questioned the categories of high and low art through its appropriated imagery. In the words of Richard Hamilton: “The Shit and Flowers series was was inspired in a sense by Barcelona, walking on the Ramblas where thousands of postcards are displayed. (…) I bought three pictures of flowers. I took them back to Cadaqués and began to play about with them, at first by putting a little paint on the surface.”
Condition: Four areas of discoloration lower right: 3 1x.5” discoloration, 1/2×1/2” mark. 1” and ¾’ soft crease lower right. 1.5” vertical crease upper edge, soft vertical crease extending downward from upper edge of sheet to lower edge. ¾” soft crease upper right, ½” horseshoe-shaped crease lower left. Effaced paper where archival tape was removed on all four corners of verso.
