#8214 • Harold Altman (American, 1924-2003), "Three Seated People," 1987, Color Lithograph, Numbered 135/285, Pencil Signed and Titled, Framed, 34" x 28"

Part of $2.8 Million McLean Mansion Luxury Downsizing Auction (timed auction by Prime Auction Solutions)

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AUCTION TITLE: Harold Altman (American, 1924-2003), "Three Seated People," 1987, Color Lithograph, Numbered 135/285, Pencil Signed and Titled, Framed, 34" x 28" A luminous and quietly captivating color lithograph by Harold Altman, one of the most celebrated American printmakers of the 20th century and an artist whose work resides in the permanent collections of the world's most distinguished institutions. Altman has been recognized by critics as one of the top graphic artists in the United States and ranked among the finest printmakers in the world, and this example represents the subject matter at the very heart of his artistic identity. Altman is known as an American printmaker who captured the subtle atmospheric conditions of Central Park and the parks of Paris. He primarily used lithography, producing a remarkable body of work that critics described as giving "a vision of a world imbued with poetry, maturity, and compassion" with parks as "gardens of life." "Three Seated People," dated 1987, places three figures in a lush garden or park setting, their backs turned to the viewer in the contemplative, unhurried manner characteristic of Altman's figurative park compositions. Two women and a man occupy wire-frame garden chairs on a gravel path, surrounded by a profusion of blooming roses and flowering shrubs in full summer color, the foliage arching overhead in deep greens that frame the scene with a natural canopy. The image is rendered with the precise tonal control and photographic warmth that Altman achieved through decades of technical mastery, the soft dappled light of a summer afternoon suffusing every element of the composition. The scene is at once specific and universal, capturing the pleasure of an unhurried hour in a garden that could be Paris, New York, or anywhere the world pauses to breathe. A prolific draftsman who became obsessed with printmaking in the later half of his life, Altman produced more than 1,200 unique editions of lithographs and etchings and had more than 300 one-man exhibitions in his lifetime, with works in dozens of museums all over the world. The Museum of Modern Art in New York owns over 40 of Altman's works, while the Whitney and Brooklyn Museums each hold over 50 examples. His work is also found in the Victoria and Albert Museum of London, the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam, the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris, and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Copenhagen. This impression is numbered 135/285 in pencil lower left, titled "Three Seated People" in pencil lower center, and pencil signed by the artist lower right. The work dates to 1987 and the image size is 23.625 x 15.875 inches. Presented in a warm burled wood frame with double mat. Overall framed dimensions 34" x 28."