Many years ago when I was a mere lad, I found myself, along with two of my sisters, at the Dallas Museum of Art. On that particular day the museum was exhibiting the works of Roy Lichtenstein, which we thoroughly enjoyed. I even spent my hard earned money on a boxed set of over-priced Roy Lichtenstein notecards. Much to our amazement, Mr. Lichtenstein was actually in the museum that day--being interviewed. We watched the interview, and then, being rather young and silly, we boldly walked into the reception for Mr. Lichtenstein which followed. I was surprised to see the artist standing quite alone in a sea of well-dressed people; it almost seemed as if they were too intimidated to approach him.
I decided to engage the artist myself. "Mr. Lichtenstein," I said with some timidity, "I really enjoyed seeing your art." Gently taking the boxed notecards out of my bag, I continued, "I was wondering if you would mind signing a few cards for me and my sisters?" Mr. Lichtenstein took the box of cards from my hand while walking us toward an empty table. The rest of the crowd simply stared. He asked, "Where did you get these? I've never seen them before, they're really quite nice, aren't they?" I explained that I had purchased them right in the museum and then I picked out three of the cards, each with a different Lichtenstein image, and handed them to him to sign. He was very kind and I explained that I wanted to be an artist too. Suddenly I remembered my sister Susan who was not present. I picked out a fourth card and handed it to him. "I have another sister," I said. He smiled and continued to sign.
And that is the story of how my family came to own four Roy Lichtensteins. Here is mine:
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| My Roy Lichtenstein |
A few months ago I happened to find myself in another museum shop and discovered some marked-down Andy Warhol blocks. They were miniature Warhol Brillo Boxes! Made by Mudpuppy, they are pure genius as far as I am concerned (and no doubt they'll be a collector's item one day). I scooped them up and when I am in a Pop Art sort of mood I display them on a table or one of my art pedestals scattered about the house. I like the juxtaposition between the antiques and the Pop Art.
I did a little research and discovered that the Warhol blocks are still readily available at Amazon.com, so if you're interested, get them while you can. I also explored other interesting artist products:
Jean-Michel Basquiat Plates are available at mcachicagostore.org or at musartboutique.com for about $120.
A beautiful Mondrian lacquered wood box is $250 at musartboutique.com
Woven Picasso pillows, made in France by the old Jules Pansu firm (they are the only weavers licensed by the Picasso Foundation to use his images), available at kenisahome.com and musartboutique.com for $145-$175
Jules Pansu also make other artist pillows, I love the Miro:
The Eames House Bird is a gorgeous hand carved alder wood piece. Based on a folk art bird that Charles and Ray Eames kept in their living room for over 50 years. It was often featured in their photographs. Available at thelacmastore.org for $250.
Here is a very interesting piece! A Rene Magritte figurine based on the 1934 painting, The Collective Invention. It is a mockery of the traditional mermaid; the fish and female parts are reversed. True surrealism! Available at musartboutique.com for $40.
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| The Collective Invention, Rene Magritte, 1934 |
Banksy playing cards (these would look great framed) also at musartboutique.com for $10.
And finally, an original Niki de Saint Phalle parfum bottle with entwined snakes. As a way to finance her masterpiece The Tarot Garden in Tuscany, she developed her own parfum in 1982. It was all the rage at the time -- it was the bottle that people responded to. This object will take a little work to obtain, available at ebay.com, 1stdibs.com, or other online auction sites. The price can be anywhere from $40 to $450 depending on condition and luck. By-the-way, her story is very fascinating--worth reading about.
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