Larry Rivers valuation

Larry Rivers (1923–2002) was born Yitzroch Loiza Grossberg in the Bronx, New York, and in 1940 began a career as a professional jazz saxophonist, later studying music at the Juilliard School. He took up painting in 1945, enrolled at Hans Hofmann's school in 1947 and graduated in art education from New York University in 1951. He adapted the free handling of Abstract Expressionism to figurative ends, painting American history and everyday objects from popular culture: Washington Crossing the Delaware (1953) entered the Museum of Modern Art in 1955, the Whitney Museum bought Double Portrait of Berdie, and the Tate acquired Parts of the Face: French Vocabulary Lesson in 1962. A friendship with the poet Frank O'Hara produced Stones (1957), lithographs of illuminated poetry that were the first project at Tatyana Grosman's Universal Limited Art Editions. He also made sculpture and three-dimensional relief paintings. Tibor de Nagy Gallery gave him eleven solo shows from 1951, a retrospective toured five American museums in 1965, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art held a major retrospective in 2002. From 1953 he lived and worked in Southampton, Long Island, and in New York.

Rivers made paintings, drawings, mixed-media works, sculpture, and many lithographs and other prints and multiples. For a print, check the edition number, the signature, the workshop or publisher and the paper. The Larry Rivers Foundation documents his works and asks owners to send details, though it does not authenticate and is not compiling a catalogue raisonné at present. A gallery invoice, exhibition history and the date of the work all help.