SOLD
Ed RUSCHA (American, b. 1937)
Hollywood (Engberg 7)
1968
Screenprint in colors on laid paper.
Sheet: 17 5/8 x 44 3/8 in. (44.8 x 112.7 cm.)
Image: 12 1/4 x 40 3/4 in. (31.2 x 103.5 cm.)
Edition of 100 + 2 AP
Signed “E. Ruscha”, dated “1968” and inscribed “Jerry’s Proof” in pencil by the artist lower left.
Printed and published by the artist.
– The Ed Ruscha Studio has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
– Provenance: Estate of Jerry McMillan, acclaimed artist and photographer, friend to Ed Ruscha, who grew up with him in Oklahoma and moved with him to Los Angeles. McMillan famously documented Ruscha’s early career through iconic photographs.
– Literature: Siri Engberg and Clive Phillpot, “Edward Ruscha: Editions 1959-1999: Catalogue Raisonné“, Walker Art Center, 1999, no. 7 (another ex. ill.)
“Hollywood (Engberg 7)” is an iconic color screenprint created by Ed Ruscha in 1968. It is widely considered a masterpiece of the American Pop Art movement.
To create the dramatic sky gradient, Ruscha used the “Split-Fountain” technique, where multiple inks are blended directly on the silkscreen. This semi-random process makes color control difficult, ensuring vibrant variation across the edition.
The highly elongated panoramic format mimics Panavision film and evokes the vast horizon line of the Southern California landscape.
The work depicts the famous Hollywood sign standing against a romanticized, exaggerated sunset. Ruscha uses commercial art techniques to treat Hollywood less as a physical place and more as a myth, an idea, and a manufactured dream.
This print is held in the permanent collections of major museums worldwide, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C. and the Harvard Art Museums.
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