The CN stands for "commemorative Nagel". Many who are new to Nagel are not clear that these prints were created after his death in 1984. And as such they are POSTHUMOUS, not hand signed (obviously) and were created in much bigger editions sizes, some as many as 10,000.
However, although posthumous, the good news is that they are actual serigraphs—not cheap lithos like much of what passes for 'nagels' these days—and were printed by the Samper Silkscreen Company (the second printer used by Mirage to print Nagels and the only other legitimate printer) in the mid 1980's. Unlike a lot of Nagel posters, these were authorized and published by MirageEditions, Nagel's publisher. Though posthumous, they are still wonderful works of art and had he not passed, would likely have gone on to become signed and numbered limited editions.
We aren't sure how many of each CN exactly were printed. No one really knew, least of all the publisher, Mirage Editions, what was going to happen. Probably 3,000 or so were in the run. For some reason, the first five CNs are considered the most collectible.
ABOUT THE CN5
This is the fifth of the commemorative serigraphs released posthumously by Mirage in 1985. The company vowed to do only a 'few' of the CNs. Turns out there were 15. (Nagel’s publisher, Mirage Editions, made more money after Pat passed than they did when he was alive, largely through this CN series.)
This was an early one, done for a small gallery about the size of a closet on Main Street in Venice, CA.
The dealer who owned the gallelry—a friend of Pat's and the publishere, Karl Bornstein—went on to establish a very visible, L.A. contempoary gallery.
Of all of the CN series, and for reasons I never quite understood, the first five of them are the most sought after. It may be because they were sort of "in the pipeline" at the publisher, waiting to be released, just as Pat passed. B1 was a big hit.
Measures 24x36"; Never framed, not seen the light of day. Perfect. High bidder to pay s/h, rolled, FOB San Diego, Ca.
About Nagel, The Movie:
I went up to L.A. this past July, 2007. I was there to shoot my part of a new Hollywood documentary on Patrick Nagel to be released in September of this year. The producer of the film thought it might be interesting to film my contribution to the film while standing in the alley behind the old Mirage Editions offices where they existed in 1980, when I worked there.
Look for the release of the film later this year. We don't have a vested interest in the film but we think that when it comes out, the resurgence of enthusiasm for Nagel's work will increase significantly. Watch our site for news: Todd Bingham Fine Art/Nagel
CAVEAT EMPTOR:
Although many of the Nagels you see on eBay are correct, there is also an awful lot of misrepresentation (some of it is admittedly inadvertant) and fraudulent listings. Be careful if you're thinking of spending any serious money. For more on that subject, follow THIS LINK to our Nagel site.
We also broker quite a few more rarified Nagels on our art brokering site, the Inside Art Trader. Click the link to vist us...
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