The Limited Editions (without Letters)
Gallery: one \ two \
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Standing Lady
1981 \ 37 " x 60" \ 25 s/n \ 5 a/p
Note the physical size of this print at 60"...a huge piece, and given the economy of the design it has a tremendous impact. The book is in error noting the Wasserman Silkscreen poster with this image -- the two thumbnails are reversed, although the image in the two prints were taken from the same acrylic painting. Standing Lady in person is absolutely awesome. Again, note the small signed state.
Venetion Blinds
1981 \ 41 " x 38" \ 50 s/n \ 10 a/p
This print was hard to get even back in the day. Just a wonderful juxtaposition of curvelinear lines -- the soft lines of the model against the angular lines of windowlight. This image reflects the bygone and much-missed pre-breast surgery era. Very cool print/ Since 1982' we've only had it to sell one time.
Seated Man
1981 \ 30 " x 40" \ 40 s/n \ 10 a/p
This print is extremely rare, as well. In the collection of limited editions, it is the only one featuring a male model. Is it a self portrait? We'd have to ask, Nagel's assistant, Barry Hahn, I guess, but it seems likely. It was one of the few lifetime pieces not using the femme fatale, of course, and only 50 were printed (on huge sheets).
MASK
1980 \ 29" x 49 " \ 50 s/n \ 10 a/p
This image rarely surfaces anymore. It's Nagel's nod to Art Nouveaux, done in a very small edition, and we suppose that those who own one are not likely to want to sell it. Again, Pat's not so-subtle social prosletyzing is obvious. A similar image was used for "Pappillon" in the poster series.
KRISTEN
1983 \ 25" x 35 " \ 95 s/n \ 20 a/p \ 5 p/p
By 1983, the year Kristen was released, Nagel was as hot as he could be. Mirage recognized that they had a 'home-run' and began raising the size and price of the limited editions. You'll note the size of this edition, while still quite small, relative to the rest of the art community at the time, is still nearly twice what they had been in the beginning. Kristen also pushed the limits a little insofar as the racey quality of Pat's work, much less conservative. Needless to say, it was sold out before it was printed.
CLEO
1983 \ 42" x 36" \ 90 s/n \ 15 a/p \ 3 p/p
Wow! Cleo was just an unbelievable image. Note the extremely large sheet size, and framed on a wall (or in a darkened viewing room where we used to show them in the gallery) this image was just electric. Far and away one of the best things Pat did. Todd sold one of these in 1983 for $850.00 (the then unframed price) and then again in 1984 for $6,000.
CAROL
1983 \ 30" x 36" \ 125 s/n \ 25 a/p \ 3 p/p
Carol didn't sell that well, at first. Then the bronze sculpture of the same model was released and for some reason the serigraph took off. Any work of art that reveals a lovely shoulder the way this one does, is irresistable. Note, too, the ed. size numbers: Mirage was beginning to increase the size of the various iterations of each limited edition -- there was just too much money to be made and we suppose it was irresistable.
DYANSEN
1983 \ 42.5" x 30" \ 75 s/n \ 20 a/p \ 3 p/p
As is noted in the poster section, Dyansen Galleries was a big account for Mirage. The chain of retail galleries sold a lot of Nagel graphics. This image, in our opionion, made a much better large graphic than a poster. The cross reference from the predatory cat to the femme fatale was obvious even for those uninterested in the social issues. It was just a very compelling image
Black Robe
1981 \ 42" x 27" \ 90 s/n \ 15 a/p \ 5 p/p
Here again, is Nagel's penchant for "less being more." The black robe (this thumbnail is woefully inadequate, of course) is just a spetacular image. Oddly, the original acrylic painting of it was quite small. It was not a Playboy illustration (though it may have started that way),but like those drawings, the original was acrylic on board and not nearly as electric as this piece. More kudos owing to Wasserman's genius with the silkscreen print. This title was the larger of the two and printed in colors. There is another similar composition, entitled the Black and White Robe (see below) with which there is no small amount of confusion.
INVITATION
1980 \ 26" x 26" \ 30 s/n \ 10 a/p
For years we said on this site that we'd " only seen (the Invitation) once and never for sale." It has an extremely low edition size and despite what the book says about its release date, we doubt that's accurate. Todd thinks it might have been printed earlier than that. Despite all that, though, one came to us this year -- 2008 -- and we sold it immediately. The Invitation will be extremely valuable, we think, than for no other reason than its scarcity.
HEIDI
1983 \ 25" x 35" \ 90 s/n \ 25 a/p \ 5 p/p
At first, Heidi didn't sell well. We never understood why. The tone of the work was warm and inviting, yet it was probably the green suit on the model...green didn't match the '80's couch. Now however, Heidi is very desirable.
