14 × 9 in
 in
 cm
Price: $42,000 USD
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$61,000
plus shipping & taxes
In his steelcuts such as Rosemary Lying on One Elbow, Pop artist Tom Wesselmann brings his vibrant paintings into a fresh medium. The artist pioneered this process in the late 1960s—Rosemary was created by cutting, shaping, and welding steel sheets. Many of his works from this period explore the nude female form, and this particular piece is rendered in striking colour, her hair in bold yellow, her lips and the chaise on which she lays outlined in striking red. A scribble of light blue implies a shadow behind the reclined figure transforming the classical reclining nude into a distinctly modern representation in the Pop idiom.
Signed, titled, dated, and numbered on verso.
| Medium | Sculpture |
| Signature | Signed |
| Frame | Unframed |
| Condition | Excellent |
| Seller | Private |
| Location | USA |
| Provenance | Private Collection, USA |
Tom Wesselmann (born 1931) began his artistic studies in his hometown of Cincinnati before continuing at Cooper Union in New York. During his time at Cooper Union, he was heavily influenced by Abstract Expressionism, particularly the works of Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock. However, he eventually rejected this style, believing it had become overly introspective, leaving little space for further creative innovation.
This shift led Wesselmann toward Pop Art, a stark contrast to the emotional complexities of action painting. In this new approach, he adopted a tightly controlled style and focused on mundane subject matter. Alongside artists like Andy Warhol and Wayne Thiebaud, Wesselmann championed the idea that everyday objects held intrinsic significance, worthy of artistic depiction because of their shared familiarity. His contributions were integral to the launch of the Pop Art movement, as he was one of the artists involved in the creation of its foundational portfolios.
In 1959, Wesselmann began experimenting with small abstract collages, and by 1960, he incorporated advertising imagery to produce vibrant still lifes, interiors, and assemblages. His work often featured commonplace household items and highly stylized depictions of the female nude. By the late 1960s, his art took on a more pronounced eroticism, characterized by vivid colours, precise compositions, and exaggerated, flowing forms. In the 1970s, his works grew significantly larger in scale, with enormous still lifes evolving into partially free-standing sculptures and, eventually, into fully realized sculptures made from sheet metal. During the 1980s, he returned to wall-mounted works, creating intricate steel and aluminum cut-outs.
Wesselmann pioneered several innovative techniques, including his “drop outs,” where negative spaces transform into positive shapes, and his “cut outs,” which use laser-cut metal to create striking three-dimensional drawings. He was also a skilled printmaker, producing bold, large-scale silkscreens and lithographs that further expanded his artistic repertoire.
His work is featured in many of the world’s most prominent museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum in New York, the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C., the Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Institute of Fine Arts in Minneapolis, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, among others. Wesselmann’s art is also represented in major institutions in Germany, France, and Denmark, underscoring his global influence and enduring legacy.
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