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Fine Art, Modern, Robert Courtright, Porta San Lorenzo, Drawing with Collage

$2,650

Robert Courtright (1926-)
Porta San Lorenzo, Rome
American: 1955
Paper and newspaper collage, ink, crayon and pastel
14.75 x 29 inches
Signed in pencil lower right Courtright and dated ’55; Titled verso in pencil
Provenance: The New Gallery, 601 Madison Avenue, New York (with original label)
$2,650

Semi-abstract mixed-media collage, inspired by the architectural forms of the Porta San Lorenzo in Rome, in tones of beige, grey, black and white. Under a sky rendered in white pastel, the arch is formed from a collage of hand cut and hand torn papers, including Italian printed paper. The artist incorporates inked and crayon details, including words in Latin, lettered in ink — probably taken from the inscription above the actual gate. The white sky is colored with pastel.

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Description

The Porta San Lorenzo, also known as Porta Tiburtina, was an aqueduct constructed by the emperor Augustus in 5 BC, and later incorporated into the Aurelian walls, which were built in the 3rd century AD to protect the city. This is stated in an inscription above the gate, which also mentions restoriations carried out by emperor Honorius in the early 5th century. The name of this gate, as well as the name of the neighborhood, comes from the basilica of San Lorenzo Outside the Walls, located about a half mile further down the road Via Tiburtina.

Robert Courtright is an American collage artist and painter. Born in South Carolina, he studied at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, the New School for Social Research and the Art Students League. His works are in the Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Lugano, Switzerland and other museums.

Condition: Generally very good with the usual over all light toning. Some slight irregularities to white pastel sky. Some masking tape residue verso.

References:

“The City Walls: Aurelian’s Walls.” DIY Rome.http://www.geocities.com/mp_pollett/walls.htm#hist and http://www.geocities.com/mp_pollett/aurel21.htm (24 March 2003).

Who’s Who in American Art 1989-90. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1989. 18th ed. pp. 220-221.

Additional information

Century

20th Century