PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTION

Laurie Simmons (b. 1949)
Pancho
signed, titled, numbered and dated '3/5 Pancho 1988 Laurie Simmons' (on the reverse)
Cibachrome print face-mounted to Plexiglas
35 x 24⅞in. (89 x 63.2cm.)
Executed in 1988, this work is number three from an edition of five

Provenance:
Metro Pictures, New York.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1998.

Specialist Notes:

‘How could I photograph men in my language?...how to get the visual essence of a “guy”? I thought about all the representations of men that might operate in the same way as a doll…I kept returning to the image of an early, almost pre-memory Christmas present given to my older sister. It was a ventriloquist doll in a green suit with brown trim…Conceptually, I loved the notion of ventriloquism. Men speaking through surrogate selves and not having to take responsibility for their thoughts or actions’ (L. Simmons, ‘My Trip to Vent Haven’). Executed in 1988, Pancho is a product of this conceptual investigation that became the Talking Objects series, which the artist undertook between 1987 to 1989. The series stands as the first example of traditional portrait photography in Simmons’ practice.

Rigidly slouched in his chair and looking off into the distance, Simmons has composed Pancho in his jaunty red vest and striped blazer in the style of a daguerreotype photograph gone awry. With the rich crimson background and the dummy’s face lit in sharp chiaroscuro, the portrait emphasizes an affinity with the art historical tradition of portrait painting as well, recalling those of such Renaissance artists as Bronzino.

Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.