Figurative artist Larry Rivers was born in the Bronx in 1923 to Ukrainian Jewish parents, and was named Yitzak Loiza Grossberg. Rivers belonged to the second generation of the New York School of painters, although unlike most of his contemporaries he stayed away from abstraction instead preferring narrative paintings. He began his artistic career playing the jazz saxophone, and when one night his group was introduced as "Larry Rivers and the Mudcats," he decided to keep the name.
After a brief period in the army during World War II, Rivers attended Juilliard School of Music for one year before returning to the jazz saxophone. After he met the painter Jane Freilicher, he decided to devote himself to painting. Rivers attended Hans Hofmann's school for nearly two years. In 1949, he had his first solo show at the Jane Street Gallery, an artist's co-op in the Village. Rivers received favorable reviews and was invited to join the Tibor de Nagy Gallery uptown.
Rivers continued to show annually at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery from 1952 to 1962. In 1963, he joined the Marlborough Gallery, where he stayed until his death. In 1955, The New York Museum of Modern Art acquired his painting Washington Crossing the Delaware, and in 1956 the Whitney Museum purchased Double Portrait of Berdie, two of his more famous paintings. He had periodic museum shows in Europe and the United States throughout his career.
Rivers had two sons, Joseph and Steven, by his first wife, Augusta. In 1961 he married Clarice Price and had two more children, Gwynne and Emma. In the 1970s he had another son with the painter Daria Deshuk.
The subjects of River's figurative paintings were family, history, politics, religion and sex. His work done in oils often included the use of stencils, cutouts, blank canvas and image reversals. He often painted family members including his mother in law, his sons and his ex-wife. Rivers favored historical subjects such as History of Matzah: The Story of the Jews (1984-85), History of the Russian Revolution (1965) and often painted parodies including his Washington Crossing the Delaware. He enjoyed controversial subjects and shocking the public. Lapman Loves It (1966) is a nine-foot electrified assemblage complete with strategically located light bulbs. French Vocabulary Lesson (1961-62) is a nude with body parts labeled in French.
Rivers was also a writer. In 1979 he published Drawings and Digressions with Carol Brightman. In 1992 he published What Did I Do? The Unauthorized Autobiography with Arnold Weinstein.
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(Biography provided by Lincoln Glenn)
Drawings and Digressions by Larry Rivers, First Edition
By Larry Rivers
Located in valatie, NY
Drawings and Digressions by Larry Rivers. Clarkson N. Potter, New York, 1979. First edition hardcover with dust jacket. 263 pp. Foreword by John Ashbery with 285 illustrations and ph...
Paper
$275
H 9.14 in W 5.91 in D 0.79 in
The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke – First U.K. Edition, First Printing
Located in Middletown, NY
London: Mysterious Press, 1989. First U.K. Edition, First Printing. 8vo, 9 1/4 x 6 (232 x 150 mm); (4) 212 pp. Publisher’s black paper boards, spine lettered in gilt. With the orig...
Paper
$4,118
H 16.34 in W 10.44 in D 0.04 in
Cosmgraphy and Astrology, 1686 by Richard Blome from the First Edition
By Richard Blome
Located in BUNGAY, SUFFOLK
Cosmography & Astrology Large oval engraved plate with inscriptions outlining the various parts of cosmography and astronomy; below, two emblematic figures with scientific instruments either side. Lettered with title, dedication, and various inscriptions. To his Excellency Roger Palmer, Earle of Castelmain and Baron of Limerick in Ireland, Embassador Extraordinary from his majesty King James II to his Holyness Pope Innocent 11th anno dom 1686. This plate is humbly DD by Richard Blome. On paper and retaining its original coloring. Sheet width 26 ½ cm., 10 ½ in., height 41 ½ cm., 16 ½ in., In a part-gilded Sansovino frame...
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$5,900
H 11.38 in W 15.38 in D 1 in
SCHULZ - Peanuts Jubilee - FIRST EDITION INSCRIBED WITH A DRAWING OF SNOOPY !
Located in Hillsborough, NJ
AUTHOR: SCHULZ, Charles. TITLE: Peanuts Jubilee. My Life and Art With Charlie Brown and Others. PUBLISHER: NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975. DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION INSCRIBED WITH A DRAWING. 1 vol., 15-3/8" x 11-3/8", illustrated, inscribed on the half-title "For B. J. with every best wish - Charles M. Schulz" with the addition of a large full body sketch of Snoopy, hardcover, original stamped silver boards. CONDITION: Inner and outer hinges fine, mild general handling to covers, foredge of rear pastedown and endpaper worn, internally clean and bright, overall VERY GOOD. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: "B.J." is B.J. Thomas best...
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Voltaire's Candide True First Edition & First London Edition
Located in Savannah, GA
A rare example of a first edition Candide, published in Geneva by Cramer, 1759. 299pp. Woodcut ornaments and Voltaire's corrected pages (pp. 31...
Leather, Paper
$2,500
H 8.38 in W 5.63 in D 0.75 in
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, First Edition, First Printing, Dust Jacket, 1952
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
White, Elwyn Brooks. Charlotte’s Web. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1952. First edition, first printing. Illustrated by Garth Williams. Octavo. In the publisher's original b...
Fabric, Paper
To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway, First Edition, 1937
By Ernest Hemingway
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Hemingway, Ernest, To Have and Have Not. New York: Charles Scriber’s Sons, 1937. First edition, first printing. Beautifully rebound in 1/4 gray Moroccan leather and cloth boards, with raised bands and gilt tooling and titles to the spine. Housed in a matching cloth slipcase. This first edition, first printing of Ernest Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not was published in New York by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1937. The original internal pages have been professionally rebound in quarter gray Moroccan leather and cloth boards with raised bands, gilt titles, and gilt tooling to the spine. The book is housed in a custom matching archival slipcase. Set during the Depression, Hemingway’s novel follows the dramatic story of fishing boat captain Henry Morgan who turns to a life of contraband running between Cuba and Florida to save himself and his family. To Have and Have Not began as a short story, published as "One Trip Across" in Cosmopolitan in 1934, introducing the character of Harry Morgan...
Leather, Paper
Tarzan and The Ant Men First Edition
By Edgar Rice Burroughs
Located in Dallas, TX
Presenting a gloriously rare book …. Tarzan and The Ant Men First Edition by Edgar Rice Burroughs Grosset & Dunlap 1st Edition. Mixed edition...
Paper
$2,750
H 8.25 in W 5.88 in D 2.13 in
The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald, First Edition, 1922
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Beautiful and the Damned. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922. First edition, first state. Rebound in ¼ leather and cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt titles, and tooling to the spine. Gilded edges. New archival cloth slipcase. Presented is a first edition, first state of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and the Damned. The book was published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in New York in 1922. It is presented here, rebound, in gorgeous blue ¼ leather and cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt titles, and gilt tooling to the spine, and a new archival slipcase. The Beautiful and the Damned was Fitzgerald’s second novel, following his debut This Side of Paradise. The book is an exploration of the nouveau riche, New York City nightlife in the 1920s, and the inner dynamics of two young and reckless newlyweds. Semi-autobigraphical, Fitzgerald modeled the characters of Anthony Patch and Gloria Gilbert on himself and his new spouse Zelda Fitzgerald and the story draws circumstantially upon the early years of Fitzgeralds' tempestuous marriage. Fitzgerald started writing The Beautiful and the Damned in August of 1920, while in Westport Connecticut. Having reflected upon the criticisms of his debut novel This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald sought to improve upon the form and construction of his prose in this second book. He relied heavily on editorial suggestions from his friend Edmund Wilson...
Leather, Paper
Ash Wednesday: Six Poems by T. S. Eliot - First Edition
Located in Middletown, NY
London: Faber & Faber, 1930 First Edition. 8vo, 7 5/8 x 5 inches (192 x127 mm); 21 pp. Brown cloth boards stamped in gold on front cover and on spine; t.e.g., others untrimmed. Dust...
Paper
$5,500
H 8.38 in W 5.13 in D 2 in
Vanity Fair by Wm.Thackeray, Cosway Style Binding, First Edition, First Issue
Located in Middletown, NY
Vanity Fair; A Novel Without a Hero. With Illustrations On Steel and Wood By the Author. London: Bradbury & Evans, 1848 / Vanity Fair; A Novel Without a Hero. With Illustrations On ...
Leather, Paper
$1,175
H 10 in W 7.5 in D 1.75 in
The Rhinegold and The Valkyrie Illustrated by A Rackham First Edition
By Wagner
Located in Dallas, TX
Presenting a fabulous first edition book, namely, The Rhinegold and The Valkyrie Illustrated by A Rackham First Edition. The Rhinegol...
Paper
$20 / item
H 12.63 in W 5.25 in D 0.78 in
Our Underwater World A First Dive into Oceans, Lakes, and Rivers
Located in New York, NY
A poetic read-aloud celebration of our planet’s underwater worlds, that opens up to create a freestanding globe The youngest readers are invited to explore and experience our blue p...
Paper
Drawings and Digressions by Larry Rivers, First Edition
By Larry Rivers
Located in valatie, NY
Drawings and digressions by Larry Rivers. Clarkson N. Potter, New York, 1979. First edition hardcover with dust jacket. Foreword by John Ashbery with 285 illustrations and photograph...
Paper