Cindy Sherman

American, b. 1954

Untitled #121 from the Red Robe series, 1983

Chromogenic print (c-print)
46 x 29 in. (116.84 x 73.66 cm.)
Frame: 47 x 31 x 1 in. (119.38 x 78.74 x 2.54 cm.)
Signed, dated and numbered on verso

Edition of 18

Lot ID

141844
Ending
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Susanna Wenniger
Head Of Photographs

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Lot Details

About This Lot

Another print from this edition is in the collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

"Untitled #121" belongs to a series of fashion photographs commissioned for Interview magazine in 1983. In her famous Red Robe series, Sherman crafted a parody of the female form. "I really started to make fun, not of the clothes, but much more of the fashion. I was starting to put scar tissue on my face to become really ugly.' (Quoted in Sandy Nairne, The State of Affairs. Ideas and Images in the 1980s (London, 1987) p. 136).

Cindy Sherman is an American photographer and filmmaker whose self-portraits offer critiques of gender and identity. What made Sherman famous is the use of her own body in roles or personas in her work, with her seminal series Untitled Film Stills (1977–1980) being particularly important. These black-and-white photographs feature the artist herself as a model in various costumes and poses, and are her portrayals of female stereotypes found in film, television, and advertising. Similar to Barbara Kruger, Sherman examines and distorts femininity as a social construct.“I like making images that from a distance seem kind of seductive, colorful, luscious and engaging, and then you realize what you're looking at is something totally opposite,” she reflected. “It seems boring to me to pursue the typical idea of beauty, because that is the easiest and the most obvious way to see the world. It's more challenging to look at the other side.” Born on January 19, 1954 in Glen Ridge, NJ, the artist abandoned painting for photography while attending the State University of New York at Buffalo, and in 1976, moved to New York to pursue a career as a photographer. In addition to the Untitled Film Stills series, she has continued to explore women as subject matter, often donning elaborate disguises in large-scale color photographs, throughout her career. While her practice has grouped her with the Pictures Generation, along with artists such as Sherrie Levine and Robert Longo, her distinctive blend of performance and photography stands alone. Her work has been the subject of many museum exhibitions, including those at The Museum of Modern Art in 2019, and at the National Portrait Gallery, in London in 2019. Sherman lives and works in New York, NY.

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Publication:
  • Cindy Sherman (New York, 1984), pl. 82
The seller has recorded the following condition for this lot:
Please contact Amelia Wilson at awilson@artnet.com to receive the condition report for this lot.

Definition Key
Area
Image The central image area, composition, or focal point; the area inside the margins/plate marks.
Margin Areas bordering the central image, outside the plate marks, or the perimeter area.
Edge The farthest edge of the object.
Verso The reverse/back of the object.



Degree
Minor An existing condition which generally does not involve risk of loss.
Moderate Noticeable damage, increasing in severity and/or size; should be monitored or corrected by a conservator.
Major Distinct, recognizable damage; the stability of the work is questionable and risk is a factor. Requires the attention of a conservator.
Extreme Advanced and severe damage; work is insecure and at great risk.

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Provenance:
  • Private Collection, New York
  • Ships From: New York, USA
  • Shipping Dimensions: 47 x 31 x 1 in. (119.38 x 78.74 x 2.54 cm.)
  • Frame Material: Wood
  • Framed Under: Glass
Accepted: Wire Transfer
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