Artist: James Rosenquist
Title: Window Washer Glass House
Medium: Etching in Colors with Embossing and Hand-Coloring on Pescia Italia
Image Size: 17.75" x 35.75"
Sheet Size: 22.75" x 29.75"
Edition: 68/78
Publisher: Multiples Inc, New York
Printer: Aripeka Ltd Editions and Flatstone Studio
Year: 1978
Inscription: Signed, titled, dated and numbered to front lower edge
Documentation: Includes gallery certificate of authenticity from Modern Artifact
James Rosenquist's "Window Washer Glass House" (1978) exemplifies his exploration of scale, fragmentation, and visual layering. The composition features two outstretched arms extending across a field of colored stripes—blue, red, yellow, orange, and black—that traverse the horizontal plane of the image. The work combines etching in colors with embossing and hand-coloring, emphasizing formal arrangement and pattern.
Executed as part of a limited edition of 78, this print was co-printed by Aripeka Ltd Editions and Flatstone Studio, Tampa, Florida, and published by Multiples Inc, New York. The edition is signed, titled, dated, and numbered in the lower front edge, and its authenticity is documented with a gallery certificate from Modern Artifact. The work is listed in Glenn 144, situating it within the artist's documented printmaking output.
The composition balances figurative representation with abstraction through the use of repeated stripes and color blocks, creating a rhythm that guides the viewer's eye across the surface. The embossed and hand-colored elements introduce subtle variations in texture and depth, emphasizing the physicality of the print medium. While the arms are rendered in a simplified, linear manner, they remain a clear focal point, mediating between the abstract color fields and the implied narrative suggested by the title.
In "Window Washer Glass House", Rosenquist continues his exploration of scale, fragmentation, and visual layering, concerns that are central to his broader body of work. The careful juxtaposition of hand-applied color with mechanically reproduced forms exemplifies his interest in combining industrial techniques with individual artistic intervention. The print demonstrates Rosenquist's methodical approach to composition, color, and printmaking, offering a measured study of form and figure that situates the work within the context of late-1970s American printmaking.
About James Rosenquist
James Rosenquist (1933–2017) was an influential American painter and a central figure in the Pop Art movement, known for his monumental, fragmented canvases that merged commercial imagery with fine art. Born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Rosenquist grew up in a working-class family during the Great Depression, an experience that shaped his awareness of consumer culture and mass media. He initially studied at the University of Minnesota before transferring to the Minneapolis School of Art, where he focused on painting and commercial illustration.
Rosenquist began his career as a commercial billboard painter in New York City during the 1950s, an occupation that would profoundly influence his artistic vocabulary. The scale and techniques of billboard work—fragmented images, bold colors, and dynamic compositions—became defining features of his later canvases. In 1961, he abandoned commercial painting to devote himself fully to fine art, bringing with him a unique sensibility for visual impact and narrative sequencing.
By the early 1960s, Rosenquist had become associated with the emerging Pop Art movement alongside contemporaries such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Claes Oldenburg. Unlike Warhol's detached replication of commercial imagery, Rosenquist's work often carried a psychological and political edge, fusing advertising iconography, celebrity culture, and commentary on contemporary life. His large-scale paintings, sometimes exceeding 20 feet in width, juxtapose disparate elements—a can of tomato soup alongside a fragment of a human face or a motorcycle—creating surreal, cinematic compositions that explore themes of consumption, technology, and social change.
Notable works from this period include F-111 (1964–65), a sprawling canvas combining images of military machinery, consumer products, and political figures, which exemplifies Rosenquist's engagement with the cultural and political tensions of the 1960s. Throughout his career, he continued to experiment with scale, layering, and abstraction, often oscillating between figurative and near-abstract approaches. His paintings demonstrate a meticulous approach to color and form, reflecting both his commercial training and his mastery of painterly techniques.
Rosenquist exhibited widely in the United States and internationally, with solo shows at institutions including the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. His work is held in major collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the National Gallery of Art.
Throughout his life, Rosenquist remained committed to expanding the possibilities of painting, bridging the worlds of advertising and high art while challenging viewers to consider the impact of imagery on perception and society. His legacy endures as one of the most innovative voices in 20th-century American art, illustrating the intersections of mass culture, visual spectacle, and artistic expression.
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