Steve Kaufman MGM Goldwyn Mayer Warhol Famous Assistant Oil Painting Canvas

Artist: Steve Kaufman
Title: MGM Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Medium: Original Oil Painting on Screen print Canvas
Size: Canvas size 39" x 52"
Size Framed: 45" x 58"

Edition size: Unique meaning there may have been up to five created, but never a series. Hand signed on the verso and part of the collection we bought directly from managements collection. Signed by the Artist. The piece comes with a Gallery Certificate of Authenticity.

Provenance: This piece came from Bob Wolmack's collection. Terry Wilkerson bought out Bill's collection. Terry is a producer in Hollywood and did this in a deal to make a film about Steve Kaufman. You can google Terry Wilkerson and and in his page on imdb you will see the film 'The Untitled Steve Kaufman Project'. Last time I talked to Terry they were still writing the film and starting to look at production companies.

Condition: This piece is not framed. Framing of your choice can be done for an additional $250. The framing we prefer is to use a archivable adhesive and press the canvas to a mounting board. The adhesive is a reversible adhesive that leaves zero residue behind. This will flatten and Minimize out any wrinkles or future sag that is common in stretched canvasses. The look is great and if you take the time to look at our other Kaufman listings you will see nearly 40+ of these pieces framed this way. It gives an oil on board look and you will never have to deal with sag. All of our customers love this treatment. The photos are to give you an idea of what it could look like framed and also show the current condition. If you have further questions please let us know.

Steve Kaufman is one of the most influential pop artists in U.S. history. His work appreciated for both its technical merit and its historical importance in pushing the pop art movement forward. Steve Kaufman single handedly transformed pop art from a discipline focused on ordinary object to art with social relevance. Even by artist standards, Steve Kaufman was an extremely precocious child. He held his first art show at his synagogue when he was only 8 years old, and works from that show are now hanging in the Jewish Holocaust Memorial in Brooklyn, New York. At age 12, Kaufman achieved his first commercial success when he was commissioned to paint custom pet rocks for the New York City Macys department store. Kaufman continued to experience success selling his art during his teens before enrolling in the famous New York institution the Parsons School of design.

Steve Kaufman met the American pop art pioneer Andy Warhol at Studio 54 in New York City. The two soon developed a friendship and working relationship where Kaufman served as Warhol’s assistant at his famous studio called “The factory.” Kaufman was heavily influenced by Warhol’s style. He and Warhol used many of the same mediums including, sculpture, photography, stained glass, mixed media and filmmaking, but his paintings and prints are by far the most famous. He is also famous for painting unusual objects, including Mercedes Benz and a Formula One Race Car. He is famous for painting celebrities including Frank Sinatra, Muhammed Ali, Marilyn Monroe, and Jackie Kennedy. He also produced a very successful screen print series of Cohiba cigars that remain some of Kaufman’s bestselling work today.

Early American pop art focused on making ordinary objects and images into works of art. Critics of pop art have criticized the school of art for being cold and lacking human emotion. While pop art was often injected with a sense of humor and an invitation for the audience to reflect on their value set, there was not much inherent personality in the paintings. Steve Kaufman’s art was a pioneer in changing the face or pop art to a more human one with added social relevance.

Kaufman was a major advocate for AIDs awareness and one of the recognizable pieces of Kaufman art is his 5 foot by 5 foot canvas of Trojan condoms. He also used his art to promote racial equality and advocate for an end to homelessness.