Steve Kaufman Frank Sinatra Large 49” Signed Mixed Media Hand Painted Screenprint on Canvas

Artist: Steve Kaufman
Title: Frank Sinatra
Medium: Mixed media original painting with screenprint on cannvas
Stretched Size: 49 5/8" high x 40" wide
Inscription: Signed SAK on reverse

Steve Kaufman was known for his use of silkscreen techniques, a method often associated with Andy Warhol, for whom he served as a longtime assistant. This process involves applying layers of ink or paint through a mesh screen to create a printed image. Kaufman, however, added his own twists and variations to this technique. He was known for experimenting with different materials, incorporating unconventional items like denim and comic books into his pieces. Kaufman's technique often involved more intricate layering and a mix of media and often incorporated hand painted elements. Inspired by Warhol's style of pop art, Steve Kaufman largely focused his compositions on relevant images and icons of popular culture. Marilyn Monroe, cigars, and soup cans were among his most frequent muses.

In this 49 5/8" x 48" hand painted silkscreen on canvas, Steve Kaufman captures the iconic image of Frank Sinatra in a black and white screenprint set atop a hand painted rainbow background. The work is titled "Frank Sinatra and the front and signed SAK on the reverse. Purchase of this work includes a gallery certificate of authenticity from Modern Artifact.

About Steve Kaufman

Steve Kaufman is one of the most influential pop artists in U.S. history. His work is 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 objects 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 Macy's 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 film making, 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, Muhammad 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.