Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13

Robert Indiana
ERR (Sheehan 29), Photoengraving and Etching, Signed, 1 of only 13 Trial Proofs

1963

$7,000
£5,330.35
€6,137.76
CA$9,919.62
A$10,669.97
CHF 5,702.34
MX$125,768.50
NOK 71,893.15
SEK 65,723.98
DKK 45,859.42

About the Item

Robert Indiana ERR (Sheehan 29), 1963 Photoengraving and Etching on off-white Rives BFK paper Hand signed, dated and annotated on lower front with artist's blind stamp from Coenties Slip. Inscribed and signed on back of the original board (see photos). Edition E/M. One of only 13 trial proofs Elegantly floated and framed in a museum frame with UV plexiglass, with original back board preserved for provenance This early 1963 photoengraving and etching by Robert Indiana is rarely seen on the market - and a real find for fans and collectors of Robert Indiana. It is one of the few etching and engravings Robert Indiana did, before turning to lithography and silkscreening. This is one of only 13 trial proofs, numbered A/M- M/M, the present being E/M or 5/13, aside from the regular edition of 60, which were annotated in pencil "Artist's Proof." It was published by Galleria Schwarz in Milan, and printed at the Pratt Graphic Art Center in NYC and inscribed E/M and NYC as part of the Avant-Garde portfolio in 1963, published commissioned by Billy Kluver and Arturo Schwarz. In a 1991 interview for the catalogue raisonne, Robert Indiana explains the inspiration behind this most intriguing work: "When I went back to the Art Institute of Chicago at that particular time - I think I was judging a show - I learned that Vera Berdich [Indiana's former teacher] was still there and the idea occurred to me, wouldn't it be fun to do a visiting artist etching, and she concurred. There on the floor was a box of copper plates and the images had been defaced on each one. These copper plates had been donated by the R.R. Donnelly Company, which put out Life magazine. I used to work for Donnelly. My only commercial art job was with them doing the little drawing that appear in the Yellow Pages, like lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners and things like that. Anyway, the idea being that the student was supposed to turn the plate over to use the back side and forget about the image on the front. But I found this image of this actress sitting on her bed with her ironing board and decided it was only very lightly defaced, so I asked if I could use it. And the word "Err" was actually added in New York; it was not in the first proofs in Chicago. Two weeks later, I was thumbing through LIFE magazine and there was this actress in the same page..." The work is hand signed and dated in pencil, lower right recto, annotated "Artists Proof", lower left recto, with a dateline of New York in the lower middle recto. The work also bears Robert Indiana's own blind stamp from Coenties Slip, NY on lower left recto (front). This work was fine provenance: it was acquired from the estate of Eleanor Rigelhaupt - a respected Boston gallerist in the 1960s, and a friend to Robert Indiana. It has been elegantly floated and re-framed in a modern frame, with Tru-vu museum plexiglass; however, the original back board with Robert Indiana's handwritten, signed inscription, has been retained, as is affixed to the verso of the new frame, to preserve provenance. The inscription on the verso (back) reads as follows: My best and many thanks, Eleanor, Elmer, Bob, 1964 Measurements: Frame: 12 3/4 x 15 3/4 x 1 1/4 inches Sheet: 10 x 13 inches In very good vintage condition with gentle toning and minor mat burn from previous framing; newly framed.
  • Creator:
    Robert Indiana (1928 - 2018, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1963
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 12.75 in (32.39 cm)Width: 15.75 in (40.01 cm)Depth: 1.25 in (3.18 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    In very good vintage condition with gentle toning and minor mat burn from previous framing (see photos); newly framed.
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1745215245732

More From This Seller

View All
Robert Indiana print (EAT / DIE / HUG / ERR) (Sheehan 136), proof, Signed VP1/1
By Robert Indiana
Located in New York, NY
Robert Indiana American Dream (EAT / DIE / HUG / ERR) (Sheehan, 136), 1986 Hard and soft-ground etching, aquatint, drypoint and stencil on white Arches paper 37 inches × 21 inches ...
Category

1980s Pop Art Abstract Prints

Materials

Stencil, Aquatint, Etching, Drypoint

3 (Three), Limited Edition from the Numbers portfolio (Sheehan 46-55) - FRAMED
By Robert Indiana
Located in New York, NY
Robert Indiana 3, from the original Numbers portfolio (Sheehan 46-55), 1968 Color Silkscreen on Wove Paper Limited Edition of 2500 Not Signed Frame Included This classic 1960s silks...
Category

1960s Pop Art Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

0 (Zero), from the original Numbers portfolio (Sheehan 46-55) Limited Ed. FRAMED
By Robert Indiana
Located in New York, NY
Robert Indiana 0, from the original Numbers portfolio (Sheehan 46-55), 1968 Color Silkscreen on Wove Paper Limited Edition of 2500 (unsigned) Frame included: Elegantly matted and fra...
Category

1960s Pop Art Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

1 (One), from, original Numbers portfolio (Sheehan 46-55). Edition 2500, Framed
By Robert Indiana
Located in New York, NY
Robert Indiana 1, from the original Numbers portfolio (Sheehan 46-55), 1968 Color Silkscreen on Wove Paper Limited Edition of 2500 Not Signed Frame included: Elegantly matted and fra...
Category

1960s Pop Art Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

6 (Six), from the original Numbers portfolio (Sheehan 46-55) Ed: 2500, Framed
By Robert Indiana
Located in New York, NY
Robert Indiana 6, from the original Numbers portfolio (Sheehan 46-55), 1968 Color Silkscreen on Wove Paper Limited Edition of 2500 Frame Included: Elegantly matted and framed in hand...
Category

1960s Pop Art Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

Hope Wall, Silkscreen signed Proof No. IV of IV, scarce Robert Indiana print
By Robert Indiana
Located in New York, NY
ROBERT INDIANA Hope Wall, 2010 Silkscreen on wove paper 24 × 25 inches Edition IV/IV (aside from the regular edition of 33) Hand signed, numbered IV/IV and dated on lower front Unframed Robert Indiana created Hope Wall, or Wall of Hope in support of future president Barack Obama in 2008, and the print was published in 2010. This is an extremely rare Artist's Proof - one of only four in the world. It is pencil signed, dated and numbered IV of IV on the recto. The regular edition is only 33. Extremely scarce. This print has appeared on the market fewer than a handful of times over the past decade. “I’d like to cover the world with hope,” said Robert Indiana, the artist whose iconic “LOVE” series became a global symbol of unity during the turmoil of the 1960s. In 2008, Indiana felt the world was ready for a new message, and designed “HOPE” for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. “I wanted to help name and empower the next generation and I felt that HOPE encompassed the needs of our time,” he said. With its forward-leaning O, “HOPE” symbolizes perseverance, and pushing ahead toward a brighter future. To coincide with the artist’s 86th birthday, the first annual “International Hope Day” launched on September 13, 2014 and included the public display of Indiana’s “HOPE” sculptures...
Category

2010s Pop Art Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

You May Also Like

Signed 1963 ROBERT INDIANA print (Robert Indiana prints)
By Robert Indiana
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Robert Indiana ERR 1963: A rare, sought-after early Robert Indiana print defined by surreal, experimental cinematic-like energy. Hand-signed by Indiana on the lower right. Medium: Photoengraving and etching on Rives BFK. Dimensions: 4 1/2x6 inches (including margins). Very good overall vintage condition. Signed, dated and inscribed "Artist's Proof 'E'" and "CHI" in pencil, lower margin. Rare Trial proof, aside from the main edition of 60. Printed by the artist at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Further background: According to Susan Sheehan, Indiana printed only six progressive trial proofs at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he learned printmaking from 1949 to 1952, under the supervision of Vera Berdich (inscribed "CHI"). Additionally 13 trial proofs were printed at the Pratt Graphic Art Center, New York (these inscribed "NYC"). The regular edition was printed by Atelier Georges Lablanc, Paris and published by Galleria Schwarz, Milan to be included in International Anthology of Contemporary Engraving: The International Avant-Garde: America Discovered, Volume 5. The plate used for this print was originally given to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago by the R.R. Donnelly Company, printers of Life magazine. Indiana discovered the plate while visiting Berdich at the school and decided to use it in his contribution to the Avant-garde portfolio. Sheehan 29. Robert Indiana 1991: "When I went back to the Art Institute of Chicago at that particular time - I think I was judging a show - I learned that Vera Berdich (Indiana's former teacher) was still there and the idea occurred to me, wouldn't it be fun to do a visiting artist etching, and she concurred. There on the floor was a box of copper plates and the images had been defaced on each one. These copper plates had been donated by the R.R. Donnelly Company, which put out Life magazine. I used to work for Donnelly. My only commercial art job was with them doing the little drawing that appear in the Yellow Pages, like lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners and things like that. Anyway, the idea being that the student was supposed to turn the plate over to use the back side and forget about the image on the front. But I found this image of this actress sitting on her bed with her ironing board and decided it was only very lightly defaced, so I asked if I could use it. And the word "Err" was actually added in New York; it was not in the first proofs in Chicago. Two weeks later, I was thumbing through LIFE magazine and there was this actress in the same page..." About the artist: Robert Indiana is best known for his iconic “LOVE” image, which has appeared across media including sculptures, prints, and paintings and epitomizes the artist’s graphic, predominantly text-based Pop art practice. Throughout his career, Indiana reimagined the aesthetics of American advertisements...
Category

1960s Surrealist Photography

Materials

Black and White, Engraving, Etching, Photogravure, Lithograph, Screen

Number 2, Pop Art Screenprint from the American Dream by Robert Indiana
By Robert Indiana
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Robert Indiana, American (1928 - 2018) Title: Number 2 from the American Dream Portfolio Year: 1968 (1997) Medium: Screenprint Edition: 395 Image Size: 16.75 x 14 inches Size...
Category

1960s Pop Art More Prints

Materials

Screen

LOVE (Plate 4) /// Pop Art Robert Indiana Screenprint Post-War New York Minimal
By Robert Indiana
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Robert Indiana (American, 1928-2018) Title: "LOVE (Plate 4)" Portfolio: Book of Love *Signed and dated by Indiana in pencil lower right Year: 1996 Medium: Original Screenprint on A.N.W. Crestwood Museum Edition paper Limited edition: 75/200, (there were also 50 impressions in roman numerals) Printer: Freeman Burks of American Image Editions, New York, NY Publisher: Michael McKenzie of American Image Editions, New York, NY Framing: Framed in a contemporary silver moulding and silver filet with white cotton rag matting Framed size: 32.13" x 30.63" Sheet size: 24" x 20" Image size: 18.19" x 18" Condition: Minor cosmetic wear to frame. In excellent condition Notes: Provenance: private collection - Cincinnati, OH. Numbered by Indiana in pencil lower left. Comes from Indiana's 1996 "Book of Love" portfolio of twelve screenprints of the same image in various colors, originally issued in a black-lettered brown paper-covered folio with accompanying twelve poems. Besides the Arabic and Roman numeral editions, there were also 15 artist's proofs. Technical Director: Peter Engert; Plate Maker: James Harvey; Counsel: Gregory S. Smith, Esq.; Fabricator: Al Hirshson; and Die Maker: York Display. Printed in three colors: white, gray, and dark gray. The "Book of Love" project was conceived by the artist as a portfolio that would make a definitive statement on his masterpiece "LOVE", fulfilling his original vision as both a poet and a painter. The prints in the portfolio were created by Indiana as illustrations for his own love poems, written circa 1958-1973. The prints were produced in silkscreen using oil based paints on a newly created fine art paper that he found perfect for rendering "LOVE", which demands a precise line and radiant true color. The poems each have a highly raised embossment of "LOVE", trapped in colors, just below the title. Each print is hand pencil signed, and each poem hand pencil initialed by the artist. Biography: Robert Indiana was born on September 13, 1928 named Robert Clark in New Castle...
Category

1990s Pop Art Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

"Self Portrait 69" original lithograph
By Robert Indiana
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. Printed in 1973 for the art revue XXe Siecle and published in Paris by San Lazzaro. Image size: 8 3/8 x 8 3/8 inches (210 x 210 mm). Sheet size: 12 1/4 x...
Category

1970s Pop Art Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

"Number 7", Silkscreen from the American Dream Portfolio by Robert Indiana
By Robert Indiana
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Robert Indiana, American (1928 - 2018) Title: Number 7 from the American Dream Portfolio Year: 1968 (1997) Medium: Screenprint on Wove Paper Edition Size: 395 Image Size: 16....
Category

1990s Pop Art More Prints

Materials

Screen

New Glory Banner, Framed Pop Art Screenprint by Robert Indiana 1968
By Robert Indiana
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Robert Indiana, American (1928 - 2018) Title: New Glory Banner Year: 1968 Medium: Silkscreen on Card Stock Image Size: 7.5 x 4.5 inches Size: 15.5 x 12.5 inches (Promotional...
Category

1960s Pop Art Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen