Bettie Kline

Softcover | Out of Print

Published by Purple Institute, 2012.

Bettie Kline is an artist’s book conceived by Richard Prince and already published in a large-format hardcover edition by Gagosian Gallery in 2009. This pocket version from PURPLE magazine is a celebration of Richard Prince’s work, which has been a long-standing inspiration for the magazine. Irving Klaw’s studio was on East 14th Street in New York City. 212 East 14th Street, to be exact. The same address where Franz Kline lived and worked. Klaw, along with his sister Paula, produced pin-up, nudie, and bondage photos. He worked with dozens of models; but his most famous, Bettie Page, paid the rent. The Klaws and Kline were friends, and Kline would sometimes use Irvings ‘models’ for figure studies. Head over heels can probably describe Kline’s feelings for Bettie Page. By 1952, she became his ‘only’: his subject, his sign, his muse. Working directly from life, Kline produced hundreds of pen and ink sketches of Bettie. The artist/model was secret. Nobody knew. Includes Bettie Page bookmark.

Condition: good (small dents to cover)