A Closer Look at

Coming under the hammer in our Prints & Multiples auction on 27 September in Los Angeles is Richard Diebenkorn's monumental work, Green. Diebenkorn's largest and most important print, Green is related to the California-based artist's iconic Ocean Park painting series.

Here, we take a closer look as this masterpiece and the painstakingly intricate process of its creation.

Pinnacle of Printmaking

Diebenkorn began printing with the Crown Point Press print shop in 1963, just a year after its founding, and worked there every year from 1977 until his death. The creation of Green was a challenging, experimental, time-consuming project as the final printing took seven plates, three different greens and five printers to complete. Due to the monumental size and intricacy of the image, the printers needed an hour and a half to ink the plate and two hours to print each impression.

The artist worked closely with the master printers making numerous changes, resulting in dozens of different states and working proofs. Kathan Brown, founder of Crown Point Press, recalls "after the printers pulled a proof, he pasted or pinned cutout shapes to it until he got something he thought might work. Then the printers helped him figure out how to put the changes he wanted into the plates."

Green's creation is the pinnacle of collaboration as the printers' ingenuity and mastery of the medium allowed for Diebenkorn to push the boundaries of the technique and bring his ambitious vision to life. The composition's delicate, yet calculated balance of abstract elements, vibrant colors and sheer size are a culmination of Diebenkorn's triumphs in printmaking and his long-standing relationship with Crown Point Press.

Register to bid in Prints & Multiples before 27 September. For inquiries, please contact Morisa.Rosenberg@bonhams.com