Lot 14
Ellen Harvey
Expensive Gift for the LA
Contemporary Exhibitions
2004
watercolor on paper
value $1,100-$1,300
15 x 12"
courtesy of the Artist

Known primarily as a painter, Ellen Harvey creates works that reflect on historical notions of what constitutes art, ranging from painting genres to “acceptable” art experiences. Between 1999 and 2001 she conceived of and undertook the “New York Beautification Project,” which featured forty 5 x 7 inch oval landscapes delicately painted in oils, without permission, on graffiti sites throughout New York City, with a free map and postcards of the project distributed in 2001. She was one of 25 artists who participated in the Dreamland Artist Club, sponsored by New York’s Creative Time, in which each artist created artwork to serve as advertisement for a business – presenting many of the artists’ works in a totally new forum outside of the gallery or museum. Upcoming public projects include “Look Up Not Down,” a mosaic commissioned by New York’s MTA Artists for Transit.