, like many artists of his generation, was politically active and engaged.

Stella participated in several fundraising efforts where he donated an entire edition to a worthy cause, such as anti-war demonstrations () or the Attica Defence Fund in 1974.

However, the first time he created a politically engaged work was in 1970 to help the organization "Referendum 70" which was raising funds to support political candidates who were opposed to the Vietnam war.

Stella created two works for this cause. The first, offered here, was a screenprint on Special Arjomari paper in an edition of 200, signed and numbered. (The second was more like a poster, with "Referendum 70" printed along the bottom in bold letters) 

Aesthetically, this work is a precursor to the Newfoundland Series prints created in 1971 and based on his famed protractor paintings from 1967-1970. 

If we situate this work on Stella's creative timeline, it is all occurring at a moment of commercial and critical success. Stella's unique hard-edge geometric paintings and prints were becoming more ambitious in scale, structure, and color. In 1970 the Museum of Modern Art, New York presented a retrospective of Stella's work making him the youngest artist at the time to receive such a distinction.

Stella began working in printmaking in the mid-sixties and it would continue to be an important part of his practice. This is one of the largest-sized prints Stella would create during the 1970s at Gemini G.E.L.  

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Additional images available on request. 

Screenprint

From an edition of 200

31.75"H 32"W (image)

43.5"H 42.75"W (framed)

Trimmed margins

Framed with plexi

Very good condition

Literature: "The Prints of Frank Stella" Axsom pg. 74-75, 173.