This book is based on Tom Phillips' 1988 collage
work "The Class of 47", which was exhibited in
London at the National Portrait Gallery (see catalog
"Tom Phillips -- The Portrait Works, NPG 1989, pp.
14-15). Tom Phillips sent copies of the 31 images to
American poet Heather McHugh in Seattle, Washington,
who then wrote poems about them. Tom then took these
poems and transformed them by painting out some of
the words. His new text sometimes reaffirms and
other times contradicts the poet's interpretation of
the pictures. Each page of handmade paper contains
the image, expanded and revised both by hand and
computer, and hand painted in watercolor in the
Minsky studio following the artist's prototype. The
poem is set in 14 pt. Bookman Light Italic, and the
manipulated text appears as a footnote, also hand
colored. This edition is published jointly by The
Talfourd Press in London and Richard Minsky in New
York, and is limited to an edition de tête of 10
copies numbered I-X and 47 copies numbered 1-47.
1990.
Pictured is
Copy X of the Edition de tête in leather, with a
small print hand colored by Tom Phillips inlaid in
the cover. Six of the thirty-one pages of images
and poems are shown here. Three additional
prints accompany the book in a separate paper
enclosure, early prototypes hand colored by Tom
Phillips, containing his notations to the colorist
(see bottom right image).
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