A Cartoon for Tanya and Friends

Jasper Johns, A Cartoon for Tanya, 1972, lithograph on Suzuki paper, 25 x 37 in., ed. 10+ 3AP +2PP + some other proofs, this ed. 3/10 was a gift of the Daytons to the Walker An unrelated search just took me back to David Zwirner’s show from January of ULAE prints, and how have I been looking all this time and never noticed this wack Jasper Johns lithograph? A Cartoon for Tanya, 1972, is just what it says on the label, including a thought bubble, sightlines, and plot. Our main character is seen in profile, carefully transferring the image in his mind to the litho stone in front of him. The combination of sloppy abstraction, line drawing and body printing is incredible. Johns really did smash his face and roll his arms all over that stone. It’s dedicated on the stone to Tanya Grosman, and it turns out it was only made in an edition of 10, plus some proofs. So this was very much a friends and family affair. Ed. 3/10 above went to the Daytons; ed. 4/10 went to the Ganzes; AP 1/3 stayed…