Ed Ruscha (b. 1937). Color lithograph on wove paper titled “Cold Beer Beautiful Girls,” 2009, published by Brooke Alexander Editions, New York. Pencil signed and dated along the lower right; numbered 10/60 along the lower left. Provenance: Akasha Fine Art, Minneapolis, MN; Private Collection, MN Ed Ruscha (b. 1937) studied at the Chouinard Art Institute from 1956 to 1960 where he was taught under Robert Irwin and Emerson Woelffer. While at school, Ruscha edited and produced the journal ìOrbî (1959-60). During this time he came across Jasper Johnsí ìTarget with Four Facesî (1955), a formative work for Ruscha who went on to employ Johnsí use of commonplace objects as supports for abstraction. After graduation, he began working as a layout artist at Carson-Roberts Advertising Agency in Los Angeles. From 1965-69, he was a layout designer for Artforum magazine under the pseudonym ìEddie Russia.î In 1969, Ruscha took a teaching position at UCLA as a visiting professor for printing and drawing. This editorial and commercial art experience plays into Ruschaís works which elevate words to an art form. Irony and wit are apparent in Ruschaís choice of vernacular. In the 1970s, he and other artists, such as Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer, began using whole phrases in their art, a characteristic in post-Pop Art. In the 1980s, Ruscha created and began using his own typeface named ìBoy Scout Utility Modernî in which letters are all-caps and squared-off. This can be seen in his work ìCold Beer Beautiful Girlsî (2009). Sight; height: 40 1/2 in x width: 30 3/4 in. Framed; height: 43 1/4 in x width: 33 1/4 in.