This exquisite screen-printed poster was published by Petersburg Press in 1970, was created for a retrospective of the work of Marcel Duchamp at Tate Gallery. It bears a fascinating story of collaboration between Duchamp and Richard Hamilton.
First experiencing the provocative work of the pioneering Dadaist in 1952 at a prior Tate Gallery exhibition, Hamilton had become an avid follower of his work, and, when offered the opportunity in 1966, Hamilton made a replica of Duchamp’s famed 1915 work ‘The Bride Stripped Bare By Bachelors, Even’, also known as ‘The Large Glass’, for the exhibition.
The photograph of Duchamp was taken by Hamilton when the Dadaist visited his studio in London ahead of the exhibition to collaborate on the replica, co-signing it as a joint work. The pane that the artist is seen holding features the part of the artwork titled ‘The Oculist Witnesses’, from which the poster gains its title.
Created to exceptional standards, this colour silkscreen features a layer of acetate lamination over the glass pane, and embossed silver foil over the Oculist Witnesses.
A copy of this poster is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.