About this artwork

For Sale was made when the artist was still a student at the Royal College of Art, London, in the early 1960s. It straddles the then fluid boundaries between Pop Art and Neo-Dada. Produced through printing red, eye-catching letters onto white canvas, For Sale is both a painting of a sign and a sign in itself. Despite the simple means of its execution, the work makes a harsh statement that art is a commodity.

Updated before 2020

see media
  • artist:
    Billy Apple (1935 - 2021) New Zealander
  • title:
    For Sale
  • date created:
    1961
  • materials:
    Letterpress on canvas
  • measurements:
    46.30 x 61.30 cm; Framed: 61.80 x 76.60 x 5.00 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Acquired by exchange through the Dr Allan B Jamieson Bequest, 2014
  • accession number:
    GMA 5484
  • gallery:
  • subject:
  • glossary:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Billy Apple

Billy Apple