Ash Wednesday

81 Mardi Gras Street Scene Poster

1980 Mardi Gras Poster

73 Mardi Gras Umbrellas

82 Rita Posselt (Blonde) & Rockmore (glasses) at Mardi Gras

Go to this Rockmore Mardi Gras Facebook Album to see over 20 more works!

#703 Bull Run - Civil War Battle

 In this series, Rockmore transports himself back into the time of the Civil War. He visits the men on the battlefields, the Generals making plans, the towns and the people living through the war. This work is a FAMOUS Collectible work because it captures the Civil War and an actual event which happens to be the BEST known battle of the Civil War.Rockmore has used the gold, red and brown background and contrasted it with the Blue uniforms of the Union soldiers.

The very limited Civil War series have been some of Rockmore's most highly prized and collected works and this would be one of the TOP CIVIL WAR additions to any Rockmore collection. There is also the fact that of the 1971 Civil War series, it is the only work that is dated 1970. This could have been a mistake on Rockmore's part (EXTREMELY RARE) or it is quite possible it was the genesis work for the entire Civil War series.

Rockmore created two sketches in 1982 for what would become his Masterpiece 'Ash Wednesday" work. This is the second one of those two sketches and it is quite close in form to what would become the final work. We do not know where that Masterpiece work is at this time but feel certain it will be coming to light soon as word on Rockmore continues to spread.

The first sketch was originally called Mardi Gras aftermath but then changed to Ash Wednesday. Rockmore had a fascination with clowns and jesters and young maidens and Jackson Square and manages to include all of those elements in this sketch. 

#262 View of Tanger from Kasbah Roof

What Rockmore did leave with this sketchbook was a permanent historical account of that time in Morocco captured by the master of watercolor. He was fascinated by the architecture, the culture, the landscape, the animals and the people and he captured them all. In all his works from Tangier, Rockmore spells it Tanger and we are not quite certain why that is. Rockmore loved the colors, cityscapes, architecture, the people and geography as you can see in this SPECIAL PURE watercolor where he combines them all.

It is particularly interesting to note the shadows of the plants on the ledge of the balcony that he is on. He also captures the moon shining down on the Bay of Tanger as well as the incredible architecture all in watercolor without an errant stroke. This work was created in the first few days after his arrival in Tanger and shows great use of detail and contrasting Moroccan colors.

#684 Artist as a young man behind branch

 In the early 70s it seems that Rockmore was often using plants as a character within the work that he would try and communicate with. This particular series includes three works all centered around a branch that looks like it bears some type of fruit on a stem (olive, grape, berry, plum). This is the second of a three part series of works which gets more abstract with the artist at the center of attention. This work is also on top of a raised piece of paper centered in the middle which is a technique Rockmore was fond of to give a work more 3D depth.

#419 Musicians in Front of City

 This work is SPECIAL because it is in the LARGE 19x14 format and because it contains three series in one work. Besides the Cleveland Series which is where it was created, it is also a part of the Israel series where he had just returned from after Victor Potamkin sent him there on commission. You can tell by the traditional Jewish cap (Yarmulke) and also the architecture of the old city in the background. This work is also a part of his "Night Music" series which involves musicians standing in front of a city playing music at night.

This particular grid below is interesting because it also contains one of Rockmore's favorite themes at the time which is religion as it relates to the Diocese of the Catholic Church.  At this time he was also captivated by the symbols of the Catholic Church and has another GRID on the subject of the Madonna. There seems to be two figures performing a ritual (Twinhead) with one having a hand on the head and the other raising some type of sword (orb - scepter). 

#1242 Twinhead Diocese

#390 Study of Scholar - Israel-NYC Study

#182 Boy with Strange Head in Puerto Rico

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