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Prospector firing Rifle ( Happiness is a Warm Gun )

Creator: Robert Riggs
Offered by: Robert Funk Fine Art

Description
Robert Riggs was a gay man. Being gay in American during Riggs's time was something not to flaunt in public.

Throughout Riggs oeuvre one sees continuous references to strong hunky manly men and vulnerable boys. It is a core element of is iconography and is described in a powerful graphic style.

In “Prospector firing Rifle” Riggs is clearly making a sexual statement about the moment of climax. The long, straight rifle explodes and is captured at peak moment of climax. Meanwhile the bag two bags of gold clearly resemble the other part of the male anatomy. Riggs was a thoughtful and meticulous visual thinker and nothing in any of Riggs’s compositions were haphazardly placed. In tribute to the artist , I have given this work a second title “Happiness is a Warm Gun”. It’s my believe that Riggs saw this work as more than an editorial assignment for a national magazine. This was an opportunity for an artist who possessed exceptional talent to go beyond his appointed editorial assigment express his repressed feelings in a hidden manner.

work is framed

More Information

Documentation:	Signed
Origin:	United States
Period:	1920-1949
Materials:	Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel
Condition:	Excellent.
Creation Date:	Circa 1940
Styles / Movements:	Western, Ashcan, Illustration
Catalog References:	Provenance: Illustration House
Incollect Reference #:	228086

Dimensions

W.	28.5 in;	H.	12 in;
W.	72.39 cm;	H.	30.48 cm;

Message from Seller:

You'll find an eclectic group of art works at Robert Funk Fine Art. 45 years of experience has shaped Director Robert Funk's multi-perspective approach to presenting art. As an undergrad in painting, he studied with great teachers such as first-generation abstract expressionist Robert Richenburg and hyper-realist painter Janet Fish. In Graduate School he worked with famed critic E.C. Goossen and went on to work as a Photographer, New York Advertising Art Director, and Art Collector.