Jasper Johns

False Start I (limited edition facsimile print), ca. 1975


Hand fed offset proofing press on Arches Cover paper

22 3/5 × 18 in
57.4 × 45.7 cm
Edition of 300

Regular price $8,500.00

One of the rarest and most sought after images by Jasper Johns. In this work Jasper Johns plays with perceptual cues, posing the linguistic against the visual by mismatching the words for colors with the inks they are printed in—for example, writing the word "yellow" in blue ink.

The paper, color and printing sequence of this facsimile print match the original edition (which has sold for $218,000 at auction). The facsimiles are not signed by the artist and the Telamon Editions Limited seal appears within the images to insure no confusion with the original editions. A short documentation for each image was printed en verso.

Tatyana Grosman started Telamon Editions Limited in 1970 as a commercial venture of Universal Limited Art Editions. It was closed upon her death in 1982. Among her initial projects was a facsimile catalogue of Jasper Johns prints published by ULAE. The format for the catalogue was 22 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches and was to be printed in an edition of 300 on the same paper as the original limited editions prints. A hand fed offset press was purchased in 1971 to proof and print the project. 13 facsimiles were printed on the hand-fed offset press by Bill Goldston and James V. Smith under the supervision of the artist before 1982 when the it was abandoned for the complete catalogue raisonne published in 1993.