Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris
Private Collection, Paris
Collection Alng Fine Art, New York
Galerie Haas & Fuchs, Berlin

Santa Monica, Ikon Ltd./ Kay Richards Contemporary Art, Ed Ruscha: Paintings, Drawings and Prints, 2004

Robert Dean and Erin Wright, Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings Volume Two: 1971-1982, New York 2005, pp. 418-419, no. P1982.20, illustrated

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the overall tonality is slightly deeper and richer in the original, with the petrol blue of the sky presenting less green hues. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is a very small rub mark with associated specks of paint loss to the work's surface in the upper right quadrant along the right edge, 30 cm. approximately from the top (3 minute specs of media loss/media accretion). No restoration is apparent when examined under ultraviolet light.
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Ed Ruscha's The Major and the Minor from 1982 is a luminously beautiful and symbolic image of the Big and Little Dipper star constellations.   Set against the big sky country found throughout the American West, the constellations are reminiscent of five-pointed Hollywood walk of fame stars floating on a dark cosmic backdrop of the heavens.  This work is testimonial to a unique and purely visual approach rarely found in Ruscha's works where he chose to complete the painting without words, thereby relying solely on abstract semiotics for conveying atmosphere and meaning.   The artist is most formally recognized for his exploration of language and text through elements of popular culture. He achieved this by depicting floating words emblazoned across a canvas, or visually exploring the relationship between language and the American western landscape; portraying monuments and symbols of the West including the Hollywood sign, gasoline stations and coffee shops. 

Although The Major and the Minor lacks words or architectural monuments, Ruscha's emblematic style remains ever present.  This is most evident as the focal painting is a continuation of his exploration of landscapes.  Additionally, the five-pointed stars referencing Hollywood popular culture take on the form of floating objects which can be compared to earlier works such as Wont painted in 1964, where the combination of landscape and text are suspended in space across the canvas.  Transversely, the stars can be interpreted as symbols in space that can be compared to his paintings and photographs of street signage, a common theme the artist has continued to explore throughout his careerܫ.

The Major and the Minor also  presents an indicative shift in style found throughout various works by Ruscha in the 1980s and 1990s where the artist began to paint literal landscapes including images of mountains and skies which in some cases, as in the present lot, are absent of text.   He painted similar paintings to the focal work in the early 1980s where he depicted the Big and Little Dipper constellations using the same five-pointed stars set against a dark night sky.  These works could suggest that Rushca's drew inspiration from Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night where both artists shared a fascination with portraying wide open topographical landsc🎐apes. &n🍰bsp; As a whole, the focal painting is an exemplary work that further reminds the viewer the importance of Ruscha's portrayal of vast landscapes-a consistent presence in the artist's work, both conceptually and visually.