Estate of William N. Copley, New York
Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner
New York Cultural Center, CPLY: X-Rated: An Exhibition of New Paintings and Drawings, 22 March–19 May 1974
New York, Paul Kasmin Gallery, William N. Copley: X-Rated, 6 November–11 December 2010
Berlin, M.E. Collector's Room, Andreas Slominski & William N. Copley - X-Rated, 30 January-15 May 2011
Milano, Fondazione Prada, William N. Copley, 20 October 2016-8 January 2017, no. 412, p. 374 (illustrated p. 200)
American • 1919 - 1996
William N. Copley, also known by the name of CPLY, drew attention to himself in the late 1940s by fusing elements of Surrealism and Pop Art. Copley focused on symbols of American pop culture—staples of American society including pin-up girls, cowboys and the flag—and transformed them into more accessible, universal icons that could appeal to both men and women without bias.
In the '70s, Copley distinguished himself from the rest of the Surrealists by attempting to represent the tumultuous relationship between erotic and pornographic symbolism. He celebrated the female body, sexual freedom and, most of all, the promiscuity of America.
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