Betty Boop 1989 16x19 Matted LE Lithograph #58/300 Hand-Signed by Grim Natwick (COA)

Rare 16 " x 19 " limited edition Betty Boop acid free matted lithograph. Published in 1989 by Circle Fine Art Corp. Published retail price, $3000. The print is numbered 58/300 and is hand-signed by animator Grim Natwick (D 1990). Includes a COA from the publisher, Circle Fine Art Corp.

The Big Date is a rare 17.5 x 13.25"  limited edition Betty Boop lithograph printed on highest quality fiber infused Ungei Heavy paper. Released in 1989 by Circle Fine Art Corp. Published retail price, $3000. The print is numbered and is hand-signed by animator Grim Natwick (D 1990). The Betty Boop limited edition lithographs, created by Grim Natwick for Circle Fine Art in 1989, were the only lithographs the artist ever made - completed at the age of 99. Myron "Grim" Natwick was born in 1890 in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, where he is still considered a favorite son &, throughout his lifetime, displayed exhibitions of his work there.

He is best known as the creator of the animated character, "Betty Boop", which often in the past was credited to Max Fleischer as she debuted in his "Out of the Inkwell" series.

Natwick also worked for Disney Studios and worked on the film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), as the lead animator of the character. Mr. Natwick was given a huge tribute party for his 100th birthday. He died not long after and received tributes from many of the famous in the animation field. He was considered one of the masters of his craft Includes an Original COA from the publisher, Circle Fine Art Corp. Printed on special acid free archival fiber paper. This is a stone lithograph. The art was created by hand on a lithographic stone and The artwork was printed on one of two rare antique Marinoni Voirin lithograph presses that date back to the 1800's, and are reputed to come from the Paris print shop used by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. There are only 7 of these magnificent beasts left in the world: the smaller one (with a print bed size of 25" x 35"), weighs 9 tons, and the larger one weighs in at 11 tons (print bed size 31" x 47"). The significance of this is that the lithographs produced by this method are of the finest quality, using techniques that are so  labor and time intensive that very few master printers know how to operate and care for these presses today. Each lithograph is created with hand-mixed colors applied one at a time - a highly trained and synchronized team must hand feed each museum-quality sheet of paper through the press numerous times in order to set the colors and impressions, while the Chromist - a trained color specialist - adjusts each color by look and feel to match the original artwork, as if mixing a potion. The result is an image with maximum pigment saturation, formed through rich layers of color that imbue the artwork with a permanency of brilliance - proven over centuries to last. In contrast, today's printers use a method more akin to a dot matrix style application, with the colors all premixed and sprayed onto a sheet in a uniform layer, resulting in a much less saturated image that is susceptible to fading and imperfect color reproduction.

Authentication: Circle Fine Art Corp. COA

Due to the uniqueness of each item, please refer to the photos provided in this auction. We offer high resolution images of each item rather than a written description of condition.

This item is being shipped from the Pristine Auction warehouse.