Lot 398: Camille Billops Etching, KKK Boutique II

Camille Billops (American, 1933-2019), “KKK Boutique II,” etching and aquatint on cream wove paper, 1996. Published by Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered 18/35 in pencil, lower margin, plus printer’s blind stamp to lower right corner of sheet. Housed under plexiglass in a metallic frame with cream mat. Sheet: 21 in H x 17 1/2 in W. Sight: 12 3/8 in H x 10 3/8 in W. Frame: 21 3/4 in H x 18 3/4 in W. Note: The title of this etching refers to the 1994 film “The KKK Boutique Ain’t Just for Rednecks,” written, directed, and produced by the artist and her husband, James Hatch. According to the National Gallery of Art, the film traces “the ways in which Americans have tried to ignore, deny, suppress, contain, tolerate, legislate, mock, and exploit racial discrimination in the United States.” (Source: National Gallery of Art) Biographical Note: “Born into a family of hard working aspirational individuals, [Billops] learned to use her creativity to express the breadth and depth of her unique vision. In a career that has encompassed five plus decades, she has been fearless. As a black female artist, Billops came into her own within the converging contexts of the 1960s civil and human rights struggles, New York’s emerging black artists movement, and her personal struggles for affirmation. Her work can be best understood as autobiographical, interpretive, and challenging. Without apology, she has successfully drawn from her life experiences, her education, and her observations of the world around her to carve out a space for her voice to be heard.” (Source: “Still Raising Hell: The Art, Activism, and Archives of James V. Hatch and Camille Billops,” Emory University online exhibition)

PROVENANCE: The collection of Belmont University art history professor Judy Bullington, acquired directly from the artist. 

CONDITION: Excellent condition. A very good impression, with full margins. Sheet is hinge-mounted with archival tape applied to verso.