Edward Kienholz

(American, 1927–1994)

Edward Kienholz was an American artist known for his found-object assemblages and installations he referred to as tableauxs. In one of his most controversial works, The State Hospital (1966), Kienholz provided a grisly account of the filth-laden conditions he saw while working at a mental hospital during the 1940s. “I mostly think of my work as the spoor of an animal that goes through the forest and makes a thought trail, and the viewer is the hunter who comes and follows the trail,” he once reflected. “At one point I as the trail-maker disappear. The viewer then is confronted with the dilemma of ideas and directions.” Born on October 23, 1927 in Fairfield, WA, he grew up on a wheat farm where he learned carpentry, metalwork, and mechanics. Briefly attending college, Kienholz worked various jobs as a young man before moving to Los Angeles in 1952. Finding himself amidst a small subset of artist’s in the city, he along with the curator Walter Hopps founded Ferus Gallery. The gallery facilitated friendships with several artists of the time, including Bruce Conner and Wallace Berman, whose work made a lasting impact on Kienholz’s own practice. Throughout the 1960s, the artist created a number of tableauxs that graphically criticized racism, abuse, and other social injustices in ways that certain groups of people found objectionable. Kienholz married Nancy Reddin in 1973, the two went on to produce a number of collaborative works over the following decades. He died on June 10, 1994 in Sandpoint, ID. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., among others.

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Edward Kienholz Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Edward Kienholz (542 results)
Documenta Koffer, 1973

Edward Kienholz

Documenta Koffer, 1973

Sale Date: March 16, 2024

Auction Closed

A Gift for a Baby, 1962

Edward Kienholz

A Gift for a Baby, 1962

Sale Date: April 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Drawing for All Have Sinned in Rm. 323, 1992

Edward Kienholz

Drawing for All Have Sinned in Rm. 323, 1992

Sale Date: February 29, 2024

Auction Closed

Il senso degli affari (n.75 serigrafie..., 1974

Edward Kienholz

Il senso degli affari (n.75 serigrafie..., 1974

Sale Date: October 2, 2023

Auction Closed

For $41.00, 1969

Edward Kienholz

For $41.00, 1969

Sale Date: February 21, 2024

Auction Closed

Methenge Monoseries #2, 1991

Edward and Nancy Kienholz

Methenge Monoseries #2, 1991

Sale Date: November 30, 2023

Auction Closed

Carmen Monoseries #2, 1991

Edward and Nancy Kienholz

Carmen Monoseries #2, 1991

Sale Date: November 30, 2023

Auction Closed

Dwowd Monoseries #2, 1990

Edward and Nancy Kienholz

Dwowd Monoseries #2, 1990

Sale Date: November 30, 2023

Auction Closed

Yip Monoseries #2, 1991

Edward and Nancy Kienholz

Yip Monoseries #2, 1991

Sale Date: November 30, 2023

Auction Closed

Running Electric Drill , 1970

Edward Kienholz

Running Electric Drill , 1970

Sale Date: November 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Double Cross, 1987, 1987

Edward and Nancy Kienholz

Double Cross, 1987, 1987

Sale Date: November 5, 2023

Auction Closed

The Marriage Icon, 1972, 1972

Edward Kienholz

The Marriage Icon, 1972, 1972

Sale Date: November 5, 2023

Auction Closed

Edward Kienholz

"Sawdy", 1972

Sale Date: October 25, 2023

Auction Closed

The Marriage Icon, 1972

Edward Kienholz

The Marriage Icon, 1972

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Nest Egg, 1964

Edward Kienholz

Nest Egg, 1964

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

M. Hass at Pine Point Maine, 1959

Edward Kienholz

M. Hass at Pine Point Maine, 1959

Sale Date: September 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Tank Monoseries #2, 1989

Edward and Nancy Kienholz

Tank Monoseries #2, 1989

Sale Date: August 1, 2023

Auction Closed

Methenge Monoseries #2, 1991

Edward and Nancy Kienholz

Methenge Monoseries #2, 1991

Sale Date: August 1, 2023

Auction Closed

Elle Monoseries #2, 1992

Edward and Nancy Kienholz

Elle Monoseries #2, 1992

Sale Date: August 1, 2023

Auction Closed

Figures, 1955

Edward Kienholz

Figures, 1955

Sale Date: June 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Two Faces, 1955

Edward Kienholz

Two Faces, 1955

Sale Date: June 29, 2023

Auction Closed

The Marriage Icon (Gemini G.E.L. 29.5), 1972

Edward Kienholz

The Marriage Icon (Gemini G.E.L. 29.5), 1972

Sale Date: June 22, 2023

Auction Closed

For One Five Thousandth of $2000, 2000

Edward Kienholz

For One Five Thousandth of $2000, 2000

Sale Date: June 23, 2023

Auction Closed

For One Five Thousandth of $2000, 2000

Edward Kienholz

For One Five Thousandth of $2000, 2000

Sale Date: June 23, 2023

Auction Closed

English (US)

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