Keith Green (art dealer)

Keith Green (c. 1951[1]–1996) was an American publisher, distributor, and art dealer. Starting out in the late 1960s as an underground comix distributor, in the early 1970s he published comics, and by the mid-1970s he had become a New York City art dealer. He was the younger brother of cartoonist Justin Green.[2]

Not to be confused with Keith Green.
Keith Green
Bornc. 1951
DiedJuly 1, 1996(1996-07-01) (aged 44–45)
NationalityAmerican
Occupationunderground comix distributor & publisher, art dealer
Years activec. 1969–1996
Known forKeith Green / Industrial Realities
Saving Grace
Keith Green Gallery
RelativesJustin Green (brother)

Biography

Underground comix

Based in San Francisco, as a teenager Green distributed underground comix starting in c. 1969.[1] He published comics during the period c. 1971–1977, with the bulk coming in 1975–1976, under such names as Keith Green / Industrial Realities and the imprint Saving Grace.

Green started out by doing later printings of comics published by other publishers. In c. 1971, he produced the fourth through eighth printings of Robert Crumb's Big Ass Comics, originally published by Rip Off Press in 1969.[3] Around the same time, Green reprinted Robert Williams' Coochy Cooty Men's Comics, originally published by the Print Mint in 1970. In 1976, he produced new printings of Ted Richards' Dopin' Dan #1-2, originally published by Last Gasp in 1972–1973.

When the self-publishing cooperative Cartoonists Co-Op Press started up in 1973, Green acted as salesman/distributor.[4] In 1974, Green interviewed Robert Crumb for Inside Comics.[5] Thanks to his visit to Crumb and his girlfriend, fellow cartoonist Aline Kominsky, Green helped finance their collaborative work, Dirty Laundry Comics #1, published by Cartoonists Co-Op Press in summer 1974.[6]

The bulk of Green's publishing output was in 1975–1976, when he produced original comics by S. Clay Wilson, Jim Osborne, Willy Murphy, Ted Richards, Jerry Lane, and Spain Rodriguez. (Spain later said that Green was "quirky" and that publishing with him "was a mistake.")[7]

Green's final publishing venture was The Snatch Sampler (1977), a 164-page book which reprinted material from Snatch Comics #1–3 (Apex Novelties/Print Mint) featuring Crumb, Wilson, Osborne, Victor Moscoso, Robert Williams, and Rory Hayes.

Art dealer

Green relocated to New York City in c. 1975, eventually operating the Keith Green Gallery on Park Avenue in New York City in the late 1980s. Artists he represented included Shaoul Smira, Marina Karella, Dragan Malešević Tapi, Anders Bertil Knutsson, Ivonne Baki, and a group of late-Soviet period avant-garde Russian artists.[8][9]

Death

Keith Green died of a heart attack on July 1, 1996.[2] He was survived by his daughter, Kayla Winarsky Green (b. 1990), an international lawyer.

Titles published

References
  1. Keith Green entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed Dec. 27, 2016.
  2. Arsenault, Marc. "Underground Distributor Keith Green Dies," The Comics Journal #189 (Aug. 1996), p. 34.
  3. Big Ass Comics, Grand Comics Database. Accessed Dec. 28, 2016.
  4. Griffith, Bill. Lost and Found: Comics 1969–2003 (Fantagraphics Books, 2012), p. 11.
  5. Green, Keith. "What's a Nice Counter-Culture Visionary Like Robert Crumb Doing on a Secluded Farm in Northern California?" Inside Comics vol. 1 (Galaxy News Service, Spring 1974).
  6. Fox, M. Steven. "Dirty Laundry Comics," ComixJoint. Accessed Dec. 28, 2016.
  7. Rosenkranz, Patrick. "Unpublished Interview with Spain Rodriguez," The Comics Journal Library: Zap – The Interviews (Fantagraphics, 2015).
  8. Tomasson, Robert E. "SOCIAL EVENTS; May Day to May 7," New York Times (May 1, 1988).
  9. Dubin, Zan. "ART NEWS: Chris Burden Retrospective at Newport," Los Angeles Times (April 17, 1988).
  10. Rodriguez, Spain. Trashman Lives! (Fanatagraphics Books, 1997), p. iv.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.