Anthony, Gene (Morrison, Jim)

Signed Print: Jim Morrison at the Magic Mountain Festival, 1967 (Artist's Proof)

San Francisco, CA: Gene Anthony, 1967. Artist Proof. Single Sheet. Signed & numbered by photographer & artist Gene Anthony. A print (appx. 11” x 17”) featuring a photo of Jim Morrison (1943-1971) of The Doors during a performance at the KFRC Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival, an event held June 10 and 11 of 1967 at the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre high on the south face of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, California. This festival kicked off the legendary Summer of Love, and it was the first large live performance by The Doors at the time that their first hit (“Light My Fire”) was climbing the charts. The enigmatic photographer Gene Anthony was a contemporary artist originally from Utah who settled in California. He is mostly recognized for portraits of celebrities including musicians, activists, and writers, but before that he was one of the on-the-spot street photographers who captured the Haight-Ashbury counterculture scene from the moment of its birth. As a professionally trained photographer, Gene used his skills to capture and preserve the events unfolding in the new community. He captured images of the soon-to-be-famous but that was never his intent; he’s covered political and social events including the struggle for civil rights, the anti-war movement and the women's rights movement. His photographs have been published in Time, Life, Newsweek and Playboy; his artwork has been included in designs for the Fillmore, the Human Be-in and the TRPS Festival of Rock Posters. This artist proof has 3½” margins at the top and bottom, so the artwork is 10” x 10” in the center of the sheet. Below the artwork, handwritten at the left corner reads, “AP Jim Morrison Magic Mt. ‘67” and at the right corner is Anthony’s handwritten signature with print number (1/7). The art style of color blobs swirling around a centered photo was used by Anthony with a photo of Jimi Hendrix as well, but no further examples could be found online. Many photo prints of his are available, but examples of his in this style are nearly impossible to find, let alone one of seven proofs. Single Sheet: Artist Proof, Limited Printing. Sheet is in Near Fine condition with a strip of paper peeled at the bottom left corner about 2” long; minor-to-moderate creasing, pinching around the sheet with several visible on the artwork. A rare find for collectors of photography, art, and rock memorabilia. Near Fine. [Item #6387]

Price: $500.00