Large Ralph Cowan (1931-2018) American, Lithograph. Titled "Calilly." Signed in lower left. 

Depicts a single calilly bloom in center with a black background. Framed.

Overall: 59 x 39 3/4 in. 

Sight: 49 x 29 3/4 in. 

#3644 #8 . 

Ralph Wolfe Cowan was born December 16th, 1931 in Phoebus, Virginia. He was the son of Joseph Carl and Daphne (Pearce) Cowan. His art first appeared in the late 1940s in New York City galleries, with a highly realistic approach, and he became a member of the American Society of Portrait Painters and the Allied Artists Association. Known as “RW” to his friends, he served as a paratrooper with the United States Army from 1950 to 1953. In the late 1950s his work shifted from landscapes, flowers, and still lifes to include portraits, which eventually became his dominant form. Cowan had a longstanding relationship with the Royal Family of Monaco, and first painted Princess Grace in 1956. Subsequently, he did portraits of the Sultan of Brunei, King Fahd, King Hassan II, Shaikh Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, and Mikhail Gorbachev. He was also known for his United States Presidential portraits, having created them for John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Donald  Trump. His stylistic approach was very popular with celebrities, leading to portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Nancy Sinatra, Steve Wynn and most notably Elvis Presley, for whom he remained the only commissioned artist whose portrait was allowed to hang in Graceland. His life and work are the subject of the 2015 feature-length documentary “The Last Old Master.” Cowan died in West Palm Beach, Florida on September 4th, 2018.

Small chips and cracks on frame. Art commensurate with age.