Untitled (Balustrade Figures), J. Seeley (b. 1946), c.1980 serigraph proof, 29x22 in, unsigned publisher’s proof
An original unsigned serigraph proof by J. Seeley (born 1946), measuring approximately 29 x 22 inches, acquired from Mitch Morse Gallery. This striking conceptual composition features silhouetted figures against a saturated violet ground, intersected by dotted linear trajectories and architectural rail forms. A rare publisher’s proof impression reflecting Seeley’s fusion of photography, abstraction, and graphic minimalism. Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery; current owner Artfind Gallery, Washington DC.
Artwork Description
This dynamic serigraph presents two elongated human silhouettes positioned along a modernist balustrade. One figure reclines in deep shadow; the other, rendered in a saturated red-orange tone, stands upright with one leg lifted in poised tension. The background shifts through tonal purples, creating atmospheric depth while maintaining flat graphic intensity.
Across the composition, dotted lavender lines arc and spiral, suggesting motion paths or choreographic notation. A diagonal dashed beam bisects the upper register, reinforcing the structured geometry that contrasts with the fluidity of the figures. The railing, depicted in muted green, anchors the composition spatially while acting as a compositional divider.
Seeley’s training under Harry Callahan at the Rhode Island School of Design is evident in the disciplined structure and photographic sensibility underlying the work. Although rendered as flat color fields, the figures retain a photographic sense of contour and proportion. The dotted trajectories function as both design elements and conceptual indicators of movement, time, and constructed perception.
Medium: serigraph on paper
Dimensions: approximately 29 x 22 inches
Signature: unsigned proof impression
Edition: publisher’s proof from Mitch Morse Gallery
The impression exhibits strong color saturation and crisp screen layers, characteristic of professional serigraph production from the late 1970s–early 1980s period.
Artist Biography
J. Seeley (born 1946) is an American artist whose practice bridges photography, graphic abstraction, and conceptual printmaking. He earned his B.S. from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1969 and his M.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1971, where he studied under Harry Callahan. He became a University Assistant Professor of Art in 1972.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Seeley exhibited widely in both solo and group exhibitions across the United States and internationally. Solo and two-person exhibitions included the University of Dundee (Scotland), University of Southern Illinois, Wesleyan University, University of Dayton Creative Photography Gallery, Michigan State University Kresge Art Center, Neikrug Gallery in New York, Colorado State University, Colorado Mountain College, Paul de Pury Gallery in Antwerp, Galerie Panselinos in Salonika, Light Impressions in Rochester, Concordia University in Montreal, Atlantic Monthly in Boston, and Image Gallery in New York.
Group exhibitions included Diverse Directions II at the Center for Contemporary Art in Beverly Hills; Off the Wall at the Catskill Center for Photography; Rhode Island School of Design Alumni Shows; National Print Biennial in Krakow, Poland; Andromeda National Exhibition of Photography; Photographics Exhibition at Eastman House, New York; and numerous institutional presentations.
His work entered major collections including the University of New Hampshire; Bowdoin College Museum of Art; McQuade Library at Merrimack College; Rhode Island School of Design; Jacksonville Children’s Museum; University of Utah; Ball State University; University of Iowa Museum of Art; Davison Art Center at Wesleyan University; Time/Life Incorporated; Mohawk Paper Company; University of California, Riverside; University of Colorado, Boulder; and the Cincinnati Museum of Art.
Publications featuring his work include Graphis (Switzerland); Portfolio (U.S.A.); Zoom (France); Foto (Germany); Fotografia (Italy); Fotographia (Greece); Nueva Lente Fotografia (Spain); Camera Arts (Japan); Photo-Graphic Magazine (U.S.A.); and Photography Annual (U.S.A.). His work appeared in The New York Times, National Observer, Atlantic Monthly, Technical Photography, Popular Photography, and American Photographer. He authored a chapter titled High Contrast Photography for Darkroom Dynamics.
He received grants from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and multiple Wesleyan Project Grants. He won First Prize in the National Nikon Competition, College Teachers Division, in 1977. Commissions include a Polaroid Corporation booklet cover and a 21-foot mural installation in Providence, Rhode Island.
Seeley’s significance lies in his transition from high-contrast photography to graphic serigraphy, translating photographic perception into bold chromatic fields and conceptual overlays. His serigraph proofs from Mitch Morse Gallery represent a phase in which photographic distortion, silhouette, and graphic notation merged into visually restrained yet intellectually layered compositions.
By 2026, renewed scholarly interest in cross-disciplinary artists who bridged photography and printmaking has strengthened appreciation for Seeley’s work. His institutional holdings and international publication record support his standing within late 20th-century American conceptual art history. Unsigned proofs from reputable publishers such as Mitch Morse Gallery are valued for their rarity and direct connection to production archives.
J. Seeley (b. 1946)
Untitled (Balustrade Figures)
Serigraph proof on paper
29 x 22 inches
Unsigned publisher’s proof
Certificate of Authentication
This certifies that Untitled (Balustrade Figures) is an original serigraph proof by J. Seeley (born 1946).
Medium: serigraph on paper
Dimensions: 29 x 22 inches
Signature: unsigned proof impression
Publisher: Mitch Morse Gallery
Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery; Artfind Gallery, Washington DC
Authenticity guaranteed as described.
Condition
Very good vintage condition. Minor edge wear consistent with archival storage. Color fields remain saturated and stable. No visible tears or major surface abrasions observed.
Provenance
Mitch Morse Gallery, New York (acquired in NYC, United States and Europe)
Private Collection
Artfind Gallery, Washington DC (Current Owner)
Citations: Artist CV and exhibition record from provided biography sheets; institutional collections and publications confirmed from CV; provenance per Mitch Morse Gallery acquisition record; market comparisons based on comparable late 20th-century unsigned serigraph proof sales.
Untitled (Balustrade Figures), J. Seeley (b. 1946), c.1980 serigraph proof, 29x22 in, unsigned publisher’s proof
An original unsigned serigraph proof by J. Seeley (born 1946), measuring approximately 29 x 22 inches, acquired from Mitch Morse Gallery. This striking conceptual composition features silhouetted figures against a saturated violet ground, intersected by dotted linear trajectories and architectural rail forms. A rare publisher’s proof impression reflecting Seeley’s fusion of photography, abstraction, and graphic minimalism. Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery; current owner Artfind Gallery, Washington DC.
Artwork Description
This dynamic serigraph presents two elongated human silhouettes positioned along a modernist balustrade. One figure reclines in deep shadow; the other, rendered in a saturated red-orange tone, stands upright with one leg lifted in poised tension. The background shifts through tonal purples, creating atmospheric depth while maintaining flat graphic intensity.
Across the composition, dotted lavender lines arc and spiral, suggesting motion paths or choreographic notation. A diagonal dashed beam bisects the upper register, reinforcing the structured geometry that contrasts with the fluidity of the figures. The railing, depicted in muted green, anchors the composition spatially while acting as a compositional divider.
Seeley’s training under Harry Callahan at the Rhode Island School of Design is evident in the disciplined structure and photographic sensibility underlying the work. Although rendered as flat color fields, the figures retain a photographic sense of contour and proportion. The dotted trajectories function as both design elements and conceptual indicators of movement, time, and constructed perception.
Medium: serigraph on paper
Dimensions: approximately 29 x 22 inches
Signature: unsigned proof impression
Edition: publisher’s proof from Mitch Morse Gallery
The impression exhibits strong color saturation and crisp screen layers, characteristic of professional serigraph production from the late 1970s–early 1980s period.
Artist Biography
J. Seeley (born 1946) is an American artist whose practice bridges photography, graphic abstraction, and conceptual printmaking. He earned his B.S. from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1969 and his M.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1971, where he studied under Harry Callahan. He became a University Assistant Professor of Art in 1972.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Seeley exhibited widely in both solo and group exhibitions across the United States and internationally. Solo and two-person exhibitions included the University of Dundee (Scotland), University of Southern Illinois, Wesleyan University, University of Dayton Creative Photography Gallery, Michigan State University Kresge Art Center, Neikrug Gallery in New York, Colorado State University, Colorado Mountain College, Paul de Pury Gallery in Antwerp, Galerie Panselinos in Salonika, Light Impressions in Rochester, Concordia University in Montreal, Atlantic Monthly in Boston, and Image Gallery in New York.
Group exhibitions included Diverse Directions II at the Center for Contemporary Art in Beverly Hills; Off the Wall at the Catskill Center for Photography; Rhode Island School of Design Alumni Shows; National Print Biennial in Krakow, Poland; Andromeda National Exhibition of Photography; Photographics Exhibition at Eastman House, New York; and numerous institutional presentations.
His work entered major collections including the University of New Hampshire; Bowdoin College Museum of Art; McQuade Library at Merrimack College; Rhode Island School of Design; Jacksonville Children’s Museum; University of Utah; Ball State University; University of Iowa Museum of Art; Davison Art Center at Wesleyan University; Time/Life Incorporated; Mohawk Paper Company; University of California, Riverside; University of Colorado, Boulder; and the Cincinnati Museum of Art.
Publications featuring his work include Graphis (Switzerland); Portfolio (U.S.A.); Zoom (France); Foto (Germany); Fotografia (Italy); Fotographia (Greece); Nueva Lente Fotografia (Spain); Camera Arts (Japan); Photo-Graphic Magazine (U.S.A.); and Photography Annual (U.S.A.). His work appeared in The New York Times, National Observer, Atlantic Monthly, Technical Photography, Popular Photography, and American Photographer. He authored a chapter titled High Contrast Photography for Darkroom Dynamics.
He received grants from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and multiple Wesleyan Project Grants. He won First Prize in the National Nikon Competition, College Teachers Division, in 1977. Commissions include a Polaroid Corporation booklet cover and a 21-foot mural installation in Providence, Rhode Island.
Seeley’s significance lies in his transition from high-contrast photography to graphic serigraphy, translating photographic perception into bold chromatic fields and conceptual overlays. His serigraph proofs from Mitch Morse Gallery represent a phase in which photographic distortion, silhouette, and graphic notation merged into visually restrained yet intellectually layered compositions.
By 2026, renewed scholarly interest in cross-disciplinary artists who bridged photography and printmaking has strengthened appreciation for Seeley’s work. His institutional holdings and international publication record support his standing within late 20th-century American conceptual art history. Unsigned proofs from reputable publishers such as Mitch Morse Gallery are valued for their rarity and direct connection to production archives.
J. Seeley (b. 1946)
Untitled (Balustrade Figures)
Serigraph proof on paper
29 x 22 inches
Unsigned publisher’s proof
Certificate of Authentication
This certifies that Untitled (Balustrade Figures) is an original serigraph proof by J. Seeley (born 1946).
Medium: serigraph on paper
Dimensions: 29 x 22 inches
Signature: unsigned proof impression
Publisher: Mitch Morse Gallery
Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery; Artfind Gallery, Washington DC
Authenticity guaranteed as described.
Condition
Very good vintage condition. Minor edge wear consistent with archival storage. Color fields remain saturated and stable. No visible tears or major surface abrasions observed.
Provenance
Mitch Morse Gallery, New York (acquired in NYC, United States and Europe)
Private Collection
Artfind Gallery, Washington DC (Current Owner)
Citations: Artist CV and exhibition record from provided biography sheets; institutional collections and publications confirmed from CV; provenance per Mitch Morse Gallery acquisition record; market comparisons based on comparable late 20th-century unsigned serigraph proof sales.
