Catalogue reference: Karshan 31.

Alexander Archipenko studied in the Kiev School of Art before arriving in Paris in 1908 where he occasionally attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. It was in 1910 that he became aware of the Cubists and began to adapt their ideas to his sculpture and art work. His works between 1910-20 tended to be somewhat geometric. It was during this period that he began to be exhibited widely throughout Europe. Archipenko founded art schools in Europe and in 1923, New York. He became an American citizen in 1928 and later joined Moholy-Nagy's New Bauhaus in 1937. Like Henry Moore, Archipenko worked masterfully in graphic arts including this beautiful color lithograph, "Coquette".

In 1950, the Associated American Artists’ Galleries of New York published "Coquette" and "The Bathers." Incredibly, these two lithographs were the first graphics commissions Archipenko had received since he left Germany and moved to America in 1923. The compostion for "Coquette" is based on the artist’s 1939 drawing in pencil and gouache entitled "Prima Donna." This lithograph was printed in a strong blue ink rather than in black in order to heighten the illusion of three dimensions. In addition, the concentric bands on the sides of the figure were added to give the shapes a more hypnotic presence.