Skip to main content
Advanced Search
portfolio box recto overall
Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (Best of Thirty-Six Attempts)
portfolio box recto overall
portfolio box recto overall

Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (Best of Thirty-Six Attempts)

Artist John Baldessari (American, 1931 - 2020)
Date1973
MediumOffset lithographs
DimensionsOverall (folio): 9 3/4 × 13 × 1/4 inches (24.77 × 33.02 × 0.64 cm)
Image (each): 6 15/16 × 10 3/16 inches (17.62 × 25.88 cm)
Sheet (each): 9 1/2 × 12 5/8 inches (24.13 × 32.07 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation
Object number2018.32.1.1-12
SignedArtist's attribution and date printed on title page, center, in black type: "JOHN BALDESSARI 1973"
InscribedOn cover recto, bottom, in gold type: "THROWING THREE BALLS IIN THE AIR TO GET A STRAIGHT LINE (BEST OF THIRTY-SIX ATTEMPTS)"
Markingsnone
Edition/State/Proofed. of 2000
On View
Not on view
Collections
DescriptionFourteen lithographic plates (12 images of three orange balls against a blue sky and 2 text pages - colophon and back cover) housed in a letterpress-printed blue paper folio with die-cut window opening.Provenance
The Hall Family Foundation, Kansas City, MO, 2018;   
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2018.
Copyright© John Baldessari
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.