Vintage Jon Henry Original 4x5 Transparency Surrealist Retro TV Pop Art Photo For Sale

Vintage Jon Henry Original 4x5 Color Transparency – Surrealist Space Age Retro TV in Desert ConceptItem Overview

• Artist: Jon Henry (American, 1916–1990)
• Subject: Psychedelic Retro Television Set in Desert Landscape
• Type: Original Large Format Color Film Transparency (Color Slide Art)
• Format Size: Standard 4x5 Large Format Sheet Film (Actual film area measures approximately 4 ¾\" x 3 ¾\")
• Film Stock: Vintage Kodak Safety Film (Authentic inverted manufacturing edge markings visible on the top margin)
• Provenance Feature: Features original archival masking tape on the top border with a handwritten pencil inscription reading \"Jon Henry [Job/Archive Number]\".
• Era: Circa late 1960s / 1970s
• Condition: Excellent vintage condition. Beautifully preserved pastel pink and magenta color tones, razor-sharp studio focus, and zero major blemishes. Carefully maintained within a private archive collection.

About the Artwork & Visual AestheticThis exceptional large-format color transparency is a masterful example of mid-century surrealist photography and pop art layout work by commercial art director and multi-disciplinary artist Jon Henry.The composition features a wonderfully bizarre, space-age concept: a vintage console television set, brightly hand-painted with swirling psychedelic waves, eyes, and floral motifs, standing isolated on a bed of parched, cracked desert earth. The television screen displays a striking orange-and-black zigzag pattern reminiscent of mid-century audio frequencies or optical wave art. Henry\'s clever use of an entirely pastel pink environment creates an eerie, alien landscape that perfectly captures the whimsical, high-concept advertising style popularized during the retro-futurism and space-age design booms.Because it was shot on professional large-format film, the fine textures of the cracked earth and the intricate graphic patterns on the television body are preserved with museum-grade definition.ABOUT THE ARTIST & PROVENANCEThis original transparency comes directly from the historic estate collection of Jon Henry (1916–1990).Jon Henry was a prominent mid-century American commercial artist, illustrator, photographer, and fine art printmaker. Renowned for his distinct woodblock prints, collages, and abstract designs, he was an active figure in the mid-century modern art scene. His career spanned across high-profile advertising illustration and the music industry, where he designed iconic, abstract jazz album covers and collaborated alongside influential New York School contemporary artists.Beyond his graphic art, Henry was a dedicated street photographer. He used premium Kodak Ektachrome film to document the gritty, vibrant, and atmospheric nightlife of major global cities. Because he did not mass-produce duplicates of his personal street photography, this transparency is a genuine, one-of-a-kind (OOAK) artifact capturing a unique moment in mid-century history through an artist’s lens.

Condition Report:
• Vintage / As-Is Condition: Found in its original, untouched state from a private estate archive.
• Surface: Features a vintage film patina with light ambient surface dust/grime accumulated over decades.
• Note to Collectors: No cleaning, chemical wipes, or restoration have been attempted to protect the original film layers. Cleaning is left safely to the discretion of the buyer..

Note: This listing is for the single, original physical 4x5 color photographic film transparency shown in the images. Lightbox or background lighting is required to view the full translucency and depth of the piece.Thank you for looking!