Gauntlet Gallery — Ron English Print Index
Coulrophobic Clown
Work Summary & Collector Notes
"Coulrophobic Clown" is a 2012 giclée print with silkscreen gloss on Somerset Enhanced Satin 330gsm paper, edition of 50, signed and sized 70 x 50 cm. The title nods to coulrophobia, the fear of clowns, a subject English returns to repeatedly across his practice, here rendered with the hand-finished gloss treatment of his premium UK editions.
Collector notes: The saved release record describes: Edition of 50 signed by the artist. The saved release record describes: signed. Verify each feature against a documented example of this edition.
Why It Matters
Clowns are one of English's most enduring motifs, embodying his taste for the grotesque, the unsettling, and the darkly comic beneath cheerful surfaces. Naming the piece after the phobia itself makes the psychological subtext explicit, turning a familiar carnival figure into a study of dread dressed in bright color.
Collector Perspective
The clown imagery ties this print directly to a recognizable and collectible strand of English's iconography. At an edition of 50 on Somerset stock with silkscreen gloss, it offers premium material quality at a mid-tier scarcity level. Collectors focused on English's dark-carnival themes will find it a strong representative example.
Historical Context
English's clowns descend from a long lineage of the sinister harlequin in art, filtered through his Pop Surrealist lens. Produced in 2012 as part of his European editioning run, the piece shares the gloss-finished Somerset format with several companion releases from the same period.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned print
- Release date
- 2012
- Release-date note
- Catalog-listed release year from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.
- Medium and materials
- Giclee Print; catalog dimensions 70 x 50 cm; Giclée print with silkscreen gloss on Somerset Enhanced Satin 330gsm paper; The two fine art Giclée prints are treated with our special silkscreen gloss formula that strengthens colours and adds a tactile sheen.
- Edition details
- The saved release record describes: Edition of 50 signed by the artist.
- Signature and marks
- The saved release record describes: signed. Verify each feature against a documented example of this edition.
Documented History and Meaning
History note: This page treats Ron English's broader career as background context, not proof that this specific edition belongs to any single exhibition or event. Release-level facts here come from a saved secondary catalog record.
Meaning / interpretation: No per-work artist statement is recorded for this edition. Any thematic reading should be treated as interpretation of the imagery, not a documented statement of the artist's intent. This interpretive note follows the cited artist or publisher context.
Release context: The saved catalog lists 2012 and attributes the edition to Lazarides Editions.
Authentication, Presentation and Provenance
- Original presentation
- Original packaging or presentation was not documented in the release sources reviewed.
- Authentication note
- Compare the support, dimensions, edition number, and signature against a documented example of this edition. Gauntlet Gallery does not authenticate works purchased from third parties.
- Provenance note
- Edition origin is attributed in the saved record to Lazarides Editions. That does not establish the ownership history of an individual copy: retain the original invoice, reseller or gallery paperwork, labels, correspondence, and condition photographs.
Sources and Verification
Verification status: Secondary catalog snapshot; artist-level context added
- Saved release record — Art Collectorz · secondary catalog snapshot · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Starting record for title, year, edition, dimensions, medium, and release description. Primary confirmation against the original release page remains pending.
- POPaganda — official site — Ron English studio · primary artist source · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Official artist site; career context, not an individual-edition record.
- Ron English (artist) — Wikipedia · reference encyclopedia · Accessed 2026-07-13 · General artist-level biographical and career reference.
- Ron English (Q582475) — Wikidata · reference knowledge base · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Structured identifier used for the artist across catalog metadata.
FAQ
What does Coulrophobic mean?
Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns; the title foregrounds that unease.
How is the print finished?
Giclée with a silkscreen gloss layer on Somerset Enhanced Satin 330gsm paper.
What is the edition size?
50, signed by the artist.
Do clowns appear elsewhere in English's work?
Yes, the clown is one of his recurring motifs across prints and paintings.
