Ted Felen - First Wondering

Ted Felen (Nijmegen, 3 May 1931 – 5 January 2016) was a versatile Nijmegen artist – stained-glass artist, printmaker, mosaic artist, and painter – who became best known for his large stained-glass windows and his broad oeuvre of graphic art and screen prints, with which he reached a large audience.

"First Wondering" is a profoundly personal work: a painting about the birth of the artist himself. On his own website, his birth is described as a beautiful experience: "First Wondering is a painting about Ted Felen's birth. He sees it as a beautiful experience. Sunday, May 3, 1931 was beautiful and sunny. It was the first light he ever saw." (https://felen.net/ted/gallery.htm). That sunlight dominates the work: a large, warm golden-yellow disc above an abstract composition in deep and bright blue tones.

This specimen is exceptionally special:

• Edition 1/90 – the first copy of the numbered series, numbered by the artist himself ('1/90').
• Signed and titled at the bottom: on the left 'telfelen '90', on the right the title "First Wondering". Dedication on the back: "For Marian Immerzeel. Ted Felen 2015." – personally attributed and redrawn by the artist, lending the work a special and verifiable provenance.
• Original label on the passe-partout: "First Wondering – Sunday, May 3, 1931 – Ted Felen 1990 – 1/90".
• Copy of the birth certificate pasted on the back – a testament to how special this work was to him personally.