Korean War Vet Ken Babbs, Captain of Ken Kesey's "Trips Festival" bus, co piloting Neal Cassady on Amphetamine at wheel rolling up highway to Millbrook estate near Poughkeepsie N.Y. where Dr. Tim O'Leary's Castalia Foundation was then experimenting with D.M.T. on half hour psychedelic trip useful for psychiatric sessions. Burglar Gordon Liddy, then assistant D.A. in Poughkeepsie raided the Foundation a number of times illegally lacking search warrants during that season, so Castalia folk were jittery on arrival of honking Day-Glo graffit'd "Merry Prankster" Further bus which'd been driven cross-country S.F to N.Y. via Texas before Fall 1964 Presidentiad, "A Vote for Goldwater is a Vote for Fun" logo painted above bus side windows, L.S.D. Kool-Aid in pitcher in icebox. Kesey & Pranksters had met with Jack Kerouac a day before . . .
1964, printed 1995
Artist, American, 1926 - 1997
Artwork overview
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Medium
gelatin silver print
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Credit Line
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Dimensions
image: 29.2 × 40.1 cm (11 1/2 × 15 13/16 in.)
sheet: 40.5 × 50.6 cm (15 15/16 × 19 15/16 in.) -
Accession
2011.146.40
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Allen Ginsberg Estate; Gary and Ellen Davis, Greenwich, CT; gift to NGA, 2011.
Associated Names
Inscriptions
signed and captioned by artist, across bottom in black ink: Korean War Vet Ken Babbs, Captain of Ken Kesey's "Trips Festival" bus, co piloting Neal Cassady on / Amphetamine at wheel rolling up highway to Millbrook estate near Poughkipsie N.Y. where Dr. Tim O'Leary's / Castalia Foundation was then experimenting with D.M.T. on half hour psychedelic trip useful for / psychiatric sessions. Burgler Gordon Liddy, then assistant D.A. in Poughkipsie raided the Foundation a num- / ber of times illegally lacking search warrants during that season, so Castalia folk were jittery on arrival / of honking Day-glo graffit'd "Merry Prankster" [underline] Further bus which'd been driven Crosscountry / S.F. to N.Y. via Texas before Fall 1964 Presidentiad, "A Vote For Goldwater is a vote for Fun" / logo painted above bus side windows, L.S.D. Kool-aid in pitcher in icebox. Kesey & Pranksters'd met with / Jack Kerouac a day before, & set out to visit hero Leary first time, I went along, late summer 1964. / Allen Ginsberg; artist's stamp across center in black ink: Photograph By / Allen Ginsberg / COPYRIGHT 1994 NYC / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED / Fax 212-675-1686; by unknown hand, bottom center in graphite: GD-AG-73 PF 46103H; bottom right diagonal in graphite: AG signed 10/25/95 / 67/1496 / 1964-New York / 1/2 SR 10/95; bottom right in graphite: GDC-996