100e - the prints


The Race of Time
Archival pigment print on Hahnmühle German Etching 310 gsm
Size 1: 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm. A limited edition of 20, signed and numbered on the front. £595
Size 2: 38 x 30 inches / 95 x 76 cm. A limited edition of 5, signed and numbered on the front. £1,950


A Tour de France limited edition print artwork by artist James Straffon

Now to th’ ascent of that steep savage hill
Archival pigment print on Hahnmühle German Etching 310 gsm
Size 1: 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm. A limited edition of 20, signed and numbered on the front. £595
Size 2: 38 x 30 inches / 95 x 76 cm. A limited edition of 5, signed and numbered on the front. £1,950


A Tour de France limited edition print artwork by artist James Straffon

Chase anguish and doubt and fear and sorrow and pain
Archival pigment print on Hahnmühle German Etching 310 gsm
Size 1: 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm. A limited edition of 20, signed and numbered on the front. £595
Size 2: 38 x 30 inches / 95 x 76 cm. A limited edition of 5, signed and numbered on the front. £1,950


A Tour de France limited edition print artwork by artist James Straffon

Ministers of Vengeance and Pursuit
Archival pigment print on Hahnmühle German Etching 310 gsm
Size 1: 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm. A limited edition of 20, signed and numbered on the front. £595
Size 2: 38 x 30 inches / 95 x 76 cm. A limited edition of 5, signed and numbered on the front. £1,950


A Tour de France limited edition print artwork by artist James Straffon

Of Patience and Heroic Martyrdom
Archival pigment print on Hahnmühle German Etching 310 gsm
Size 1: 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm. A limited edition of 20, signed and numbered on the front. £595
Size 2: 38 x 30 inches / 95 x 76 cm. A limited edition of 5, signed and numbered on the front. £1,950


A Tour de France limited edition print artwork by artist James Straffon

The Verdurous wall of Paradise
Archival pigment print on Hahnmühle German Etching 310 gsm
Size 1: 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm. A limited edition of 20, signed and numbered on the front. £595
Size 2: 38 x 30 inches / 95 x 76 cm. A limited edition of 5, signed and numbered on the front. £1,950


A Tour de France limited edition print artwork by artist James Straffon

Majestic though in ruin
Archival pigment print on Hahnmühle German Etching 310 gsm
Size 1: 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm. A limited edition of 20, signed and numbered on the front. £595
Size 2: 38 x 30 inches / 95 x 76 cm. A limited edition of 5, signed and numbered on the front. £1,950


A Tour de France limited edition print artwork by artist James Straffon

Till Pride and worse Ambition threw me down
Archival pigment print on Hahnmühle German Etching 310 gsm
Size 1: 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm. A limited edition of 20, signed and numbered on the front. £595
Size 2: 38 x 30 inches / 95 x 76 cm. A limited edition of 5, signed and numbered on the front. £1,950



Demy-Gods on golden seats
Archival pigment print on Hahnmühle German Etching 310 gsm
Size 1: 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm. A limited edition of 20, signed and numbered on the front. £595
Size 2: 38 x 30 inches / 95 x 76 cm. A limited edition of 5, signed and numbered on the front. £1,950

A Tour de France limited edition print artwork by artist James Straffon

Pandaemonium
Archival pigment print on Hahnmühle German Etching 310 gsm
Size 1: 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm. A limited edition of 20, signed and numbered on the front. £595
Size 2: 38 x 30 inches / 95 x 76 cm. A limited edition of 5, signed and numbered on the front. £1,950


A Tour de France limited edition print artwork by artist James Straffon

Our torments also may in length of time become our elements
Archival pigment print on Hahnmühle German Etching 310 gsm
Size 1: 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm. A limited edition of 20, signed and numbered on the front. £595
Size 2: 38 x 30 inches / 95 x 76 cm. A limited edition of 5, signed and numbered on the front. £1,950



Of darkness do we dread?
Archival pigment print on Hahnmühle German Etching 310 gsm
Size 1: 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm. A limited edition of 20, signed and numbered on the front. £595
Size 2: 38 x 30 inches / 95 x 76 cm. A limited edition of 5, signed and numbered on the front. £1,950


100e - celebrating 100 editions of the Tour de France.

The 100e is an allegorical monograph, comprising twelve plates; each individually capturing a phase of the Tour's history - montaging the places, faces, moments, phrases, language that form its overall chronology. Beneath the competition itself, lies a framework built around three creative icons - John Milton (1608–1674), Francisco Goya (1746–1828), and Salvador Dali (1904–1989). For context, Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost (originally published in 1667) provides the fundamental themes: Descent and ascent; Light and dark; Immortality; Conflict; The fall; Restoration; Chaos; Rebellious angels; the anti-hero; temptation; vanity; self-deification; the pursuit of Paradise. Critically, it also introduces the theological concept of ‘felix culpa’ - or ‘fortunate fall’ - which suggests evils occur in order to bring about a greater good. Structurally, Milton’s ‘poem in twelve books’ provides the schema, from which the twelve titles that comprise 100e are extracted: 

Of darkness do we dread? 
Now to th’ ascent of that steep savage hill
Chase anguish and doubt and fear and sorrow and pain 
Pandaemonium 
Demy-Gods on golden seats 
Majestic though in ruin 
Our torments also may in length of time become our elements 
The Race of Time 
Till Pride and worse Ambition threw me down 
Ministers of Vengeance and Pursuit 
The verdurous wall of paradise 
Of Patience and Heroic Martyrdom
In 1974, artist Salvador Dali further explored the books of Milton’s Paradise Lost, culminating in Paradis Perdu - a set of ten prints, published by the L’Automobile Club de France. Finally, 100e revisists Francisco Goya’s Los Caprichos - eighty aquatint prints created by the Spanish artist; published as an album in 1799. Los Caprichos functioned as a satirical critique of the society in which he lived. Here, American art historian David Rosand suggests “Goya turned the inventive powers of the artist back upon his audience with indicting moral force”, simultaneously “Pressing the limits of poetic license”. This ‘caricature’ portrayal maps how 100e is illustrated - the Tour de France, with all its many facets, reworked with the fidelity of a Lichenstein Pop Art cartoon; both as a study, and a critique. In addition, the photo-montaged image of each 100e plate faithfully embodies the working method of the Dadaist ‘monteurs’ (mechanics), who incorporated actual press photography into their artwork. From L’Auto to L’Équipe, 100e extracts its core content from the very press pages circulated throughout the Tour’s epic history. 

This exhibition carries a unique foreword - Imaging the Century - written by Graeme Fife, author of The Beautiful Machine.

All artwork, text and images © James Straffon 2024.