TOP TEN Significant Auction results from mid-2008 to now
Only displaying lots that have been discussed in WORLDAUCTION before sale.
See also : Painting Sculpture Ancient Art Abstract Art Current Art Women Artists Furniture
See also : Painting Sculpture Ancient Art Abstract Art Current Art Women Artists Furniture
1664 A Diamond for the Infanta
2008 SOLD 16.4 M£ including premium
It will be one of the most remarkable lots of this fall. A diamond in an extremely rare color, an exceptional size and a royal provenance dating back to more than three centuries ago.
This Indian greyish-blue diamond weighing 35.56 carat of VS2 clarity is chosen in 1664 by King Philip IV of Spain to enter the dowry of his daughter, the Infanta Margarita Teresa. The princess is well known for being in 1656 the main character of the Meninas of Velazquez. So this diamond is a contemporary of the royal glory of the Koh-I-Noor, the Regent and the Orlov. Entered in the Bavarian royal family by a marriage in 1722, it was then known as Blaue Wittelsbacher.
It is found twice at Christie's: in 1931 at the sale of the crown jewellery of Bavaria, and now in preparation for the sale of December 10 in London.
Christie's does not give a price in its release, but the Telegraph of Nov. 2 indicates that experts believe it could fetch £ 10 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
An outstanding result for the most exciting lot of the year.
The Wittelsbach diamond was sold £ 16.4 million including buyer's premium.
Christie's announced that it is the highest recorded auction price for a jewel.
My opinion is that this changes nothing in my previous remarks on the new challenge, at the end of the year, for selling color diamonds. Those that are both unique and prestigious continue to make excellent performance.
This Indian greyish-blue diamond weighing 35.56 carat of VS2 clarity is chosen in 1664 by King Philip IV of Spain to enter the dowry of his daughter, the Infanta Margarita Teresa. The princess is well known for being in 1656 the main character of the Meninas of Velazquez. So this diamond is a contemporary of the royal glory of the Koh-I-Noor, the Regent and the Orlov. Entered in the Bavarian royal family by a marriage in 1722, it was then known as Blaue Wittelsbacher.
It is found twice at Christie's: in 1931 at the sale of the crown jewellery of Bavaria, and now in preparation for the sale of December 10 in London.
Christie's does not give a price in its release, but the Telegraph of Nov. 2 indicates that experts believe it could fetch £ 10 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
An outstanding result for the most exciting lot of the year.
The Wittelsbach diamond was sold £ 16.4 million including buyer's premium.
Christie's announced that it is the highest recorded auction price for a jewel.
My opinion is that this changes nothing in my previous remarks on the new challenge, at the end of the year, for selling color diamonds. Those that are both unique and prestigious continue to make excellent performance.
Christie's discovered a Watteau, what a Surprise !
Watteau (1684-1721)
2008 SOLD 12.3 M£ including premium
At our time, the treasures still exist, on the condition of knowing to see them.
A little more than one month ago, Christie's had announced in a press release the reappearance of a painting of Watteau presumedly destroyed for two centuries. The press had seized this information, rightly. Let us not forget it, but it is necessary to wait two more months for the sale, which will be done in London on July 8.
Entitled "la Surprise", this painting was known through a copy, and the owner was unaware of being in possession of an original. If as it is probable Christie's manages to sell it, the pockets of this happy British countryman will then have filled from at least 3 M£.
Of small size, it is an outdoor scene, elegant and dynamic, with feverish movement, with images typified according to the so specific technique of Watteau: the player of guitar, the couple of lovers, the puppy.
A masterpiece? Yes. One of the great biddings of the year? Probably not. The painting, whose exact dimensions are not revealed in the official statement, appears to be not larger than a paper sheet.
POST SALE COMMENT
The price obtained is also a surprise: £ 12.3 million charge included.
This painting had been announced well in advance by Christie's as one of the highlights of the season. It had the advantage of never being viewed before on the market and disadvantage of being small: 36x28 cm.
The market has thus confirmed the view of Christie's that this painting is a masterpiece of Watteau, and that Watteau is a major painter in the history of art. There is no doubt that we will not soon see a similar one reappear in a sale. A masterpiece that can be considered as single on the market has no price, but I think nobody could reasonably predict that it would be so high.
A little more than one month ago, Christie's had announced in a press release the reappearance of a painting of Watteau presumedly destroyed for two centuries. The press had seized this information, rightly. Let us not forget it, but it is necessary to wait two more months for the sale, which will be done in London on July 8.
Entitled "la Surprise", this painting was known through a copy, and the owner was unaware of being in possession of an original. If as it is probable Christie's manages to sell it, the pockets of this happy British countryman will then have filled from at least 3 M£.
Of small size, it is an outdoor scene, elegant and dynamic, with feverish movement, with images typified according to the so specific technique of Watteau: the player of guitar, the couple of lovers, the puppy.
A masterpiece? Yes. One of the great biddings of the year? Probably not. The painting, whose exact dimensions are not revealed in the official statement, appears to be not larger than a paper sheet.
POST SALE COMMENT
The price obtained is also a surprise: £ 12.3 million charge included.
This painting had been announced well in advance by Christie's as one of the highlights of the season. It had the advantage of never being viewed before on the market and disadvantage of being small: 36x28 cm.
The market has thus confirmed the view of Christie's that this painting is a masterpiece of Watteau, and that Watteau is a major painter in the history of art. There is no doubt that we will not soon see a similar one reappear in a sale. A masterpiece that can be considered as single on the market has no price, but I think nobody could reasonably predict that it would be so high.
1893-1894 The most beautiful of Vampires (was made by Munch !)
2008 SOLD 38 M$ including premium
This will be one of the stakes (!) of the season: Sotheby's sells a Vampire of Edvard Munch on November 3 in New York.
Chance of the sales or rediscovery of Munch? A week ago, I devoted an article in the Prints group to a lithographic copy of the "Scream". The next day I announced in my weekly preview the arrival of a Vampire, at Sotheby's in London on October 2! (300 K£, lot 81). But now it's even better: I do not speak of an engraving, but of an oil on canvas.
Munch was a very important artist, who knew perfectly how to mingle love and death. His extraordinary lithograph "Madonna" has also been a few months ago the subject of an article on these networks. He was an illustrator concerned about the disclosure of his work, who made his oils on canvas in a small number of examples and added lithographic issues with a virtually identical drawing. As a result, this female "vampire", with her flame-color long hair, kissing on the neck of her lover, is an image that the auction news bring us often.
The Vampire was painted in four copies in 1893-1894, and the example to be sold is the only one in private hands. It is well known in New York, where it had been loaned during ten years to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Sotheby's expects more than $ 35 million.
On 7 May 2008, a painting with peaceful subject, Girls on a bridge, was sold in the same auction room at $ 31.8 million including expenses.
POST SALE COMMENT
In the chronology of the sales, the first is the print : 325 K£ including fees.
It is always nice to see an important work acknowledged by the verdict of the market. This is the case for this remarkable Vampire, sold $ 38 million charge included.
Chance of the sales or rediscovery of Munch? A week ago, I devoted an article in the Prints group to a lithographic copy of the "Scream". The next day I announced in my weekly preview the arrival of a Vampire, at Sotheby's in London on October 2! (300 K£, lot 81). But now it's even better: I do not speak of an engraving, but of an oil on canvas.
Munch was a very important artist, who knew perfectly how to mingle love and death. His extraordinary lithograph "Madonna" has also been a few months ago the subject of an article on these networks. He was an illustrator concerned about the disclosure of his work, who made his oils on canvas in a small number of examples and added lithographic issues with a virtually identical drawing. As a result, this female "vampire", with her flame-color long hair, kissing on the neck of her lover, is an image that the auction news bring us often.
The Vampire was painted in four copies in 1893-1894, and the example to be sold is the only one in private hands. It is well known in New York, where it had been loaned during ten years to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Sotheby's expects more than $ 35 million.
On 7 May 2008, a painting with peaceful subject, Girls on a bridge, was sold in the same auction room at $ 31.8 million including expenses.
POST SALE COMMENT
In the chronology of the sales, the first is the print : 325 K£ including fees.
It is always nice to see an important work acknowledged by the verdict of the market. This is the case for this remarkable Vampire, sold $ 38 million charge included.
1914-1917 Brancusi, from Cubism to Abstraction
2009 SOLD 29 M€ including premium
A visit to the archives of Christie's, caused by a forthcoming sale in Paris, allows us to appreciate the evolution of the work of Constantin Brancusi, this artist reputed to have invented the modern sculpture.
The Cubist painting was developed in 1907 by Picasso in search of a representation of depth that would no longer use the perspective. At the same time, 1907-1908, the Kiss by Brancusi destructures also the forms. Two stylized head, face to face, form a cube. A simple plaster of this seminal work has been sold $ 3.6 million including expenses by Christie's in 2005.
In 1913, the shape of the Danaid is summarized by a perfect ovoid head on which two arcs draw the eyebrows and the nose. We are halfway between the figurative and the abstraction. Figurative is still dominating due to the bun and neck applied to the head egg. A small bronze 28 cm high was sold $ 18 million including expenses by Christie's in 2002.
The Brancusi from the Saint-Laurent collection, that Christie's and Pierre Bergé will sell in Paris from 23 to 25 February, is entitled Portrait de Madame LR. This wooden statue of 1.20 meter high has the global look of an African statuette. In focus, it is a geometrical construction where the figurative has almost disappeared. This work was done between 1914 and 1917. It is estimated 15 million €.
Then, the lines get longer and become pure forms. The Bird in Space of 1922-1923 is not a bird, excepted for the title of the work and the inspiration of the artist. In marble, one of those statues of 85 cm high, mounted on a stone base, has reached $ 27 million including expenses at Christie's in 2005. As Malevich, as Mondrian, Brancusi was able to free his art from any emotional aspect, to only retain shape and texture.
In 1920-1925, the work entitled Mademoiselle Pogany resumed some characteristics of the Danaid. Christie's sold a bronze $ 7 million in 1997.
POST SALE COMMENT
The Brancusi of the Saint-Laurent collection was a masterpiece, it was obvious. It was sold € 29 million including premium.
The Cubist painting was developed in 1907 by Picasso in search of a representation of depth that would no longer use the perspective. At the same time, 1907-1908, the Kiss by Brancusi destructures also the forms. Two stylized head, face to face, form a cube. A simple plaster of this seminal work has been sold $ 3.6 million including expenses by Christie's in 2005.
In 1913, the shape of the Danaid is summarized by a perfect ovoid head on which two arcs draw the eyebrows and the nose. We are halfway between the figurative and the abstraction. Figurative is still dominating due to the bun and neck applied to the head egg. A small bronze 28 cm high was sold $ 18 million including expenses by Christie's in 2002.
The Brancusi from the Saint-Laurent collection, that Christie's and Pierre Bergé will sell in Paris from 23 to 25 February, is entitled Portrait de Madame LR. This wooden statue of 1.20 meter high has the global look of an African statuette. In focus, it is a geometrical construction where the figurative has almost disappeared. This work was done between 1914 and 1917. It is estimated 15 million €.
Then, the lines get longer and become pure forms. The Bird in Space of 1922-1923 is not a bird, excepted for the title of the work and the inspiration of the artist. In marble, one of those statues of 85 cm high, mounted on a stone base, has reached $ 27 million including expenses at Christie's in 2005. As Malevich, as Mondrian, Brancusi was able to free his art from any emotional aspect, to only retain shape and texture.
In 1920-1925, the work entitled Mademoiselle Pogany resumed some characteristics of the Danaid. Christie's sold a bronze $ 7 million in 1997.
POST SALE COMMENT
The Brancusi of the Saint-Laurent collection was a masterpiece, it was obvious. It was sold € 29 million including premium.
1915 Gino Severini is discreetly approaching the 7 million pounds
2008 SOLD 15 M£ including premium
Everything is quiet, nothing moves, no press release does disrupt the tranquillity. Yet, on June 25 in London, Sotheby's has a painting of Gino Severini estimated between 7 and 10 million pounds (Lot 21).
The Danseuse (the title is in French with reference to Parisian life) is a brilliant and colorful oil on canvas of 100 x 81 cm.
Its date is excellent: 1915. There are already two works of that date in my columns in the French section of this group: the lighthouse of Marsden Hartley sold $ 6.3 million at Christie's on May 21, and the boat of Goncharova sold 1.5 M £ on June 9 by Bonhams.
This is the date when different very important pictorial trends converge, and we see in our Danseuse a synthesis of Cubism and Futurism. A very successful representation of the movement, and flat colors here embellished by some degraded, let us recall the favourable comments that I made concerning Goncharova's painting.
A character is more attractive than just a boat. It seems logical to await a higher price on that Severini compared with Goncharova's.
Without being able to claim to be one of the most famous artists, Severini is best listed than Hartley. He can thus claim more.
We observe here a similar auction process: one of the two auction houses that overtake the international market highlights with good arguments an exceptional achievement of an artist, at a key date of his contribution to art history. By consulting the databases, I found no comparable Severini painting in past auctions.
The few examples I've seen this year in both auction houses (Hicks, Schjerfbeck, Kuindzhi, Vibert, Remington, Hamdi Bey, Franz Marc, Fontana) and those of previous years that I had the opportunity to comment a posteriori (Hodler, Lowry) make me consider that Sotheby's and Christie's control exactly that type of offer, and that Sotheby's will be able to sell this painting.
POST SALE COMMENT
This masterpiece is now recognized as such, with a superb result at £ 15 million fees included.
It therefore made better than that other masterpiece sold by the same house at the same location on February 5: the exceptional Weidende Pferde III painted by Franz Marc in 1910. This painting had obtained the excellent price of £ 12.3 M fees included.
The Danseuse (the title is in French with reference to Parisian life) is a brilliant and colorful oil on canvas of 100 x 81 cm.
Its date is excellent: 1915. There are already two works of that date in my columns in the French section of this group: the lighthouse of Marsden Hartley sold $ 6.3 million at Christie's on May 21, and the boat of Goncharova sold 1.5 M £ on June 9 by Bonhams.
This is the date when different very important pictorial trends converge, and we see in our Danseuse a synthesis of Cubism and Futurism. A very successful representation of the movement, and flat colors here embellished by some degraded, let us recall the favourable comments that I made concerning Goncharova's painting.
A character is more attractive than just a boat. It seems logical to await a higher price on that Severini compared with Goncharova's.
Without being able to claim to be one of the most famous artists, Severini is best listed than Hartley. He can thus claim more.
We observe here a similar auction process: one of the two auction houses that overtake the international market highlights with good arguments an exceptional achievement of an artist, at a key date of his contribution to art history. By consulting the databases, I found no comparable Severini painting in past auctions.
The few examples I've seen this year in both auction houses (Hicks, Schjerfbeck, Kuindzhi, Vibert, Remington, Hamdi Bey, Franz Marc, Fontana) and those of previous years that I had the opportunity to comment a posteriori (Hodler, Lowry) make me consider that Sotheby's and Christie's control exactly that type of offer, and that Sotheby's will be able to sell this painting.
POST SALE COMMENT
This masterpiece is now recognized as such, with a superb result at £ 15 million fees included.
It therefore made better than that other masterpiece sold by the same house at the same location on February 5: the exceptional Weidende Pferde III painted by Franz Marc in 1910. This painting had obtained the excellent price of £ 12.3 M fees included.
1916 Malevich, 1916. That's it.
2008 SOLD 60 M$ including premium
The artworks of very high prices are often subject of legal trouble. Fourteen works by Malevich were housed in a museum in Amsterdam since 1958. This year, an amicable settlement was negotiated with the heirs of the artist, in which five of these paintings were returned to them. They are shown in a press release of April 24 of the Stedelijk Museum, I invite you to consult it.
Now the heirs entrust one of these works for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 3. This oil on canvas 88 x 70.5 cm was painted in 1916 and entitled "Suprematist composition (blue rectangle over purple beam)."
The announcement of Sotheby's insists that the work dates from the same year as the Suprematism Manifesto. Two of the works returned to the heirs (not included in the sale) date from the previous year and are even more deprived. One of them gives an illusion of perspective, the other an illusion of movement. The painting for sale does no longer provide an illusion : it is a composition based on around fifty rectangular colored beams spread over a white background. The size, proportions and colors are varied. The angular positions show an opposition between the purple beam and most others. Malevich succeeds here on his approach of an art that completely escape nature and feeling, to retain only the aesthetics of color and geometry. Malevich wanted that art is understandable in the same way in all countries.
$ 60 million is not nothing. Sotheby's said that the price could be exceeded. This painting takes place among the most expensive artworks of all time. Malevich's paintings are very rare in the art market, and this one is of the best year.
POST SALE COMMENT
Malevich painting took its place in the cultural barometer of the highest recorded prices in an art at auction: $ 60 million charge included.
Now the heirs entrust one of these works for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 3. This oil on canvas 88 x 70.5 cm was painted in 1916 and entitled "Suprematist composition (blue rectangle over purple beam)."
The announcement of Sotheby's insists that the work dates from the same year as the Suprematism Manifesto. Two of the works returned to the heirs (not included in the sale) date from the previous year and are even more deprived. One of them gives an illusion of perspective, the other an illusion of movement. The painting for sale does no longer provide an illusion : it is a composition based on around fifty rectangular colored beams spread over a white background. The size, proportions and colors are varied. The angular positions show an opposition between the purple beam and most others. Malevich succeeds here on his approach of an art that completely escape nature and feeling, to retain only the aesthetics of color and geometry. Malevich wanted that art is understandable in the same way in all countries.
$ 60 million is not nothing. Sotheby's said that the price could be exceeded. This painting takes place among the most expensive artworks of all time. Malevich's paintings are very rare in the art market, and this one is of the best year.
POST SALE COMMENT
Malevich painting took its place in the cultural barometer of the highest recorded prices in an art at auction: $ 60 million charge included.
1920-1922 Yves Saint-Laurent in an Armchair ... made by Eileen Gray
2009 SOLD 21.9 M€ including premium
In the very large sale of the collection of the fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent, the furniture of the 20th century will be led by an armchair made by Eileen Gray.
It is a seat only 61 cm high. The sitting height is normal, but the back is small. It is large (91 cm), making it a comfortable chair. The press release from Christie's describes it as a Dragon armchair, certainly for the sculptures of its armrests. For this seat dating from about 1920-1922, prepare 2.5 million €.
In the work of Eileen Gray, other seats have generated one of the most remarkable results of auctions in recent years. On June 1, 2005 in Paris, Camard sold a set of six armchairs à la Sirène, for a total of nearly 9 million € charges included. Sold separately, these six lots were eventually divided between two buyers. They had belonged to Damia, the music hall singer woman with whom Eileen had a love affair. From a very different model from the chair of the Saint-Laurent collection, their sculpture of the women fish was enhanced by an open back.
Eileen Gray was renowned for the luxurious finish of her lacquered furniture.
The sale will be held at the Grand Palais in Paris from 23 to 25 February. It is jointly organized by Christie's and Pierre Bergé et Associés.
POST SALE COMMENT
This seat had it all. We imagine it perfectly in the middle of the living room of Yves Saint-Laurent, a famous person. It may equally be regarded as a work of art or as a piece of furniture.
Christie's has presented it as one of the top lots in the sale, from the first press release last September. The estimate probably took into account the results obtained at Drouot on the armchairs à la Sirène, remembered in my article above. Cautiously, the estimate had been made a little lower (2 M €) in the catalog than in the first releases.
As I have already written, the current crisis of confidence affects the sellers, not the buyers.
The chair of Yves Saint-Laurent by Eileen Gray was sold € 21.9 million including premium.
It is a seat only 61 cm high. The sitting height is normal, but the back is small. It is large (91 cm), making it a comfortable chair. The press release from Christie's describes it as a Dragon armchair, certainly for the sculptures of its armrests. For this seat dating from about 1920-1922, prepare 2.5 million €.
In the work of Eileen Gray, other seats have generated one of the most remarkable results of auctions in recent years. On June 1, 2005 in Paris, Camard sold a set of six armchairs à la Sirène, for a total of nearly 9 million € charges included. Sold separately, these six lots were eventually divided between two buyers. They had belonged to Damia, the music hall singer woman with whom Eileen had a love affair. From a very different model from the chair of the Saint-Laurent collection, their sculpture of the women fish was enhanced by an open back.
Eileen Gray was renowned for the luxurious finish of her lacquered furniture.
The sale will be held at the Grand Palais in Paris from 23 to 25 February. It is jointly organized by Christie's and Pierre Bergé et Associés.
POST SALE COMMENT
This seat had it all. We imagine it perfectly in the middle of the living room of Yves Saint-Laurent, a famous person. It may equally be regarded as a work of art or as a piece of furniture.
Christie's has presented it as one of the top lots in the sale, from the first press release last September. The estimate probably took into account the results obtained at Drouot on the armchairs à la Sirène, remembered in my article above. Cautiously, the estimate had been made a little lower (2 M €) in the catalog than in the first releases.
As I have already written, the current crisis of confidence affects the sellers, not the buyers.
The chair of Yves Saint-Laurent by Eileen Gray was sold € 21.9 million including premium.
1922 Mondrian on the Art Market
2009 SOLD 21.5 M€ including premium
Now, that's it. Christie's and Sotheby's announce their difficulties, and begin to reduce their workforce. The art market is in a phase of loss of confidence. For this reason, the important works are kept hidden by the sellers, and buyers are less motivated.
All eyes will be turned to the sale of the Yves Saint-Laurent collection. The sale announced last year does not suffer the effects described above concerning the scarcity of major works. It is organized in Paris from February 23 to 25 by Christie's in cooperation with Pierre Bergé et Associés.
Mondrian is one of the benchmarks in the market. His abstract technique, rigorous and thorough, is repetitive, even though the position of horizontal and vertical lines and of colored boxes is always different.
The oil on canvas from the collection Saint-Laurent, 80 x 50 cm, painted in 1922, is simple, as the market likes them. The space is divided into four parts: the top has three boxes including a blue one and a very thin red stripe, a narrow stripe on the right goes down in two boxes in turn yellow and black, two cases in the lower left repeat the pattern of the top, and a wide empty box holds the dominant center of the canvas to the left edge.
The influence of this work on the wall bookcases of Perriand is obvious.
The estimate of this painting is € 8 million, making it one of the most expensive works by Mondrian at auction. This expectation is due to the extreme clarity of its composition. It is not comparable with the 1941 painting sold for $ 21 million including expenses by Sotheby's in 2004, a more original design where lines were the only highlights of the composition, with a large empty middle creating the haunting look of the picture.
POST SALE COMMENT
I regarded this Mondrian as a benchmark of the health of the art market. If I was right, we can conclude now that the art market is going fantastically well: € 21.5 million including premium.
The sale of the Saint-Laurent collection was announced just before the art market was beginning to doubt of itself. This sale of modern art, and particularly this Mondrian painting, masterfully demonstrate that the vendors, and not the buyers, have a loss of confidence in the market.
All eyes will be turned to the sale of the Yves Saint-Laurent collection. The sale announced last year does not suffer the effects described above concerning the scarcity of major works. It is organized in Paris from February 23 to 25 by Christie's in cooperation with Pierre Bergé et Associés.
Mondrian is one of the benchmarks in the market. His abstract technique, rigorous and thorough, is repetitive, even though the position of horizontal and vertical lines and of colored boxes is always different.
The oil on canvas from the collection Saint-Laurent, 80 x 50 cm, painted in 1922, is simple, as the market likes them. The space is divided into four parts: the top has three boxes including a blue one and a very thin red stripe, a narrow stripe on the right goes down in two boxes in turn yellow and black, two cases in the lower left repeat the pattern of the top, and a wide empty box holds the dominant center of the canvas to the left edge.
The influence of this work on the wall bookcases of Perriand is obvious.
The estimate of this painting is € 8 million, making it one of the most expensive works by Mondrian at auction. This expectation is due to the extreme clarity of its composition. It is not comparable with the 1941 painting sold for $ 21 million including expenses by Sotheby's in 2004, a more original design where lines were the only highlights of the composition, with a large empty middle creating the haunting look of the picture.
POST SALE COMMENT
I regarded this Mondrian as a benchmark of the health of the art market. If I was right, we can conclude now that the art market is going fantastically well: € 21.5 million including premium.
The sale of the Saint-Laurent collection was announced just before the art market was beginning to doubt of itself. This sale of modern art, and particularly this Mondrian painting, masterfully demonstrate that the vendors, and not the buyers, have a loss of confidence in the market.
1962 All the Dollars are for Warhol
2009 SOLD 43.7 M$ including premium
Sotheby's is announcing for their sale on November 11 in New York a very important artwork of Warhol, estimated $ 8 million. This painting on silkscreen is titled 200 One Dollar Bills.
The work dates from March - April 1962. That is important. 1962 is the year of the first exhibitions dedicated to the artist in Los Angeles and New York. Suddenly, from nowhere, appeared the Warholian founding themes of contemporary art: the Campbell's soup, Marilyn, the dollar.
Warhol's contribution is to introduce in art such popular images that are instantly recognizable by everyone, and yet are paintings. Doing it he actually created current art, or still better the art of the current world.
He operated at all scales the fruitful idea of multiples, for which he is helped by the silkscreen printing technique in two complementary ways: separate similar works with variations of colors, and juxtaposition of identical patterns on the same work.
We have here an example of the latter case: over a total area of 203 x 234 cm, the work shows banknotes in the amount and quantity indicated in the title, in twenty rows of ten units each, without interval. What's more repetitive in the life of every day than a banknote? At least, everyone wants it so. What could more easily attract the attention of an American middleman than his $ 1 ticket?
The following image, unspectacular on the web, is shared by AuctionPublicity.
POST SALE COMMENT
This work is historical, the result confirms that fact: $ 43.7 million including premium.
Sotheby's had left running the much conservative estimate at $ 8 million. When viewing the smile of the star auctioneer of the company in the pre sale video presentation, it became obvious that something important was to happen.
The title I chose for my article was also prescient: the release of Sotheby's had convinced me.
Congratulation to Sotheby's.
The work dates from March - April 1962. That is important. 1962 is the year of the first exhibitions dedicated to the artist in Los Angeles and New York. Suddenly, from nowhere, appeared the Warholian founding themes of contemporary art: the Campbell's soup, Marilyn, the dollar.
Warhol's contribution is to introduce in art such popular images that are instantly recognizable by everyone, and yet are paintings. Doing it he actually created current art, or still better the art of the current world.
He operated at all scales the fruitful idea of multiples, for which he is helped by the silkscreen printing technique in two complementary ways: separate similar works with variations of colors, and juxtaposition of identical patterns on the same work.
We have here an example of the latter case: over a total area of 203 x 234 cm, the work shows banknotes in the amount and quantity indicated in the title, in twenty rows of ten units each, without interval. What's more repetitive in the life of every day than a banknote? At least, everyone wants it so. What could more easily attract the attention of an American middleman than his $ 1 ticket?
The following image, unspectacular on the web, is shared by AuctionPublicity.
POST SALE COMMENT
This work is historical, the result confirms that fact: $ 43.7 million including premium.
Sotheby's had left running the much conservative estimate at $ 8 million. When viewing the smile of the star auctioneer of the company in the pre sale video presentation, it became obvious that something important was to happen.
The title I chose for my article was also prescient: the release of Sotheby's had convinced me.
Congratulation to Sotheby's.
1995-2000 Jeff Koons loves Flowers
2008 SOLD 12.9 M£ including premium
Jeff Koons loves flowers. I am not the only one to say it, this opinion is also available in the catalogue of Christie's, at the number 12 from the sale of June 30 in London. Accordingly, the artist expressed this view in 2003: "I have always enjoyed flowers."
Coming from a private collection of Dallas, here is a Balloon Flower (Magenta), dated 1995-2000, of towering dimensions (340 x 285 x 260 cm). The photo in the catalog shows this thing simply laying on water in a park. The work is currently visible in St. James's Square, until the day before the sale.
Jeff Koons does not enjoy flowers only. He also enjoys that his main works display symbolic forms unequivocally recognizable by fans of all countries. He certainly also loves money, and everyone knows that monumental works reach the highest prices by far. These are indeed even higher when their colors are bright to be violent, and when their surface is shiny.
He performs this type of work in several copies, each in a different single color.
On 14 November last year, Sotheby's has sold for $ 23.5 million fees included a Hanging Heart Magenta / Gold, a work of 296 x 216 x 102 cm executed in five versions and dated 1994-2006 in chromium stainless steel covered with a transparent colored coating. Despite its huge dimensions, that heart is designed to be hanged, and it is this lightness of a monster that had been admired by specialists of Sotheby's, in a remarkable video that preceded the sale. The heart is decorated with gilded brass knots that look a bit like a gift package. As a coincidence, Balloon Flower is made of similar materials and also in five colors.
The day before, November 13, 2007, Christie's had sold for $ 11.8 million fees included a Diamond (Blue) of similar dates and materials, measuring 198 x 220 x 220 cm.
Unless a violent speculative effect, our Balloon Flower, static and less embellished, will not reach the price of Hanging Heart. The catalogue does not provide estimate, but it was sufficient to open the press release of June 10 to know that it is expected in the region of £ 12 million. We may find curious that this work of an American artist belonging to an American owner comes in London for being sold. I am told that London is closer to the Russian buyers than New York.
Christie's has provided a guarantee to the seller.
POST SALE COMMENT
Those who say that the market for contemporary art is unpredictable are wrong. Our Balloon Flower was sold £ 12.9 million charge included. This result is extremely close to the confidential estimate that I had the pleasure to tell you!
There is a much more interesting fact: Christie's says that this price is $ 25.6 million. In the 10% range, this price is the same as the Hanging Heart. I had shown above that these two works had many common features.
Coming from a private collection of Dallas, here is a Balloon Flower (Magenta), dated 1995-2000, of towering dimensions (340 x 285 x 260 cm). The photo in the catalog shows this thing simply laying on water in a park. The work is currently visible in St. James's Square, until the day before the sale.
Jeff Koons does not enjoy flowers only. He also enjoys that his main works display symbolic forms unequivocally recognizable by fans of all countries. He certainly also loves money, and everyone knows that monumental works reach the highest prices by far. These are indeed even higher when their colors are bright to be violent, and when their surface is shiny.
He performs this type of work in several copies, each in a different single color.
On 14 November last year, Sotheby's has sold for $ 23.5 million fees included a Hanging Heart Magenta / Gold, a work of 296 x 216 x 102 cm executed in five versions and dated 1994-2006 in chromium stainless steel covered with a transparent colored coating. Despite its huge dimensions, that heart is designed to be hanged, and it is this lightness of a monster that had been admired by specialists of Sotheby's, in a remarkable video that preceded the sale. The heart is decorated with gilded brass knots that look a bit like a gift package. As a coincidence, Balloon Flower is made of similar materials and also in five colors.
The day before, November 13, 2007, Christie's had sold for $ 11.8 million fees included a Diamond (Blue) of similar dates and materials, measuring 198 x 220 x 220 cm.
Unless a violent speculative effect, our Balloon Flower, static and less embellished, will not reach the price of Hanging Heart. The catalogue does not provide estimate, but it was sufficient to open the press release of June 10 to know that it is expected in the region of £ 12 million. We may find curious that this work of an American artist belonging to an American owner comes in London for being sold. I am told that London is closer to the Russian buyers than New York.
Christie's has provided a guarantee to the seller.
POST SALE COMMENT
Those who say that the market for contemporary art is unpredictable are wrong. Our Balloon Flower was sold £ 12.9 million charge included. This result is extremely close to the confidential estimate that I had the pleasure to tell you!
There is a much more interesting fact: Christie's says that this price is $ 25.6 million. In the 10% range, this price is the same as the Hanging Heart. I had shown above that these two works had many common features.