By Carter B. Horsley

This day sale of Contemporary Art at Sotheby's has many excellent examples of major artists and is surprisingly strong given the continuing financial crisis. The quality, in fact, is so high that one could easily mistake this for an "evening" sale!

It is highlight by very good paintings by Wayne Thiebaud, Hans Hofmann, and Jean Dubuffet, and interesting works by Marlene Dumas, Cecily Brown, Maurizio Cattelan, Lee Krasner, Theodore Stamos, Susan Rothenberg, Jitish Kallat, David Atmejd, John Chamberlain, Frank Stella, Adolph Gottlieb, Nancy Graves, Manolo Valdes, Qing Qing, Anselm Kiefer, and Richard Serra.

Lot 243 is a superb pastel on paper by Wayne Thiebaud (b. 1920) that is entitled "Three River Bend." It measures 17 3/4 by 21 5/8 inches and is dated 2002. Thiebaud is perhaps best known for his pasty studies of pastries in Pop Art fashion, but his best work is his stylized landscapes of which this is an excellent example.

The catalogue provides the following commentary:

"The improbable geometry of Northern California, with its steep hills, and dramatic landscapes, is the perfect location for the exaggeration of spatial dynamics and investigation of the complexities of form and composition prevalent in Thiebaud's work. After moving there in 1972, Thiebaud became fascinated by the depiction of rural life with extreme foreshortening and shifting perspectives. The landscapes would thus become an ideal forum wthin which to explore the tensions between abstraction and representation. In paintings such as Three River Bend, Thiebaud perfectly balances representation with geometric abstraction, and tonal sensitivity, rendering rural scenes into vibrant aesthetic fantasies, almost Impressionistic in thei reffect."

The lot has a modest estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $374,500 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article.

The auction was quite successful with a more than 85 percent of the offered lots selling for a total of $44,062,875, which exceeded the pre-sale high estimate of $42,300,000.

The auction has several works by Hans Hofmann (1880-1966), of which the best is Lot 111, "L'Objet," a 1950 oil on canvas that measures 50 by 40 inches. It is one of three fine Hofmanns consigned to the auction from the collection of Mary Schiller Myers and Louis B. Myers.

The work, the catalogue entry maintains, brilliantly matches "a sumptuous concert of color with an astute cognizance for compositional harmony." "While the intense hues and direct manipulation of paint reference Fauvism, the geometric and architectural rigor of L'Objet also acknowledges an arc of influence encompassing the Ophism of Robert and Sonia Delaunay, the Cubism of Braque and Picasso and the seminal facets of Cézanne's landscapes. Indeed, L'Objet skillfully conflates the Cubist and Fauvist affinities that predominated throughout Hofmann's career, while ultimately asserting an entirely unique artistic idiom....Hofmann's art emerged from the most scupulous and ceerbral theoretical enquiry, rooted in his life-long and prounded engagement with the philosophy of aesthetics. For over thirty years he had been an exteraordinarily influential teacher, leading Clement Greenberg to surmise that 'Hans Hofmann is in all probability the most important art teacher of our time."

The lot has a modest estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $446,500.

Hofmann's students included many famous painters of Abstract Expressionism and Lot 117, "Flaming Nucleus," by Lot 114, "Untitled No. 2," show that Hofmann was quite adept of expressionistically swirling bold colors about his canvases.

The former measures 50 by 40 inches and was painted in 1962 and the later measures 24 by 20 inches and was painted in 1960. The former has a modest estimate of $300,000 to $400,000. It sold for $254,500. Lot 114 has a conservative estimate of $90,000 to $120,000. It sold for $112,900.

The catalogue's commentary on "Flaming Nucleus" remarks that "Hofmann was consumed with relaying the dynamics of nature as color and depth on the picture plane. This majestic painting fully exploits the raw potency and unmatched symbolism of the color red and enunciates Hofmann's proclamation that 'There has to be openenss in creation brought back to two-dimensionality. Expansion from the inside makes the work....one must have the sensation as if the painting would explode!"

Another superb work from the Myers collection is Lot 120, "Arbration II," by Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985), one of his delightful and very colorful white, black, and red polyurethane sculptures. It is 27 1/2 inches high and was created in 1971. It has a conservative estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $326,500.

Lot 124 is another wonderful Dubuffet from the Myers Collection, "Bon Pronostic," an acrylic on canvas that measures 28 3/4 by 36 1/4 inches. Painted i 1975, it has an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $380,500.

Lot 182 is an excellent acrylic collage by Dubuffet entitled "Habitat urbain." Consigned by the estate of Grace E. Hokin of Chicago, it measures 29 5/8 by 27 3/8 inches and was created in 1979. It has a modest estimate of $70,000 to $90,000. It sold for $188,500.

Lot 457, "Ich Halte Alle IndienIn Meiner Hand," by Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945) is an oil, emulsion, acrylic lead, wire, wood, clay, plaster and charcoal on canvas. It measures 75 by 112 inches and was executed in 2004. It has an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $602,500.

One of the most dramatic paintings in the auction is Lot 461, "Buddha with Bamboo," by Susan Rothenberg (b. 1945). An oil on canvas, it measures 55 7/8 by 113 1/4 inches and was painted in 1988. It is a very, very bold composition with a very beautiful but limited palette and one of the artist's finest creations. It has a very conservative estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. It sold for $122,500.

Lot 127 is a steel sculpture by Anthony Caro (b. 1924) entitled "Writing Piece 'Well'." It is 23 1/4 inches long and was created in 1979. It has an estimate of $30,000 to $40,000. It sold for $35,000.

Lot 278 is a wonderful black egg ink and ochre tempera on paper by David Smith (1906-1965). Smith is the famous sculptor and like Henry Moore his small paintings and drawings are as fine as most of his famous sculptures and vastly underpriced. In this regard, these two artists are like Louis Comfort Tiffany and Edward Steichen who were extremely adept in different disciplines. Here the ochre tempera scrawls are like coats of armor for his valiant army. It has a modest estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $25,000.

Lot 394 is a fine oil on canvas by Marlene Dumas (b. 1953) that is entitled "Evil Eye." It measures 79 by 39 1/2 inches and was painted in 1995-7. It has a modest estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $530,500.

Lot 393 is a very good variation of dejeuners in the countryside by Giorgione and Manet by Cecily Brown (b. 1969). Entitled "Figures in a Garden," is an oil on linen that measures 48 by 60 inches and was executed in 2006. It has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $482,500.

Lot 365 is a pair of taxidermied hares with plasic eyes, a 1996 work by Maurizio Cattelan (b. 1960). The catalogue provides the following commentary:

"Translating as 'Richard the Lionheart," the work's title takes the name of the twelfh century warrior king of England whose fearsome miliary and political achievements were paid for with horrific medieval brutality and bloodshed. Cattelan's designation of this pair of helpless creatures thus strikes an absurd parody of their supposedly soft and cuddly sterotype, and continues the artist's career-long interrogration of semiotics and the associative power of labels."

The lot has a modest estimate of $180,000 to $250,000. It sold for $218,500.

Lot 145 is a painted stainless steel sculpture by John Chamberlain (b. 1927) with the marvelous title of"Twophssted." It is startingly simple by Chamberlain's standards and very effective. It measures 15 1/2 by 42 1/4 by 25 inches and was created in 1989. It has an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 125 is an excellent bronze sculpture by Nancy Graves (1940-1995) entitled "Variability and Repetition" that is almost like an Alexander Calder on steroids and LSD. It is 61 1/2 inches high and was created in 1979. It has a modest estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $20,000.

Lot 342, "The New North," is a scraggly abominable snowman-type sculpture by David Atmejd (b. 1974) that is 145 inches high and made out of wood, foam, expandable foam, magic-sculpt, magic-smooth, epoxy, glue, mirror, horse hair, quartz crystals and wire. It came into being in 2007. It has an estimate of $120,000 to $180,000. It sold for $254,500.

The catalogue's description gets to the point:

"Double the size of an average man, David Atmejd's The New North is a compellingly industrious fusion of painted flesh, fur, bristly colored stalactites, mirror and quartz. This authoritationve figure inherently possesses a formable presence, conveyed not only by scale, but due to the shallow voids that imbibe its persona....Rather than representing death, Atlmejd's Giants represents something otherworldy, and within its corporation abstraction, the grotesque becomes transcendental....The veritable showstopper in the 2007 Venice Biennale, the present twork was Atlmejd's first foray after the stunnning success of the show."

Lot 104 is a fine early oil on canvas by Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974) done when he was interested in biomorphic Surrealist motifs. An oil on canvas, it is called "A Palette of Imagery" and measures 28 by 36 inches. It was painted in 1944. and was once in the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foiundation. It has an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $152,500.

Lot 189 is an estremely bright work by Theodoros Stamos (1922-1997) entitled "Twin Sun Box." An oil on canvas, it easures 48 by 72 inches and was painted in 1965. Although stylistically itis reminiscent a bit of some of Adolph Gottlieb's oeuvre, it is quite subtle with a thin line overthe right "sun" and a long horizontal line beneath both suns that stops just short of the left edge of the painting. It has a modest estimate of $80,000 to $100,000. It sold for $149,500.

Lots 188 and 192 are good acrylic paintings on canvasboard that both measure 30 by 15 inches and were done in 1972 by Robert Motherwell (1915-1991). The former has a modest estimate of $30,000 to $60,000 and the latter has an estimate of $40,000 to$60,000. Lot 188 sold for $92,500. Lot 192 sold for $108,100.

A larger and more dramatic acrylic by Motherwell is Lot 194, "Summer Seaside Night." It measures 72 5/8 by 84 5/8 inches and was painted in 1974. It has an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $494,500.

Lot 225 is an interesting and highly textured abstraction by Richard Serra (b. 1939) that is a paintstick on paper. It measures 38 inches square and was drawn in 2007. It has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $146,500.

Lot 445 is an untitled work by Qing Qing (b. 1953) that resembles some beautiful, diaphonous dress. Created in 2005 of organic fibers and dried flowers, it measures 59 1/4 by 55 3/8 inches. It has an estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. It sold for $31,250.

Lot 446 is an impressive work by Huang Gang (b. 1961) entitled "Star, Star (Two Works)." In two parts of acrylic, enamel and Tibetan printing blocks, each part 78 1/4 inches square, the work was executed in 2007. It has an estimate of $70,000 to $100,000. It sold for $86,500.

Lot 143 is a Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) from the Myers collection that is entitled "Foot Note [Analgram (a pun)]." A vegetable dye transfer on polylaminate, it measures 60 by 45 inches and was created in 1997. It has an estimate of $250,000 to $450,000. It sold for $746,500.

Lot 149 is a dramatic painting by R. B. Kitaj (1932-2007) entitled "Starting a War." An oil on canvas, it measures 84 by 36 inches and was painted 1980-1. It has an estimate of $80,000 to $100,000. It sold for $100,900.

Lot 196 is a very delicate and elegant colored pencil and oil crayon on paper by David Hockney (b. 1937). It measures 16 3/4 by 13 3/4 inches and was drawn in 1970. It has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $266,500.

One of the most striking paintings in the auction is Lot 401, "Perfil," by Manolo Valdes (b. 1942). An oil on burlap, it measures 58 by 60 inches and was painted in 1997. It has an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $386,500.

Jitish Kallat (b. 1974) is an artist from Mumbai who often puts bronze "gargoyles" at the bottom of his large canvas to prop them up against a wall. Lot 335, "Dawn Chorus 17," is a good example of his work and shows two streetchildren of Mumbai with their hair "a visual cacophony of figures, buildings and cars, stylistially reminiscent of the frenzied Hourloup's of Jean Dubuffet," according to the catalogue, which also notes that the gargoyles are inspired by sculptures on the top of the Victoria Teminus train station in Mumbaui. The lot has an estimate of $120,000 to $180,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 356, "Homeless Lamp, the Juice Sucker," by Ivan Navarro consisits of fluorescent tubes, electric cables, video documentation of performance. It measures 46 by 68 by 28 1/2 inches and is number 3 of edition of 3. It was created in 2004 and has an estimate of $30,000 to $40,000. It sold for $31,250.

Lot 303 is two overlapping compositions "Dynamic/Static; Red/Green," that are color photographs with vinyl paint by John Baldessari (b. 1931). The two parts measure 90 by 106 3/4 inches overall and the work was done in 1990. It ha an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $554,500.

Lot 235 isa angled flurorescent akyd on canvas by Frank Stella (b. 1936) that is titled "Bampur." It measures 39 3/4 by 54 inches and was painted in 1966. It has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $242,500.