By Carter B. Horsley

The November 17, 2017 Contemporary Art day auction at Sotheby's New York is highlighted by several fine works by Wayne Thiebaud, Theodore Stamos, Jean  Dubuffet,  Lee Bontecou, Anselm Kiefer, Mark Bradford and Jack Whitten.

The cover of the catalogue for this auction's morning session is Lot 116, "Nine Candy Apples" by Wayne Thiebaud (b. 1920).  An oil on canvas, it measures 14 1/8 by 16 inches and was painted in 1964.

The catalogue entry contains the following quotation from the artist:

"From when I worked in restaurants, I can remember seeing rows of pies or a tin of pie with one piece out of it and one pie sitting beside it.  These little vedute in fragmented circumstances were always poetic to me."

The lot has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.  It sold for $4,518,200 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article.

The sale total for the day and afternoon sessions was $103,008,800.

Lot 186, "10-Cent Machine," by Wayne Thiebaud, oil on paper mounted on panel, 11 by 8 inches, 1999

Another Thiebaud is Lot 1986, "10-Cent Machine," an oil on paper mounted on panel.  It measures 11 by 8 inches and was painted in 1999. It has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000.  It sold for $1,455,000.

Lot 112, "Phoenix," by Theodore Stamos, oil on canvas, 56 by 52 inches, 1960

Lot 112 is an abstraction by Theodore Stamos (1922-1997) that could easily be an excellent painting by Clyfford Still.  Entitled "Phoenix," it is an oil on canvas that measures 56 by 52 inches.  It was painted in 1960.  It has a modest estimate of $150,000 to $200,000.  It sold for $325,000.

Lot 163, "White Field III," by Theodoros Stamos, oil on canvas, 60 by 72 inches, 1958

Another great Stamos oil on canvas is Lot 163, "White Field III," which measures 60 by 72 inches and was painted in 1958. 

In her 1984 catalogue essay about a Stamos show at Knoedler, Barbara Cavaliere provided the following commentary:

"Very early on, Stamos found particular incentive in how to paint from Milton Avery and in what to paint from Arthur Dove.  During the mid-forties, he located reaffirmation of his developing ideas and practice in the paintings and transcendental ideal of the 19th Century American landscape painters of the Hudson River School, as well as in the nocturnes of Whistler, Chinese and Japanese calligraphy and painting."

The lot has an estimate of $120,000 to $180,000.  It sold for $187,500.

Lot 175, "Flame," by William Baziotes, oil on canvas, 42 by 36 1/8 inches, 1954

William Baziotes (1912-1963) was a contemporary of Stamos and they shared a somewhat similar powerful aesthetic.  Lot 175 is a 1954 oil on canvas by him entitled "Flame."  It measures 42 by 36 1/8 inches.  It was included in the important traveling exhibition on the artist that started at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1965 and was also in his 2004-5 retrospective at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.  It has a modest estimate of $100,000 to $150,000.  It sold for $212,500.

Lot 113, "No. 12," by Ad Reinhardt, oil on canvas, 41 3/4 by 32 1/2 inches, 1950

Lot 113 is a quite lyrical, but somber abstraction by Ad Reinhardt (1913-1967) entitled "No. 12."  An oil on canvas, it measures 41 3/4 by 32 1/2 inches and was painted in 1950.  It has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000.  It sold for $1,155,000.

Lot 103, "Untitled," by Lee Bontecou, leather, canvas, wielded steel rod and wire, 39 1/4 by 35 by 9 1/2 inches, 1959

Lot 103 is an excellent untitled work by Lee Bontecou (b. 1931).  A wall relief of leather, canvas, wielded steel rod and wire, it measures 39 1/4 by 35 by 9 1/2 inches and was created in 1959.  It has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000.  It sold for $1,035,0

Lot 229, "Details of Renaissance Paintings (Paolo Uccello, St. George and the Dragon, 1467)," by Andy Warhol, acryllic and silkscreen ink on canvas, 48 by 72 inches, 1984

Lot 229 is a large and dramatic work from the "Details of Renaissance Paintings" series by Andy Warhol (1928-1987).  It is based on a 1487 painting of St. George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello,  It measures 48 by 72 inches and was painted in 1984.  It has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.  It failed to sell.

Lot 123, "Animation Parcellaire," by Jean Dubuffet, acryllic and paper collage mounted on canvas, 33 3/4 by 20 1/4 inches, 1979

Lot 123 is a happy collage and acrylic mounted on canvas by Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985).  It measures 33 3/4 by 20 1/4 inches and was created in 1979.  It has an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000.  It sold for $519,000.

Lot 188, "California interior," by David Hockney, acryllic on canvas, 36 inches square, 1986

Lot 188 is a very good composition by David Hockney (b. 1939) entitled "California interior."  An acryllic on canvas, it measures 36 inches square and was painted in 1986.  It has an estimate of $1,500,000 to $2,000,000.  It sold for $1,815,000.

Lot 197, "Flypaper," by Jean-Michel Basquiat, oil and oilstick on canvas, 60 by 12 inches, 1982

Lot 197 is a good work by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) entitled "Flypaper."  It measures 60 by 12 inches and was created in 1982.  It recalls Chinese scroll painting.  It has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000.  It failed to sell.

Lot 209, "Untitled," by Jesus Rafael Soto, mixed-media on wood, 36 by 24 5/8 by 7 inches, 1962

Jesus Rafael Soto (1923-2005) is one of several Latin American artists included in this auction in another stunning example of the major auction houses trying to blur collecting lines.  Lot 209 is an untitlted mixed-media on wood by Soto that measures 36 by 24 5/8 by 8 inches.  It was created in 1962.  It has an estimate of $300,000 to $400,000.  It sold for $675,000.

Lot 279, "Loomings (S-71x)," by Frank Stella, stainless steel, carbon steel and bronze, 47 1/4 by 54 1/2 by 13 inches, 1988

Frank Stella (b. 1936) is a painter who is also well-known for his very colorful sculptural gyrations.  Lot 279 is a stunning monochromatic sculpture that uses stainless steel, carbon steel and bronze.  Entitled "Loomings (S-71x), it measures 47 1/4 by 54 1/2 by13 inches and was created in 1988.  It has an estimate of $75,000 to $95,000.  It sold for $100,000.

Lot 124, "Dem Unbekannten Mater," by Anselm Kiefer, watercolor, gouache, graphite and paper collage on paper, 24 1/2 by 26 1/2 inches, 1982

Lot 124 is a good watercolor, gouache, graphite and paper collage on paper by Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945).  It is from the Diamondstein-Spielvogel Collection.  It measures 24 1/2 by 26 1/2 inches and was created in 1982.

The catalogue entry provides the following interesting commentary from the artist in a 1998 exhibition of his works on paper at the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

"I studied Third Reich art in secondhand bookstores and absorbed a lot of information that had come out in the 1930s....But I never found any interesting official painting.  However, the architecture is quite interesting.  People like Speer and Kreis made interesting things...I was intrigued by these buildings, and I wanted to transform them.  You know, normally you don't destroy buildings...usually you transform them, like the Christians transformed old temples or the Pantheon tin Christian churches.  That's what I was doing, too.  I transformed these old buildings and gave them a new destiny, a new meaning.  Because you never succeed in really destroying something.  It always liuves, and it's more efficient to transform than to destroy."

The lot has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000.  It sold for $591,000.

Lot 166, "Work BB48," by Kazuo Shiraga. oil on canvas, 45 1/4 by 35 7/8 inches, 1962

Lot 166, "WorkBB48," is an impressive oil on canvas by Kazuo Shiraga (1924-2008).  It measures 45 1/4 by 35 7/8 inches and was painted in 1962 and is the backcover illustration of the catalogue.  It has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.  It sold for $1,095,000.

Afternoon Session



Lot 426, "Exodus," by Mark Bradford, mixed media collage on canvas, 48 by 60 inches, 2006

Mark Bradford (b. 1961) has two superb works in the afternoon session of the Contemporary Art auction November 17, 2017 at Sotheby's New York.

Lot 426 is a large mixed-medi collage on canvas entitled "Exodus." It measures 48 by 60 inches and was created in 2006. 

The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:

"The material that makes up the many layers of Bradford's work is mostly found or repurposed paper: fragments of billboards rescued from the streets of South Central Los Angeles; found 'merchant papers,' as Bradford has coined street flyers and posters that he pulls from construction site barriers and telephone poles; and endpapers - used in styling hair - up-cycled from the salon where Bradford had worked as a hairdresser."

The lot has an estimate of $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.  It sold for $2,175,000.

Lot 411, "Untitled," by Mark Bradford, mixed media collage on paper, 28 by 22 inches, 2007-9

Another fine work by Bradford is Lot 411, which is untitled, a mixed media collage on paper that measures 28 by 22 inches.  It was created in 2007-9 and puts to shame Glenn Ligon's typographical exercises and Jasper Johns' mongraphic numbers and letters.  This work was created in 2009 and has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000.  It sold for $411,000.

Lot 425, "The Ghost of Joseph Beuys," by Jack Whitten, acrylic and canvas collage on canvas, 58 1/4 by 52 3/4 inches, 1986

With about as much texture as Bradford's work, Lot 425, "The Ghost of Joseph Beuys," by Jack Whitten (b. 1939) is immensely immersive and fabulous.  An acrylic and canvas collage on canvas, it measures 58 1/4 by 52 3/4 inches.  It was created in 1986.

The catalogue entry supplies the following quotation from the artist:

"Those site painting, which were acrylic skins, came out of the early 80s when I first started laminating a piece of acrylic back down to the canvas.  I took the paint up off the canvas and then put it back down on the canvas.  This was a major breakthrough.  I'm now doing it with paint as a collage, paint as sculpture.  I have changed the verb 'to paint':  I don't paint a painting.  I make a painting."

The lot has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000.  It sold for $855,000.

Lot 409, "Compression IV," by George Condo, acrylic, charcoal and pastel on linen, 75 3/8 by 77 7/8 inches, 2011

The cover illustration of the afternoon session of the day auction is Lot 409, "Compression IV," by George Condo (b. 1957).  The acrylic, charcoal and pastel work on linin  measures 75 5/8 by 77 7/8 inches and was painted in 2011.  It has an estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000.  It sold for $4,066,000.

Lot 473, "3 White Nudes," by George Condo, oil and paper collage on canvas, 70 1/8 by 68 1/8 inches, 1998

Lot 473 is a strong oil and paper collage on canvas by Condo that measures 70 1/8 by 68 1/8 inches and was painted in 1998.  Rather than his familiar grotesques, this "three graces" work invokes told Master's like Botticelli, Rubens, Matisse and Giacometti.  It has a modest estimate of $120,000 to $180,000.  It sold for $567,000.

Lot 412, "Camel," by Joe Bradley, oil on sewn canvases, 104 by 128 inches, 2013

Lot 412 is a large work by Joe Bradley (b. 1975) entitled "Camel."  It is an oil on sewn canvases and measures 104 by 128 inches.  It was created in 2013 and was included in the October 2017 exhibition on the artist at the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo.  It has an estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000.  It sold for $975.000.

Lot 472, "Smaller Yellow on Blue Waterfall," by Pat Steir, oil on canvas, 120 by 84 inches, 1992

Lot 472 is a large oil on canvas by Pat Steir (b. 1940) entitled "Smaller Yellow on Blue Waterfall."  It conjures large Chinese landscape scrolls.  It measures 120 by 84 inches and was created in 1992.  The artist stands on a ladder to pour the paint on the canvas, according to the catalogue entry noted that she draws "from ancient Asian technique as a source of inspiration, in particular the Yi-pin ink-splashing paintings from the 8th and 9th centuries."  The lot has an estimate of $600,000 to $800,000.  It sold for $975,000.

Lot 485, "Figure #39," by Glenn Ligon, acrylic, silkscreen and coal dust on canvas, 60 by 48 inches, 2010

Lot 495 is an acrylic, silkscreen and coat dust on canvas by Glenn Ligon (b. 1960).  It is entitled "Figure #39" and measures 60 by 48 inches.  It was created in 2010.  The catalogue entry states that "Ligon revels in the aesthetic ecstasy of his own profoundly rich intertextuality - a conceptual approach through which his practice reveals truths about being black in America."  The lot has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000.  It failed to sell.

Lot 422, "Study for 'Discarding the Frame,'" by Mark Tansey, oil on canvas, 36 1/8 by 30 inches, 1992-9

Lot 422 is an oil on canvas by Mark Tansey (b. 1949) that is entitled "Discarding the Frame."  It measures 36 1/8 by 30 inches and was painted in 1999.  It has an estimate of $450,000 to $650,000.  It sold for $915,000.

Lot 510, "Untitled," by Anish Kapoor, alabaster, 66 by 67 by 24 inches, 2004

A fabulous alabaster "egg-cup" on its side, Lot 510 is a very large, untitled sculpture by Anish Kapoor (b. 1954).  It measures 66 by 67 by 24 inches and was created in 2004.  It does not have a donut hole.  It has an estimate of $700,000 to $1,000,000.  It sold for $759,000.

See The City Review article on the Fall 2017 Contemporary Art evening auction at Christie's New York
See The City Review article on the Spring 2017 Contemporary Art evening auction at Christie's New York
See The City Review article on the Spring 2017 Contemporary Art evening auction at Sotheby's New York
See The City Review article on the Fall 2016 Contemporary Art evening auction at Christie's New York
See The City Review article on the Spring 2016 Contemporary Art evening auction at Christie's New York

See The City Review article on the Fall 2012 Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Sotheby's New York
See The City Review article on the Fall 2012 Impressionist & Modern Art day auction at Sotheby's New York
See The City Review article on the Spring 2012 Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Sotheby's
See The City Review article on the Spring 2012 Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Christie's
See The City Review article on the Fall 2011 Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Sotheby's
See The City Review article on the Fall 2011 Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Christie's
See The City Review article on the Spring 2011 Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Sotheby's
See The City Review article on the Spring 2011 Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Christie's
See The City Review article on the Fall 2010 Impressionist & Modern Art evening auction at Sotheby's
See The City Review article on the Fall 2010 Impressionist & Modern Art evening auction at Christie's
See The City Review article on the Spring 2010 Impressionist & Modern Art evening auction at Sotheby's
See The City Review article on the Spring 2010 Impressionist & Modern Art evening auction at Christie's
See The City Review article on the Fall 2009 Impressionist & Modern Art evening auction at Sotheby's
See The City Review article on the Fall 2009 Impressionist & Modern Art evening auction at Christie's
See The City Review article on the Spring 2009 Impressionist & Modern Art evening auction at Sotheby's
See The City Review article on the Spring 2009 Impressionist & Modern Art evening auction at Christie's
See The City Review article on the Fall 2008 Impressionist & Modern Art evening auction at Christie's
See The City Review article on the Fall 2008 Impressionist & Modern Art evening auction at Sotheby's

See The City Review article on the Sotheby's evening auction May 10, 2000 of Impressionist & Modern Art
See The City Review article on the May 11, 2000 auction at Sotheby's of Impressionist & Modern Art, Part 2
See The City Review article on the Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art Auction, Part I, Nov. 11, 1999
See The City Review article on Part Two of the Sotheby's auction November 11, 1999 of Impressionist & Modern Art
See The City Review article on the Christie's Nov. 8, 1999 evening sale of Impressionist & Post Impressionist Art
See The City Review article on the morning auction Nov. 9, 1999 of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Art at Christie's
See The City Review article on the afternoon auction Nov. 9, 1999 of Impressionist and Twentieth Century Works on Paper at Christie's
See The City Review article on the Christie's Nov. 9, 1999 evening auction of Twentieth Century Art
See The City Review article on the Christie's Nov. 10, 1999 day auction of Twentieth Century Art
See The City Review analysis of Part 1 of the Sotheby's auction May 11, 1999 of Impressionist and Modern Art
See The City Review analysis of Part 2 of the Sotheby's May 12, 1999 auction of Impressionist and Modern Art
See The City Review article on the Christie's May 12, 1999 auction of Impressionist Art and 19th Century Art
See The City Review of the Christie's May 13, 1999 auction of 20th Century and Modern Art
Recap of the Spring 1998 Impressionist and Modern Auctions