By Carter B. Horsley

This morning auction of Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie's May 15, 2003 is highlighted by good representative works by Wayne Thiebaud (b. 1920), Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974), Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), Robert Rauschenberg (b. 1925), Larry Rivers (1923-2002), Helen Frankenthaler (b. 1928), Charles Bell (1935-1995), Willem de Kooning (1904-1997), Jim Dine (b. 1935), Frank Stella (b. 1936), and George Rickey (1907-2002).

The cover illustration of the auction catalogue is a detail from Lot 124, "Sugar, Salt and Pepper," a 13-by-17-inch oil on canvas, shown above. The small painting was created in 1970 and has an estimate of $300,000 to $400,000 and is one of his better bright still-lifes. It sold for $533,900 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article. It is both lovely and stark. The catalogue provides the following commentary: "In the early 1960s, Thiebaud rebelled against the angst-ridden brushstrokes of his peers, creating his own brand of painterliness, one in which surfaces are deliberately and masterfully controlled. He also began to draw on his experience as a commercial artist, creating eye-catching works with a directness and economy of means that are indebted to his advertising work. Thiebaud's mature work coincided with the explosion of interest in Pop Art in the early 1960s art scene, which has caused Thiebaud to be linked, albeit uneasily with that movement. Sugar, Salt and Pepper depicts the ubiquitous condiments that populate every American diner and coffee shop. Unlike Pop Artists who use cultural signifiers to ironically comment on culture, Thiebaud's work is more concerned with the formal issues of paint. Sugar, Salt and Pepper has a strong architectonic composition, rigidly anchored in place with a symmetrical alignment and severe horizontal bands of color. The paint is languidly brushed in horizontal strokes across the canvas in his trademark cake-frosting tones of white, while the racing-stripe colors along the bottom and the crisp high key color highlights bring the entire surface to life."

Lot 106, "Blast II," is one of Adolph Gottlieb's first three "Burst" paintings, which, according to the catalogue, "are landmarks of Abstract Expressionism. The oil on canvas measures 90 by 45 inches and was executed in 1957. It has a conservative estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $959,500.

Lot 181 is a very strong small work by Robert Motherwell. Entitled "Open No. 148," it is an oil on canvas that measures 14 by 18 inches. Executed in 1970, it has a very conservative estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $38,240.

Robert Rauschenberg is perhaps best known for his early "combines" and his penchant for expanding the boundaries of the art object. His work is generally quite conceptual and not inherently "beautiful." Lot 194, however, shows the artist can produce works that are quite ravishing. Entitled "Untitled (Copperhead)," it is an acrylic on copper that measures 48 ¾ by 96 ¾ inches. Executed in 1989, it has a very conservative estimate of $70,000 to $90,000. It sold for $105,160.

As he was riding as a passenger in car on the Long Island Expressway towards Manhattan, Larry Rivers saw a neon sign that advertised Dutch Master cigars with a reproduction of Rembrandt's Syndics of the Drapery Guild. He was so taken with the notion of using an Old Master "to sell stinky cigars" that he decided to use it in a series of paintings. This impressive and very painterly, large wall-relief measures 97 by 70 ½ by 14 inches and was executed in 1969 seven years after his first "Dutch Masters cigar" work. It has a modest estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 136 is a very strong work by Helen Frankenthaler entitled "Herald." An acrylic on canvas, it measures 108 by 81 inches. Executed in 1970, it has a modest estimate of $120,000 to $180,000. It sold for $153,100.

Willem de Kooning is famous for his wild and very "hot" abstract paintings of women and also for his more lyrical late, bright abstractions. Lot 170, "Untitled," is a very strong oil onpaper laid down on canvas by de Kooning that measures 41 ½ by 30 inches. It was executed in 1977 when he was, according to the catalogue, "combining images of large scale figures with landscapes." "the landscape," the catalogue entry continued, "has broken through the figure's contours and actually entered the body. Dissolving the figure-ground dichotomy, painterly passages of tan and orange tones evoke both the beach and flesh; blue streaks conjure up bodily contours as well as bodies of water. The figure takes up most of the composition, with white passages at the top standing in for a head and `hands' joined together at the bottom. The sensuous curvature of the neck and should is beautifully articulated with brown and blue strokes, which is located above the fleshy colored area towards the upper right corner."

This work is much more delineated and structured than his earlier wild red women and it conjures some of the distortions of Francis Bacon but without that artist's ominous style. This lot has a conservative estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $589,900.

Another very painterly work is Lot 176, "Study for This Sovereign Life," by Jim Dine, a 48-by-73-inch diptych of oil and sand. Executed in 1985, the work has a skull on the left side and a large heart on the right. It has a modest estimate of $140,000 to $180,000. It sold for $130,700.

Frank Stella is represented in the auction by two excellent works, Lots 191 and 192. The former is entitled "The Carpet Bag (2x)," and is a wall relief of oil, colored dipsticks, glitter and lacquer and aluminum and magnesium. It measures 75 by 86 by 36 inches and was executed in 1989. It has a modest estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 192 is entitled "Karpathenburg I," and the mixed-media on canvas measures 117 by 135 inches. It has an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $135,300.

For the pinball enthusiast, Lot 164 should prove irresistible. Entitled "Finis Coronat Opus," it is a large photorealist work by Charles Bell that was executed in 1995. An oil on canvas, it measures 54 by 74 inches and has an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $220,300.

George Rickey was a very elegant kinetic sculptor and Lot 186 is a fine example of his work. Entitled "Column of Six Parallelepipeds," the 62-inch-high kinetic stainless steel sculpture was executed in 1986 and is number two of an edition of three. It has a modest estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $53,775.