Lot 57,
"Untitled," by Martin Kippenberger, oil on canvas, 95 1/4 by 79 1/2
inches, 1988
Lot
57, "Untitled" is an large oil on canvas by Martin
Kippenberger (1963-1997). It measures 95 1/4 by 79 1/2 inches
and was painted in 1988. It was once owned by Jeff Koons and
was exhibited in the Kippenberger retrospective in 2008-9 at the Museum
of Modern Art in New York. It has an estimate of $15,000,000
to $20,000,000. It
sold for $16,405,000.
Lot 24, "Kind
(Child)," by Gerhard Richter, oil on canvas, 38 1/4 by 36 1/4 inches,
1989
Lot
24 is a very fine abstract oil on canvas entitled "Kind (Child)" by
Gerhard Richter (b. 1932) (See The
City Review article on the artist.) It measures 38
1/4 by 36 1/4 inches and was painted in 1989. It has an
estimate of $6,000,000 to $8,000,000. It sold for $7,109,000.
Lot
35, "No. 10," by Mark Rothko, oil on canvas, 94 1/4 by 69 1/4 inches,
1958
Lot
35 is a strong and large abstract oil on canvas by Mark Rothko
(1903-1970) entitled "No. 10." It measures 94 1/4 by 69 1/4
inches and was painted in 1958. The catalogue entry notes
that "as the eye moves way from this almost molten epicenter, the sense
of energy appears to cool as the sheer coats of pigment begin to reveal
their constituent as they coalesce with the dark mantole that surrounds
the central core." It has an estimate on request. It sold for
$81,925,000, the highest price at this auction.
Lot
76. "Wine, Rust, Blue on Black," by Mark Rothko, acrylic on paper, 23
by 18 3/4 inches, 1968
Another
excellent Rothko is Lot 76, an acrylic on paper that is entitled "Wine,
Rust, Blue on Black." It measures 23 by 18 3/4 inches and was
painted in 1968. It has a very modest estimate of
$2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It
sold for $3,189,000.
Lot 48, "Blue
Horizontal," by Brice Marden, oil on linen, 84 by 120 inches, 1986-7
Lot
48 is a very large and handsome abstract oil on linen by Brice Marden
(b. 1938) entitled "Blue Horizontal." It measures 84 by 120
inches and was painted in 1986-7. The catalogue entry
provides the following commentary:
"Marden's authorial gesture is in evidence everywhere - in the
scumbling, daubing, and scraping of paint that has brought Blue Horizontal to
life. Taking its cue from the asure sky reflected in
the expanse the Mediterranean sea surrounding the island of Hydra where
Marden and his family have lived off and on for a numer of years, Blue Horizontal
nests a series of open triangular forms linked by a network of thick
lines woven into circuits that overflow and interpenetrate forming a
quartet of vertically doubled glyphs writ large disposed in a grid
frame. Several campaigns into the surface result in
a palimpsest of drawing in paint comprised both of ghostly and fully
realized signs that coexit on the surface plane."
It has an estimate of $9,000,000 to $12,000,000. It sold for $10,245,000.
Lot 26,
"Colored Mona Lisa," by Andy Warhol, silkscreen inks and graphite on
canvas, 125 7/8 by 82 inches, 1963
Lot
26 is an enormous silkscreen inks and graphite on canvas by Andy Warhol
(1928-1987) entitled "Colored Mona Lisa." It measures 125 7/8
by 82 inches and was created in 1963. It has been widely
exhibited and published.
The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:
"Inspired as much by the ubiquitous nature of the nature as its
historical importance, Warhol produced a seires of seven canvases using
Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting as hits fourse. One of
the largest works in this group, Colored
Mon Lisa is regarded as one of the most striking and
significant paitnings of the artist's early career. ...The
original idea for Colored
Mona Lisa came from Warhol's friend Henry Geldazhler and
Warhol used as his source image a reproduction of the painting from
brochure published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. From
this original image, Warhol made three screens, one a full-length
reproducton and then cropping the full-length portrait into a
bust-length view, and finally a detail of her crossed hands....Up to
this point Warhol had used color in an overwhelmingly naturalistic way,
as can be seen in his Marilyn
paintings of 1962 when he reproduced Monroe's blond hair, pink skin and
famous red lips in vivid, yet naturalistic Pop colors. In Colored Mona Lisa,
as well as highlighting the cultural significance of the image, Warhol
is also deconstructing the industrialized nature of the reproduced
images."
It has an estimate on request. It sold for $56,165,000.
Lot 55, "The
Field Next to the Other Road," by Jean-Michel Basquiat, acrylic, enamel
spray paint, oilstick, metallic paint and ink on cnvas, 87 by 158
inches, 1981
Lot
55 is a huge painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) entitled "The
Field Next to the Other Road." An acrylic, enamel spray
paint, oilstick, metallic paint and ink on canvas, it measures 87 by
158 inches and was painted in 1981. It has an estimate of
$25,000,000 to $35,000,000. It sold for $37,125,000.
Lot
39, "Untitled V," by Willem de Kooning, oil on canvas, 69 by 79 3/8
inches, 1980
Lot
39 is a strong abstraction by Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) entitled
"Untitled V." An oil on canvas, it measures 69 by 79 3/8
inches and was painted in 1980. It was included in the
artist's retrospective in 2011-12 at the Museum of Modern Art in New
York.
Detail of Lot
39
The
catalogue entry provides the following commentary:
"A dazzling mixture of colors radiate from its surface,...contoured ribbons of
color in a deeply resonating work of unparalleled beauty. Van
Gogh's Irises
spring to mind, not only for the related palette of complementary
colors in both, but also for the rhythmic undulations and contrasting
directional lines that activate the surface."
It has an estimate of $10,000,000 to $15,000,000. It was withdrawn.
Lot 47,
"Untitled X," by Willem de Kooning, oil on canvas, 77 by 88 inches, 1983
Lot
47, Untitled X," is another large oil on canvas by de
Kooning (see The City
Review article). It measures 77 by 88 inches and
was painted in 1983. The catalogue entry notes that the
artist flipped the painting during its creation so he could "work on it
from all angles" and quotes John Elderfield that "these
multidirectional foci" become "multiple centers of interest, and
theefore a continual distraction, of vision being shuttled about the
surface, so that it may rest anywhere but can settle nowhere."
Detail of Lot
47
The lot has an estimate of
$7,000,000 to $9,000,000. It
sold for $8,677,000.
Lot
28, "Untitled," by Jackson Pollock, brush, spatter, graphite, and black
and colored inks on paper, 18 3/4 by 24 7/8 inches, circa 1947Lot
28 is a great brush, spatter, graphite, and black and colored inks on
paper by Jackson Pollock (1912-1956). It measures 18 3/4 by 24
7/8 inches and was painted circa 1947. It was shown at the
Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Los Angles County Museum of
Art in 1967 amd and the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1979 and
1980. It has a very modest estimate of $1,800,000 to $2,200,000.
It sold for $3.525,000.
Lot 45, "Steeplechase," by Franz Kline, oil on canvas, 80 by 65 inches, 1960Lot
45 is a strong oil on canvas by Franz Kline (1910-1962) entitled
"Steeplechase." It measures 80 by 65 inches and was painted in
1960. It was in the Franz Kline Memorial Exhibition in 1962 at
the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It has an
estimate of $18,000,000 to $22,000,000. It sold for $21,445,000.
A
more gorgeous and very colorful Kline is Lot 49, "Provincetown II, an
oil on canvas that he painted in 1959. It measures 93 by
79 inches. It has an estimate of $8,000,000 to $12,000,000. It sold for $9,125,000.
Lot 80, "Ohne Titel (5 Mai 1986), by Gerhard Richter, oil and graphite on paper, 79 3/8 by 72 3/8 inches, 1986Lot
80 is a very bright abstraction and attractive abstraction by Gerhard
Richter (b. 1932) that was painted in 1986. Entitled "Ohne Titel
(5 Mai 1986)" it is an oil and graphite on paper and measures 79 3/8 by
72 3/8 inches. It has a modest estimate of $3,500,000 to
$5,500,000. It passed at $3,000,000.
Lot 21,
"Interchange," by Wayne Thiebaud, oil on canvas, 29 7/8 by 26 78
inches, 1979
Lot
21 is a great oil on canvas by Wayne Thiebaud (b. 1920) entitled
"Interchange." It measures 29 7/8 by 26 7/8 inches.
It was painted in 1979. The catalogue entry has a
reproduction of "Ford Plant," an iconic photography by Charles Sheeler
that is strikingly similar in composition to this work and "Metropolis
II, 2010," a sculpture by Chris Burden that also encapsulates the urban
rapture of the Thiebaud painting. The entry notes that
"Thiebaud luxuriates in the serpentine forms of the overpass, which
evokes the meandering lines of Brice Marden's Attednants or even
Pollock's 'allover' energy, becoming a meandering zen-like space."
Detail of Lot
21
The lot has a modest estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It was passed at
$2,200,000.
Lot 25,
Collage for interior: Perfect Pitcher," by Roy Lichtenstein, painted
and printed paper collage, tape, market and graphite on board, 37 1/4
by 56 inches, 1994
Lot
25 is a stunning and superb work by Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997)
entitled "Collage for interior: Perfect Pitcher." It measures
37 1/4 by 56 inches and was created in 1994. It is a fabulous
and very sophisticated composition. It has a modest estimate of
$1,500,000 to $2,500,000.
It sold for $4,421,000.
Lot 10,
"Johanson's Painting," by Robert Rauschenberg, oil, metal, wood, paper,
twine, picture frame, shaving brush and tin can on masonite in artist's
frame, 56 by 48 1/4 by 6 7/8 inches, 1961
Lot
10 is a wonderful "combine" work by Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008)
entitled "Johanson's Painting." It consists of oil, metail,
wood, paper, twine, picture frame, shaving brush and tin can on
masonite in artist's frame. It measures 56 by 48 1/4 by 6 7/8
inches. It was created in 1961. Itis from the
Collection of Ileana Sonnabend and the estate of Nina Castelli Sundell.
It was included in the 2005-7 exhibition of Robert Rauschenberg
Combines at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary
Art in Los Angeles, the Centre Pompidou and the Moderna Museet in
Stockholm.
The catalogue entry notes that the title of the work was based on the
artist overhearing a gallery goer in Stockholm stating that it might
have been created by Ingemar Johansson, the boxer, whereupon the artist
immediately wrote its title on the work.
It has an estimate of $4,000,000 to $6,000,000. It sold for $18,645,000.
Lot 43,
"Untitled," by Cy Twombly, oil-based house paint, wax crayon and lead
pencil on canvas, 79 by 94 1/4 inches, 1969
Lot
43 is a good untitled oil-based house paint, wax crayon and lead pencil
on canvas by Cy Twombly (1928-2011), the scrawler. It
measures 79 by 94 1/4 inches and was created in Bolsena in 1969.
Unlike many of his regimented scribbles, this work actually
has a diagonal composition and is closely related to a dark untitled
1968 painting by the artist at the Museum of Modern Art in New York but
is not as spectacular as "Untitled (Rome)," a 1968 work that is a dark
picture with musical note-like drawings of various dimensions
horizontally played across the canvas, probably the artist's finest
work. This lot has an ambitious estimate of $35,000,000 to
$55,000,000. It
sold for $42,735,000.
Lot 33, "Afternoon," by Joan Mitchell, oil on canvas, 102 3/8 by 63 inches, 1969-1970Lot
33 is a bright and good abstraction by Joan Mitchell (1925-1992)
entitled "Afternoon." An oil on canvas, it measures 192 3/8 by 63
inches and was painted in 1969-1970 It has an estimate of
$5,000,000 to $7,000,000. It sold for $5,765,000.
Lot 61,
"Triple Elvis," by Jeff Koons, oil on canvas, 102 by 138 inches, 2009
Lot
61 is a large oil on canvas by Jeff Koons (b. 1955) that is entitled
"Triple Elvis" and was first exhibited in 2009 at the Brandt Family
Foundation in Greenwich, Connecticut. It measures 102 by 138
inches. The catalogue entry notes that such a painting takes
"from a year-and-a-half to two years to realize, as the entire canvas
is meticulouisly painted with carefully mapped colors and regulated
brushstrokes one small area at a time." "This conceptually
complex and fundamentally playful painting asks us to focus on what's
truly important, to transcend our cares and worries and, above all, to
celebrate our very existience," it continued (with a photograph of an
infectiously smiling Koons in a white suit and white sneakers running
while carrying a large vinyl red lobster). The lot has an
estimate of $7,000,000 to $9,000,000.
It sold for $8,565,000.
Lot 60,
"Untitled," by Chrisopher Wool, alkyd and acrylic on aluminum, 96 by 64
inches, 1990
Lot
60 is a large alkyd and acrylic painting on aluminum that spells
"Hypocrite" by Christopher Wool (b. 1955). It measures 96 by
64 inches and was created in 1990. It was included in an exhibition on
the artist in 2013 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New
York. It carries the very ambitious estimate of $15,000,000
to $20,000,000. It
failed to sell and was passed at $14,000,000.
Lot 68, "Untitled," by Christopher Wool, 108 by 72 inches, 2000, enamel on canvasA
much more attractive Wool is Lot 68, "Untitled," an enamel on canvas
that measures 108 by 72 inches,. It was painted in 2000.
It has an estimate of $6,000,000 to $9,000,000. It sold for $$6,885,000.
Lot 37,
"Agricola IV," by David Smith, steel, 60 inches high, 1952
Lot
37 is a fine steel sculpture by David Smith (1906-1965) entitled
"Agricola IV." It is 60 inches high and was created
in 1952. It is part of a 17-work series of farm
implement sculptures that Smith started in 1951. The
catalogue entry notes that Smith's work at the time "emerged partially
out of the aesthetic of cubist collage, and above all the collaborative
iron constructions of Pablo Picasso and Julio Gonzalez. It
has an estimate of $5,000,000 to $7,000,000. It sold for
$5,989,000.
Lot 18,
"Pleurnichon," by Jean Dubuffet, sponge, 15 inches high, 1954
Lot
18, "Pleurnichon," is a sponge sculpture of a crybaby by Jean Dubuffet
(1901-1985). It is 15 inches high. It was included
in exhibitions on the artst at the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture
Garden in 1993 and the Centre Pompidou in 2001. It has a
modest estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for
$1,205,000.
Lot
74, "Ghost Money," by Mark Bradford, mixed media collage on canvas, 101
7/8 by 143 3/4 inches, 2007
Lot
74 is a large mixed media collage by Mark Bradford (b. 1961) entitled
"Ghost Money." It measures 101 7/8 by 143 3/4 inches and was
created in 2007. The catalogue entry notes that "peeling
billboard papers or merchant posters, photomechanical reproductions,
hairdressing endpapers, newspaper clips, polyester cord: these are
Bradford's scavenged ephemera, considered in their regular context to
be visual pollution yet decontextualized and altered into art."
Detail of Lot
74
It
has a modest estimate of $1,500,000 to $2,000,000. It sold for $3,637,000.
