When: April 20 - 28, 2017, 10am – 6pm (closed Monday)
Where: 336 North Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
LOS ANGELES – Christie’s, the world’s leading art business, announces a major exhibition to celebrate the opening of its new Los Angeles flagship in Beverly Hills. From April 20 to 28, Christie’s will open the doors of its new West Coast arts space with a special exhibition of more than 60 paintings, sculptures, photographs, and works on paper, as well as a selection of jewels, watches and private sale items. The exhibition was curated from the auction house’s signature May sales of Impressionist, Modern, Post-War, Contemporary and Latin American art, which take place in New York, and was designed to create an engaging visual dialogue between the major artists of each era, from Europe to the Americas.
Among the highlights of the exhibition are masterpieces by the titans of 20th century art, including Three Studies for a Portrait of George Dyer (1962), the first triptych Francis Bacon painted of his great muse (estimate on request – in excess of $50 million); Leda and the Swan (1962) by Cy Twombly, a celebrated tour-de-force by the artist that is emerging from a private collection after nearly 30 years unseen by the public (estimate $35-55 million); and Femme assise dans un fauteuil (1917-1920) by Pablo Picasso, a Cubist portrait of the artist’s first wife, the Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova (estimate $20-30 million). The Grand Opening exhibition at Christie’s LA marks the first time these three musuem-quality masterpieces will be exhibited together for the public in the U.S.
Sonya Roth, Managing Director, Christie’s LA: “This is Christie’s moment to shine in LA and we are delighted to have assembled such a stellar exhibition of fine art, jewelry, watches and private sale items to celebrate our grand opening in Beverly Hills. Our goal over these next few weeks is to welcome in both new and established collectors to acquaint themselves with all that Christie’s has to offer the LA community -- whether it is expertise, education, or simply engagement with the beautiful objects Christie’s has been entrusted with. This first exhibition is just the start of a dynamic program to come, and we look forward to officially embarking on this exciting next chapter in the growth of Christie’s on the West Coast.”
CHRISTIE’S ON THE WEST COAST
Christie’s previously announced the expansion of its presence on the West Coast in response to growing demand among LA-area collectors for greater access to buying and selling opportunities as well as fine art advisory and appraisal services. The move mirrors Christie’s recent expansion in Shanghai and Beijing, where the company has been steadily increasing access to online and saleroom collecting opportunities, arts engagement, and educational partnerships. Together, mainland China and the West Coast region of the United States account for the largest influx of new buyers at Christie’s in recent years. As it has done in mainland China, the new multi-use space will house a team of highly-respected specialists working across Christie’s major collecting categories, supplementing the company’s long-standing San Francisco presence, and dramatically increasing the company’s influence on the West Coast.
The new two-story, 5,400 square foot flagship building has been completely renovated and reconstructed from its previous retail space. For the design and construction of this unique space, Christie’s engaged wHY, the interdisciplinary design team known for its work on the Marciano Art Foundation, CalArts, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Swinerton Builders. The gallery has a grand yet flexible layout for hosting exhibitions, social events, and educational programs. A
1,400 square-foot terrace on the second level creates a unique open space with greenery that can double as programmable outdoor event space.
To learn more about Christie’s LA, visit www.christies.com/la.
Note to editors:
- Rockefeller Center in New York will continue to operate as Christie’s auction saleroom for the Americas.
- Christie's has maintained offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco since 1978 and 1982, respectively.
- Artworks featured in the Grand Opening Exhibition will be offered for sale at Christie’s on the following dates: May 15 (Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale), May 17 (Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale) May 17 (Geneva Rare Watches sale) and May 24 (Latin American Art Evening Sale).
About Christie’s
Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business. Renowned and trusted for its expert live and online auctions, as well as its bespoke private sales, Christie’s offers a full portfolio of global services to its clients, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai).
Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $200 to over $100 million. Christie’s has sold 8 of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, including the Paul G. Allen Collection—the most valuable collection ever offered at auction (November 2022). In recent years, Christie’s has achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction (Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, 2017), for a 20th century artwork (Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, 2022) and for a work by a living artist (Jeff Koons’ Rabbit, 2019).
Christie’s Private Sales offers a seamless service for buying and selling art, jewellery and watches outside of the auction calendar, working exclusively with Christie’s specialists at a client’s individual pace.
Recent innovations at Christie’s include the groundbreaking sale of the first NFT for a digital work of art ever offered at a major auction house (Beeple’s Everydays, March 2021), with the unprecedented acceptance of cryptocurrency as a means of payment. As an industry leader in digital innovation, Christie’s also continues to pioneer new technologies that are redefining the business of art, including use of hologram technology to tour life-size 3D objects around the world, and the creation of viewing and bidding experiences that integrate augmented reality, global livestreaming, buy-now channels, and hybrid sales formats.
Christie’s is dedicated to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide, including achieving sustainability by reducing our carbon emissions by 50% and pledging to be net zero by 2030, and actively using its platform in the art world to amplify under-represented voices and support positive change.
Browse, bid, discover, and join us for the best of art and luxury at: www.christies.com or by downloading Christie’s apps. The COVID-related re-opening status of our global locations is available here.