FC 1 Fire Color 1

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Yves Klein’s FC 1

Director: Laurent Chanez

Fifty years after the artist’s death, Christie’s is proud to announce the upcoming auction of Yves Klein’s legendary Fire-Color Painting FC 1, as the highlight of the Post War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on May 8. Executed a few weeks before his premature death, at the age of 34, FC 1 is widely acclaimed as his ultimate masterpiece.

One of the most important works of Post-War European art to come to the market , FC1 acquired an iconic status soon after the release of Klein’s movie, La Revolution Bleue, where the celebrated recording of the painting’s creation inscribed FC 1 in the 20th Century collective memory.

YVES KLEIN (1928-1962)
FC 1 (Fire Color 1)

Dry pigments and synthetic resin on panel with artist’s frame

55 1/2 x 117 3/4 x 1 in.
(141 x 299.5 x 3 cm.)

Executed in 1962.

PROVENANCE

Collection of the artist
Pierre Restany, Paris

Acquired from the above by the present owner

More Lot Details Browse e-Catalogue

With the creation of FC 1, Klein pushed the concept of the heroic artist to a new level. As an alchemist manipulating the highly volatile elements of gas and fire, Klein created a work that represents the epitome of what he called “dangerous paintings”, where Klein risked his life and the life of his models. Privately owned, FC 1 has been featured prominently in all of his major retrospectives, including those held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC.

A portion of the proceeds of the sale will be donated to OCEANA, the largest international organization working solely to protect the world’s oceans.

© 2012 Yves Klein and Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York/ADAGP, Paris.
Yves Klein, FC 1, 1962 (detail). © 2012 Yves Klein and Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York/ADAGP, Paris. Magnify
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