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Press Release I | Press Release II
Contact:
Andrée Corroon 212.636.2680
Joel Gunderson
ICONIC WORKS BY JOHNS AND LICHTENSTEIN, A RARE WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT, AND A SEMINAL NEWMAN LEAD CHRISTIE'S FALL SALES OF POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART
Post-War and Contemporary Art
November 13 & 14, 2002
New York, NY - A Pop Art icon by Roy Lichtenstein, a signature work by Jasper Johns, a Warhol self-portrait from the legendary collection of Robert Scull, and the first major Barnett Newman to be auctioned since 1995 are just a few of the many highlights in Christie's fall 2002 sales of Post-War and Contemporary Art. The sales at Rockefeller Center on November 13 and 14 will also offer selections of important works from the Israel Phoenix Assurance Company-a collection assembled by the noted collector, Joseph Hackmey-and the renowned private collection of Rita and Toby Schreiber.
Property from the Collection of the Israel Phoenix Assurance Company
Christie's will offer nine important works of art from the collection of the Israel Phoenix Assurance Company, a collection assembled in the early 1980s by the renowned collector Joseph Hackmey. The offering is led by an iconic painting by Jasper Johns and the first major Barnett Newman to appear at auction since 1995.
Jasper Johns' 0 Through 9 (estimate: $6,000,000-8,000,000) is one of the five paintings from the iconic series by this title, each executed in 1961 and composed of the numerals 0 through 9 superimposed one on top of the other. The version offered at Christie's this fall is painted in grays, intensified with black and white, and touched with flashes of color. Three other examples from the series are in major museum collections: the Tate Modern, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Barnett Newman's White Fire I, 1954 (estimate: $4,000,000-6,000,000), is the first important painting by the artist to be offered at auction since Christie's sold The Word II in November 1995 for a record price of $3,027,500. White Fire I was originally in the renowned E.J. Powers Collection in London and is included in the major Newman retrospective which originated at the Philadelphia Museum of Art earlier this year and is currently on view at the Tate Modern.
Property from the Collection of Rita and Toby Schreiber
Christie's will offer a selection of nine important works from the private collection of Rita and Toby Schreiber in the evening sale. The Schreibers began collecting art in the 1970s and they patiently assembled an important collection through a series of passionate and careful purchases, often waiting for works from a particular period or even a specific work to add to their collection. With few exceptions, they almost exclusively bought American Post-War artists and have accumulated a major sculpture collection unique in its quality and breadth, with works ranging from Alexander Calder mobiles to important works by Gober.
S-Shaped Vine, 1946 (estimate: $1,200,000-1,600,000), is an important large-scale mobile by Alexander Calder that was first exhibited in a breakthrough show at Galerie Louis Carré in Paris that same year. At the time, Calder had recently been honored with a major retrospective at MoMA, but he was less known in Europe. Robert Gober's Inverted Sink, 1985 (estimate: $500,000-700,000), is one of almost 40 variations of the domestic motif, each one unique and idiosyncratic. The present sculpture is highly distorted and surreal as its sides tilt downward at a 45-degree angle.
Painting highlights from the Schreiber Collection are led by Ed Ruscha's War Surplus, 1962 (estimate: $1,500,000-2,000,000), a signature painting that was included in the artist's 1982-83 retrospective which originated at SFMoMA, and in the 1992-93 exhibition Hand-Painted Pop: American Art in Transition, at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Various Owners
One of the principal highlights of the Post-War and Contemporary Art evening sale will be Roy Lichtenstein's Happy Tears, 1964 (estimate: $5,000,000-7,000,000), a Pop icon from the artist's celebrated "woman" series depicting melodramatic heroines in his signature "cartoon" style. The painting has resided in a distinguished private collection for nearly 30 years, acquired directly from the artist by the owners shortly after its completion following a studio visit arranged by the legendary dealer Leo Castelli.
The sale will also include several important works by Pop master Andy Warhol, all from distinguished private collections. Self Portrait, 1964 (estimate: $2,500,000-3,500,000), like many of Warhol's self portraits, finds its genesis in a simple, unembellished snap shot taken at a Times Square photo booth. Of all Warhol's self portraits, this one is the least performative in nature, featuring a double-image of Andy Warhol as he might appear on a driver's license. This work was originally in the collection of legendary Pop collector Robert C. Scull. Big Electric Chair, 1967 (estimate: $3,000,000-4,000,000), is from the artist's acclaimed Death and Disaster series. The work confronts viewers with an electric chair that is illustrated almost at half size, and while the fuchsia color hints at the decorative, the chair is packed with force and menace.
Additional notable works by Warhol include Camouflage Last Supper, 1986 (estimate: $1,500,000-2,000,000), a work rife with political overtones, in which the artist overlays Leonardo da Vinci's universally recognized masterpiece with candy-store pink and red camouflage. Campbell's Soup Can (Pepper Pot), 1961 (estimate: $1,000,000-1,500,000), is one of the first of Warhol's iconic soup cans. It was given to Andy's brother, Paul, on the occasion of the birth of his son, Marty, and it has since resided in the Paul Warhola family. Campbell's Soup Can (Tomato), 1965 (estimate: $1,500,000-2,000,000) is part of the series of "soup can" paintings that Warhol executed in 1965 in the cosmetic "fauve" colors he was simultaneously using in his "flower" paintings.
David Hockney's Portrait of Nick Wilder, 1966 (estimate: $2,500,000-3,500,000), is one of the artist's first California pool pictures, the series that established his international reputation, and also one of the first major portraits that he produced since developing his mature style. The stylized painting resembles a painted Polaroid that generates a sense of cozy artifice and warm synthetic lifestyle that Hockney found so appealing about California. Ed Ruscha's Desire, 1969 (estimate: $1,000,000-1,500,000), is one of the artist's liquid word paintings in which the word "desire" appears to have been finger-written in a champagne-like liquid punctuated with caviar against the infinite expanse of California sunset orange.
Sculpture highlights include Untitled, 1990 (estimate: $1,000,000-1,500,000), a unique and important work within Robert Gober's oeuvre, featuring a startlingly realistic truncated male torso, complete with human hair, molded into the shape of a bag. Alexander Calder's Le Trois Barres, 1961 (estimate: $1,500,000-2,000,000), is a monumental mobile that is similar in structure and style to .125, a mobile created for the International Arrivals terminal at Kennedy Airport in New York.
Additional highlights include Takashi Murakami's enormous three-panel painting When the Double-Helix is Aroused I Hear a Familiar Voice, 1999 (estimate: $150,000-200,000), the first work by the acclaimed Japanese artist to appear in a major evening sale. A special offering of Bruce Nauman works ranges from classic neon works such as Run From Fear/Fun From Rear, 1972 (estimate: $400,000-600,000), to more recent works such as Untitled (Hand Circle), 1996 (estimate: $250,000-350,00), a chandelier composed of disjointed linking arms.
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale, November 14
The morning session of the day sale will feature an important painting by Richard Pousette-Dart, Number 1, 1951 (estimate: $200,000-300,000), executed during a breakthrough period for the artist. Willem de Kooning's L'Orage, 1963 (estimate: $120,000-180,000), is one of the artist's famed landscapes whose title suggests the raucous conflation of natural landscape and the female form. Pop Art highlights include Robert Indiana's Love Wall: Black, Red and Yellow, 1968 (estimate: $150,000-200,000), one of the artist's signature LOVE paintings, and Ed Ruscha's Blank, 1963 (estimate: $70,000-90,000).
The afternoon session will be highlighted by a special grouping of Robert Gober drawings, displaying his exploration of everyday objects. The drawings, with estimates ranging from $15,000 to $50,000, include several preparations for his sink and playpen sculptures. The sale also offers a selection of Bruce Nauman studies that document the evolution of many of the artist's acclaimed sculptures including Study for Animal Pyramid, 1989 (estimate: $60,000-80,000), and Studies for Holograms, 1970 (estimate: $15,000-20,000). Further highlights include Donald Judd's Desk and Chairs, 1988 (estimate: $80,000-120,000), a signed prototype for the chair and desk sets that were produced in various woods.
Auction:
Post-War and Contemporary Art evening sale November 13 at 7 p.m.
Post-War and Contemporary Art day sale Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. & 2 p.m.
Viewing:
Christie's Galleries, 20 Rockefeller Plaza November 9-13
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Images available on request
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