THE STAGE IS SET TO MAKE HISTORY

On November 12th, Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale promises to be a landmark occasion for the art market when Christie’s will offer Jeff Koons’s Balloon Dog (Orange), one of the most recognizable images in today’s canon of art history. This monumental work, with its flawless reflective surface and glorious color, is the most beloved of all contemporary sculptures. Its spectacular form has been celebrated around the world, having graced the rooftop of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Venice’s Grand Canal, and Versailles Palace outside Paris. It has become an icon of Popular vernacular, adored by the public and collectors for its unabashed celebration of childhood, hope and innocence.

Creating the illusion of weightlessness with reflective stainless steel of gigantic proportions, the work is considered the supreme example from Koon’s highly desired and acclaimed Celebration Series, begun in the early 1990s. The series evolved from Koons's desire to recreate the ecstatic experiences of a child's enjoyment of the world with universal signifiers.

Balloon Dog (Orange) was one of the first of the Balloon Dogs to be fabricated, and was acquired by Greenwich collector Peter Brant in the late 1990s. As well as owning the foremost collection of works by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat in private hands, Brant’s focus as a pioneering collector and passion for artists such as Jeff Koons, Christopher Wool, Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman, Julian Schnabel, John Currin and Elizabeth Peyton has had a major impact on their markets and amongst collectors inspired by his vision. Balloon Dog (Orange) is part of the Brant Collection and proceeds from the sale will be used to help fund future activities of The Brant Foundation Art Study Center in Greenwich, CT.