de Kooning (1904-1997) – The Big Apple, New York.
The Big Apple, New York by de Kooning sold for 75,000 euro at the Morgan O’Driscoll online art sale this evening. It was bought by an Irish bidder acting on behalf of a client. The seller was also Irish. The painting had been in a private collection in Co. Wexford. It attracted around 127 bids and at one stage during the protracted sale there were bidders from 15 countries online. The underbidder was Norwegian. Rotterdam born de Kooning was an Abstract Expressionist who was part of the New York School which includes Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell and Clyfford Still. There was a large scale retrospective of his work at MoMA in 2011-2012.
This is by a mile the most expensive work sold by Morgan O’Driscoll, who has been running online auctions of Irish art on a regular basis for several years. Skibbereen based Mr. O’Driscoll also holds regular sales in Dublin and Cork. Signed on the lower right The Big Apple, New York is an oil on canvas measuring thirsty seven inches by 24 inches.