The Paris leg of ONE: A global sale of the 20th century at Christie’s on July 10 will be highlighted by an important rediscovery by Pierre Soulages. Estimated at €2-3 million the painting, executed in 1950, has been in the same private Australian collection since being first acquired in 1953 by the present owner’s father from the Galerie Louis Carré & Cie Paris, when it was included in a major exhibition that toured to Australia. It has been unseen in public since. Soulages celebrated his 100th birthday last December.
While in some ways the June sales at Sotheby’s in New York mark the return to business as usual they have been completely re–imagined. Significant offerings of high value material will be brought to the market in flagship live sales conducted remotely by Oliver Barker in London. The New York Impressionist & Modern and Contemporary evening sales will be live-streamed to the world. Bidders will be able to take part either via the phones or online in the usual way. This truly global experience will usher in a new era of marquee auctions that marry the best of the established live auction format with the latest technology, and the modifications for safety that current circumstances require.
IF by Sean Scully at the Contemporary Art evening auctions ($700,000-900,000). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $1,280,000
The first major David Hockney at auction in Asia, 30 Sunflowers from 1996, comes up at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Contemporary Art evening sale on July 9. Bearing strong reminiscence to Vincent van Gogh’s iconic Sunflowers this is an update of the classic still life for contemporary times. Executed in 1996, on the brink of Hockney’s sixtieth year, 30 Sunflowers marks the epitome of the artist’s return to figurative painting after a decade primarily immersed in photography. Led by important masterpieces by Hockney and Liu Ye, the evening sale showcases an international line-up of works by blue-chip Western artists alongside the most prominent Asian names, including Clyfford Still, Albert Oehlen, Kazuo Shiraga, Yayoi Kusama and Yoshitomo Nara.
DAVID HOCKNEY, 30 SUNFLOWERS, 1996. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR US$14.8 MILLION
AN online sale of works on paper and prints at Christe’s until July 1 showcases the breadth of artistic styles of modern masters from the 1890s to the 1990s. More than 100 lots from intimate drawings to suites of artist prints, prices in Modern Edition range from £800 to £150,000 providing price points for collectors of all stages.
Here is a video from about Clyfford Still’s PH144 (1947-Y-No.1) which comes up at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art evening auction on June 29 in New York. The monumental work, with its forceful combination of deep black, bright yellow and crimson red, was selected by the artist for inclusion in his seminal 1959 exhibition. It leads a group from the collection of Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson in the sale and is estimated at $25-35 million. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $28.7 million
Wayne Thiebaud’s Four Pinball Machines, 1962 will come up as a central highlight at Christie’s ONE: A global sale of the 20th century, on July 10. With an estimate of $18-25 million it is expected to more than double the artist’s world auction record currently held by Encased Cakes, 2011, which made $8.5 million in November 2019.
Alex Rotter, Chairman of Post-War and Contemporary Art, Christie’s, remarked: “It is always a privilege to have the opportunity to present a painting that is categorically recognized as one of the best works that an artist has ever created, but in this case it is particularly exciting given its prominence within the canon of Pop art. This is precisely the case with Thiebaud’s Four Pinball Machines, 1962. In his centennial year, Thiebaud is among the most loved and revered artists of the 20th century, both for his extraordinary artistic talent and vision, but also for the delight that his paintings instill into anyone who stands before them. Four Pinball Machines is a painting that combines all of the qualities that people treasure about Thiebaud’s work: an iconic subject imbued with American nostalgia, the joyful palette and the masterly quality of the expressionistic brushstrokes. This work is the most important example by the artist in private hands“
Wayne Thiebaud – Four Pinball Machines, 1962. UPDATE: THIS MADE $19,135,000
More than 270 lots will come under the hammer at Hegarty’s online sale in Bandon on June 14. Antique furniture, jewellery, garden pieces, rugs and collectibles including old Irish glass will come under the hammer. There are three online platforms for this auction, Easy Live Auctions, The Saleroom and Invaluable.
A pair of Gainsborough armchairs (1,250-1,500). UPDATE: THESE MADE 1,200 AT HAMMER
Torse by Jean Arp was the the top lot at Christie’s Paris Hommage a Jean Arp, Collection Greta Stroeh online sale which has just finished. It made €394,000 at an auction where 75% of lots sold above estimate anbd 32% of registered buyers were new. The sale total was €1,176,625 in an auction which was 100% sold by lot and by value.
Dublin born Bantry based sculptor Jeanne Rynhart has died aged 74. Her work includes the statues of Annie Moore at Cobh, Co. Cork and at Ellis Island, New York and the Molly Malone statue at Suffolk St. in Dublin. She graduated from the National College of Art and Design in 1969.
Jeanne Rynhart – Molly Malone at Suffolk St. in Dublin.
