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PIVOTAL MOMENTS IN
POST-WAR & CONTEMPORARY ART
MASTERPIECES BY BASQUIAT AND DOIG LEAD
CHRISTIE'S LONDON EVENING AUCTION OF
POST-WAR & CONTEMPORARY ART ON 25 JUNE London - On 25 June Christie’s London evening auction of Post-War & Contemporary Art will featur
masterpieces by Jean-Michel Basquiat (Untitled , 1982, estimate on request; illustrated above) and Peter Doi
whose works have recently fetched world records at Christie’s, as well as iconic works by international Post-Wamasters, including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Yves Klein and Nicolas de Staël. Many works have emerge
from important private collections, including Warhol’s rare Colored Campell’s Soup Can from 1965, formerly
the collection of legendary gallerist and collector Ileana Sonnabend.
Francis Outred, Christie's Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Europe: ‘Following the huge success of th
New York auctions in May when Christies achieved the highest total for any auction in history, the London sale
follow with a rich choice of material, presenting a fabulous opportunity to see pivotal paintings from the 1950s t
today. Beyond the top lots – masterpieces by Basquiat and Doig – we have Pop paintings from key moments i
the careers of Lichtenstein and Warhol, as well as rare conceptual and minimalist works by Blinky Palermo an
Brice Marden. From Europe, two important works by de Staël, hidden for years, show how he changed painting i
the 1950s.’
P R E S S R E L E A S E | L O N D O N
F O R I M M E D I A T E R E L E A S E | 6 J u n e 2 0 1 3
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Leading Christie’s evening sale is an epic large-scale double portrait by Jean-Michel Basquiat from 1982, a pivot
year in the artist’s career (illustrated on page 1; estimate on request). Untitled forms part of the series o
important double portraits, including Untitled (Two Heads on Gold) and Dustheads (which fetched a record pric
of $48.8m when it sold at Christie’s New York in May). The full-length double portraits of 1982 marked Basquiat
coming of age in the art world. In 1982 he was 21, he had just met his idol, Andy Warhol, and the success of hi
gallery show at Annina Nosei that March gave him a new-found freedom, enabling him to earn a living from h
paintings. The cartoonish figures in this work evoke the joyous spirit of this heady time when he had just broke
through to art world super-star status. Towering above the viewer, this painting is striking for its monument
scale, the decisiveness of Basquiat’s line and the sheer brilliance of his signature colour palette of vibrant red
electric blue, and blaring yellow.
Boldly articulated in Basquiat’s confident scrawl, Untitled is a defiant assertion of artistic and individua
independence, expressing a confidence to match his new-found fame. Its two figures, with their rhythm
movements and screaming features evoke the chaotic energy of the New York underground scene in which th
artist was immersed. Basquiat painted impulsively, pouring out his creativity in a cathartic stream of pent-u
emotion. Working quickly in oil stick and acrylic, he combined drawing and painting in a graffiti-like style t
create a fresh medium he called ‘extra large’. Untitled exemplifies this explosive, ‘extra large’ sensibility, with
raw and spontaneous painterly energy that echoes the urban hubbub of 1980s New York and hints at th
inspiration Basquiat found in and around his downtown studio.
Francis Outred, Christie's Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Europe: ‘Following the doubling of the worlrecord for Basquiat in New York at $48.8m for ‘ Dustheads’ from 1982, Christie’s is thrilled to be offering anothe
magnificent even larger scale double portrait from the same year. Featuring the same iconic double portra
motif, Untitled (1982) is a more raw and direct explosion of mark making in primary colours. Speaking of th
influence of Picasso, Twombly, Dubuffet, the street and tribal art, not to mention the artist’s own response to hi
new- found fame and freedom, this painting pulsates with Basquiat’s creative energy .’
Another star work in the sale is a masterpiece by Peter Doig, Jetty (1994), which dates from a pivotal moment i
the artist's career and has remained in the same prestigious collection since the year of its creation (illustrate
above; estimate: £4,000,000-6,000,000). Executed on a monumental scale, Jetty creates an idealised vision of
landscape, vast and all encompassing, the lake at its heart suffused with the blazing colours of an Indian summe
sunset. Taking a scenic postcard as his point of departure, Jetty is a nostalgia-tinged rendering of Alberta
Cameron Lake in Western Canada.
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Although this is a figurative image, the composition veers into abstraction, with its fire-fly flecks of colour an
skeins of paint weaving across the surface, taking the image in and out of focus and creating a painterl
meditation on the way we see and remember. As the artist has said, ‘I never really try to create real spaces – on
painted spaces. That’s all I am interested in. That may be why there is never really any speci fic time or place in m
paintings.’
Francis Outred, Christie's Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Europe: ‘Peter Doig's 'Jetty' was painted i
1994 - a key moment in his career and has been in the same private collection ever since. It has only been seen i
Britain once before at Doig’s Tate retrospective in 2008. With its romantic vision of a lone figure on a jett
watching a canoe drifting in the midst of a vast, pointillist lake at twilight, this atmospheric work hovers on th
edge of abstraction and exemplifies Doig's painterly vision. Last February a Doig painting from 1991 made
record price of £7.6m at Christie’s London and we’re truly excited to be offering another rare Doig masterpiece. ’
Jetty was painted in 1994, the same year the artist was nominated for the Turner Prize and won the first prize i
the Prix Eliette von Karajan. Works from this year are now widely considered among the best of his career, wit
Jetty standing out as a formative work in his artistic practice. This painting was personally selected by Doi
alongside Pine House (Rooms for Rent) to feature as centrepieces of his first solo exhibition at the New Yor
gallery, Gavin Brown's enterprise in 1994, with the artist driving it himself from Ontario to Manhattan to ensur
its inclusion. The present owner bought the work from that 1994 show. Several works from this important yea
are housed within international museum collections including Ski Jacket , 1994, Tate Modern, London, BoileHouse, 1994, promised to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Corn Cob, 1994, Los Angeles Count
Museum of Art. Doig’s practice is one of displacement. He lived in Canada from 1966-1979 and 1986-1989, but
was not until he had moved to London to attend the Chelsea School of Art that he began revisiting and relivin
the landscapes of his youth. Based on an image found in a postcard, this painting, along with others that he ha
created throughout his peripatetic life, is the result of a desire to depict and represent in paint his memories
feelings and experiences. Also featured in the Christie's London evening auction of Post-War & Contemporary A
is another visionary painting by Peter Doig entitled White Out . Offered from the famed Collection of Marce
Brient, it was created in 1992 and will be presented with an estimate of £700,000-1,000,000. In addition, th
evening auction will include a work on paper by Doig, Canoe Lake created in 1999 with an estimate of £80,000
120,000 that is another example of Doig’s celebrated imagery of canoes.
POST-WAR CLASSICS
BY WARHOL, LICHTENSTEIN, KLEIN AND DE STAËL An outstanding example from Andy Warhol’s celebrated series of Colore
Campbell ’ s Soup Cans, the present work is one of four from the series remaine
in the renowned Sonnabend Collection until Ileana Sonnabend’s death in 200
(estimate: £2,250,000-3,250,000; illustrated right ). An icon of 1960s America
culture, Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Can, first conceived in 1962, dramatical
changed the landscape of Post-War art. Sonnabend, an influential New Yorgallerist of the period, acquired her Colored Campbell’s Soup Can from the a
dealer Leo Castelli, her friend and former husband. Sonnabend was a pivota
figure in the careers and fortunes of numerous great American artists, becomin
an early patron of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns as well as Warho
whose paintings she proudly owned and mounted on her walls at her New Yor
and Venice homes, as well as exhibited in her gallery. Other examples of Colore
Campbell's Soup Cans are now in major museums and private collections acros
the world including: the Menil Collection, Houston, Staatliche Museum Berlin
Sammlung Marx, Berlin, and the Milwaukee Art Museum.
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With its graphic intensity and striking array of hand-stencilled indigo blue Benday dots, Cup of Coffee (estimat
£1,500,000-2,000,000; illustrated right ) is one of the earliest examples of Roy Lichtenstein’s Pop imagery.
Executed in 1961, this work is a crucial marker of the advent of Pop Art in America and
forms part of a series of single object paintings that represented quintessential American
life and were sourced from mass-produced newsprint ads. This painting marks the first time
the artist used the Benday dots that have come to be seen as his trademark. With the
artist’s pencil-marks and corrections still visible, it is rare and remarkable for its raw, hand-
crafted quality.
Drenched in the artist’s signature International Klein Blue, YvesKlein’s SE 181 (estimate: £1,400,000-1,800,000; illustrated left ),
with its elegant oceanic sponge form is one of only three,
extremely rare versions in the artist’s oeuvre in which the sponge and base ar
organically linked by Klein’s trademark blue, creating a tree-like form. This spong
sculpture embodies the essence of the artist’s celebrated Sculptures éponges that hav
recently made record prices at Christie’s (in June 2012, Klein’s sponge relief Le Rose d
bleu (RE 22), fetched a record £23.5m at Christie’s London). Made in 1960 at the heigh
of the artist’s career, when the artist picked up a paint-drenched sponge and decided t
turn it into a sculpture, this intricate, bulbous work has an otherworldly quality. Formin
part of the same collection since 1986, this is the first time SE 181 has been seen by thpublic for over 25 years.
Painted in 1954, Marseille (estimate: £1,000,000-1,500,000; illustrated right ) dates
from the pinnacle of Nicolas de Staël’s career when nature and landscape became his
preferred subjects through which to explore colour and form. Infused with the
brilliant light and vibrant colour of the South of France, Marseille is one of de Staël’s
Mediterranean paintings, which are among his most celebrated works. The painting
has a strong exhibition history, first shown the year of it was made at Galerie Jacques
Dubourg. It was subsequently first seen in London at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in
1956 and at the Venice Biennale in 1964. In 1966 Marseille was shown in America,
touring to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Art Institute of Chicago and theSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Marseille was last publicly seen in the
United Kingdom at Nicolas de Staël , Tate Gallery, London in 1981. Also featured in this
section of the sale is an important still life painted by Nicolas de Staël in 1953, entitled
Fleurs blanches et rouges dans un vase gris (estimate: £600,000-900,000).
POST-WAR & CONTEMPORARY ART EVENING AUCTIONChristie’s - 8 King Street, St James’s - London SW1Y 6QTTuesday 25 June 2013 at 7pm
Viewings:Christie’s - 8 King Street, St James’s - London SW1Y 6QTFriday 21 June 9am – 7pm
Saturday 22 June 11am – 5pm
Sunday 23 June 12noon – 5pm
Monday 24 June 9am – 6pm
Tuesday 25 June 9am – 4pm
PRESS CONTACT: Cristiano De Lorenzo | +44 207 389 2283 | [email protected]
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About Christie’s
Christie’s, the world's leading art business, had global auction and private sales in 2012 that totalled £3.92 billion/$6.2
billion. Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service and expertise, as well a
international glamour. Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's has since conducted the greatest and most celebrate
auctions through the centuries providing a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful. Christie’s offers over 45
auctions annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewellery, photographs, collectiblewine, and more. Prices range from $200 to over $100 million. Christie's also has a long and successful history conductin
private sales for its clients in all categories, with emphasis on Post-War and Contemporary, Impressionist and Modern, O
Masters and Jewellery. Private sales totaled £631.3 million/$1 billion in 2012, an increase of 26% on the same period las
year.
Christie’s has a global presence with 53 offices in 32 countries and 10 salerooms around the world including in Londo
New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai, Zürich, and Hong Kong. More recently, Christie’s has led in growt
markets such as Russia, China, India and the Middle East, with successful sales, exhibitions and initiatives in Moscow, Bak
Beijing, Mumbai, Delhi, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai.
*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium. Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and do not reflect cost
financing fees or application of buyer’s or seller’s credits.
Images available on request
Complete catalogue available online at www.christies.com or via the Christie’s iPhone app