Bacon, Warhol, Koons highlight art auctions in New York

Francis Bacon
Three Studies for a Portrait of John Edwards (1984)
Estimate in the region of $80 million at Christie’s

Jean-Michel Basquiat
Untitled (1981)
Estimate at $20-30 million at Christie’s

Jeff Koons
Popeye (2009)
Estimate in the region of $25 million at Sotheby’s

Bacon, Warhol, Koons highlight art auctions in New York Christie’s and Sotheby’s presented their highlights for the contemporary art auctions in New York, May 2014. Bacon’s ‘Three Studies for a Portrait of John Edwards’ could fetch $80 million. Works by Warhol, Koons, Newman and Rothko are also expected to shine.]]>

April 20, 2014, source: Christie’s / Sotheby’s

Bacon to shine at Christie’s… again

“Three Studies for a Portrait of John Edwards” by Francis Bacon is one of the last triptychs Bacon completed, and -according to Christie’s- “a celebration of what was probably the most important and significant relationship of Francis Bacon’s life“. The triptych could confirm Bacon as the king of the art-market: Expected to sell in the region of $80 million, it follows the successes of “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” (which fetched a record $142,4 million at Christie’s last November) and “Portrait of George Dyer Talking”, which Christie’s sold for $70 million five months ago. Another work by Bacon, “Figure Turning” from 1962, is expected to sell for $20-30 million.

The Bacon is one of the five lots carrying the “Estimate on request” label: guess the other four? Get ready for a list of familiar names: Andy Warhol‘s “Race Riot” (1964) is expected to fetch a very high price, especially considering that another “violent” Warhol (“Silver Car Crash”) realized $105 million six months ago. “Jim Beam – J.B. Turner Train” by Jeff Koons is described by Christie’s as “a silvery seam of industrial nostalgia”. Mark Rothko‘s “Untitled” is a monumental work painted in 1952. Finally, Barnett Newman‘s “Black Fire I” is one of the only three black pigment paintings created by Newman between 1958 and 1966 that remains in private hands.

Jean-Michel Basquiat‘s “Untitled” was created in the seminal year of 1981 and carefully preserved in the same private collection since it was acquired to Annina Nosei in 1982. The work is expected to sell between $20-30 million, the same estimation carried by Christopher Wool‘s “If You” from 1992. “Abstraktes Bild”, a very beautiful abstraction by Gerhard Richter, is expected to sell for $22-28 million (it was sold for $17,4 million at Sotheby’s in November 2012).

Muscular pop icons at Sotheby’s

“Popeye” is described by Sotheby’s as “Jeff Koons’s most accomplished and major work of recent years“. Completed in 2009, the work carries an estimate in the region of $25 million. Six months ago, another monumental pop icon by Koons -“Balloon Dog (Orange)”- was sold for $58,4 million, a world auction record for a work by a living artist.

“Six Self Portraits” by Andy Warhol are among the final and greatest works the artist ever created. Executed in 1986 – 20 years after the artist’s last great series of self-portraits and just months prior to his unexpected death – the group represents the definitive self-image of Warhol and his inimitable brand. The six self-portraits, offered as one lot, are expected to sell for $25-35 million. Another important Warhol, “Big Electric Chair” from 1967-68, is expected to sell for $18-25 million.

Gerhard Richter‘s spectacular “Blau” (1988) carries an estimate of $25-35 million. “Untitled”, a late abstraction by Willem de Kooning, is expected to fetch $18-25 million.

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Bacon’s portrait of George Dyer sells for $70 million (February 2014)
Record-breaking Bacon and Koons at Christie’s record-breaking sale (November 2013)