By Carter B. Horsley This evening auction of Contemporary Art at Sotheby's May 12, 2004 is highlighted by a great and large painting by Clyfford Still (1904-1980) and a major work by Maurizio Cattelan (b. 1960). The Still, Lot 20, "1960-F," is an oil on canvas that measures 112 by 145 ½ inches. Executed in 1960, it has a conservative estimate of $3,000,000 to $4,000,000. It was once in the collection of the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation in Houston. It sold for $3,144,000 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article. The price set a new world auction record for Still, which formerly had been $1,911,500.
It was an extremely successful auction with all 58 offered lots selling for a total of $65,670,400, just over the pre-sale high estimate of $64,790,000. Tobias Meyer, the auctioneer, termed it a "white glove" auction, adding that 22 lots sold for more than $1 million.
In addition to the Still record, 13 other records were set. (The evening before Christie's sold 90 percent of its lots and set 11 eleven records (see The City Review article). The catalogue provides the following commentary about the Still: "Still's artistic quest culminated in expansive masterpieces of monumental proportion, nuanced surface and colorful intensity such as 1960-F. Pollock opened the way with his death-of-easel painting that produced canvases halfway between the easel and the wall. By the late 1940s, Still, along with Newman and Rothko, also began to expand the size of their paintings but with a more simplified fusion of shape, color and form than other artists identified as Abstract Expressionists such as Willem de Kooning. Monumental in scale, the mature paintings of Still, Newman and Rothko became unfettered fields of color with a holistic imagery of form and line that aimed at momentous content and sublime beauty. 1960-F is a classic example of the wall-sized expanse that Still craved, which paralleled the expansion of aesthetic limits that he sought. The Sublime was to have a character of infinity limitless space that has the effect on the spectator's mind of being dominated by an immense object, such as the horizontal expanse of 1960-F. Still's preference, echoed especially by Rothko, was to exhibit his works together without the intervention of other painters' works, thus extending this concept to overwhelm the spectator in the round. For today's viewers, the experience of immense and enveloping art is no longer a novelty, so it is difficult to grasp the radical nature of Still's proportions. Still's legacy to younger artists from painters as disparate as Andy Warhol to sculptors such as Richard Serra to Olafur Eliasson's recent installation The Weather Project at the Tate Modern has almost inured us from the shock of the spectacle of scale. By eliminating figuration or narrative intent from his canvases, Still orchestrated his strokes and surfaces into the setting for his real subject matter, which is the drama of the interaction of painted forms. Still's stroke is definite and muscular, a painterly fracture that is applied with a scraping and cutting palette knife rather than laid down with a brush. His technique was a physical presence that intimates rocky slopes, jagged flames and other rugged natural forms, despite the artist's own insistence that art did not mimic nature, but was an extension of the artist himself. In 1960-F, Still's accumulated strokes of color typically build into crescendos that interweave and masses that overwhelm, in an organic formulation that fills the canvas and intimates a continuation beyond the picture plane."
In dramatic contrast to Still's ragged, infernal abstraction, Lot 12, "The Ballad of Trotsky," by Maurizio Cattelan is very definitely a specific, real thing a taxidermed, saddled horse hanging in air. Created in 1996, it has an estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. It sold for $2,080,000, shattering the artist's previous auction record of $886,000. The catalogue provides the following commentary: "The Ballad of Trotsky is perhaps Cattelan's most important work that employs taxidermed animals. One is instantly mesmerized by this large horse, harnessed and suspended in mid-air, isolated against the large and open empty space of the gallery. There is something frightening and sad about the horse, forever immobilized in the air, and yet elegant and awe-inspiring. At the same time (and in keeping with Cattelan's voice) the image is completely absurd. Cattelan takes the strength and power of a horse a beast of burden and transforms it into an image of impotence that reflects the tragi-comic predicament of the human condition. The title of the work is also telling: a monument to the paralysis of a universal utopia and the usurpation of romantic idealism by the darker side of human nature. This work is a lament for the death of Trotsky and, more importantly, the failure of the potential of his ideal and the imperfection of our lives....in 1997, Cattelan would refine The Ballad of Trotsky when he made Novocento. A similar horse is also suspended in mid-air, except now its legs are exaggerated, as if emphasizing the pull of gravity on the horse physically, but also symbolically. That horse is, literally, caught between two worlds. The present work powerfully displays what Cattelan has described as 'frozen energy.' Here, that speaks of a millenial existential plight. Despite the joviality of his prankster-like reputation, and the warm humor that is clearly evident in his works, Cattelan reveals himself here to be a serious `realist,' one who tackles the disillusionment of a generation." Titles, of course, do help provide insight into an artist's intentions but in and of themselves are not art. A taxidermed horse in and of itself is not art. Hanging it in mid-air iscurious. The horse, this specific horse, is very handsome, indeed noble, but its closed mouth and half-opened eyes disclose little emotion. The horse, perhaps, is puzzled but does not appear to be afraid of what it is about to be lowered into or lifted onto. It frankly seems apolitical. Unlike some other artists' interest in dissection, Cattelan's creation is sympathetic to the animal. Other auction highlights include a lovely work by Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993), an interesting and good work by Damien Hirst (b. 1965), an excellent sculpture by David Smith (1906-1965), good paintings by Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985), Cy Twombly (b. 1928) and Andy Warhol (1928-1987), two important paintings by Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), and fine sculptures by Sol Lewitt (b. 1928), Alexander Calder (1898-1976), Rachel Whiteread (b. 1963), and Duane Hanson (1925-1996).
Lot 25, "Untitled (Ocean Park)," is a luscious abstraction by Richard Diebenkorn (see The City Review article). An acrylic, gouache, oil, crayon and pencil and cut and pastel paper, it measures 38 by 25 inches. It was executed in 1987 and has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. The catalogue describes this lot as "one of Diebenkorn's most beautiful works on paper." It sold for $1,408,000, setting a new auction record for a work on paper by the artist. The previous record was $173,000.
Lot 40 is an intriguing work by Damien Hirst entitled "Still Pursuing Impossible Desires" that has a two-section steel-and-glass vitrine in which the artist places butterfly pupae that hatched and grew in one section and flew into the larger section that has a see-saw composed of a pink canvas and a blue canvas. "At the end of their lifecycles," the catalogue entry noted, "the butterflies would drop into one of the two canvases or to the floor. Despite the extremely ordered structure of the Minimal steel and glass vitrine in which they lived, the process by which they find their final resting place into any particular part of the sculpture was entirely random. Trapped in an urban environment, the butterflies beautiful yet 'pointless' and controlled existence provokes contemplation about the quality and purpose of life in general. Hirst's focus here is, again, on the cycle of creation and destruction, whether physical biological, intellectual or aesthetic. At once this installation is a bold, grandiose gesture that manages to maintain a suitably quiet voice in describing the transience of life, and the passage from innocence to experience. Still Pursuing Impossible Desires has its origin as in a series of Butterfly paintings which emerged from one of Hirst's most important early installations: In Love & Out of Love, exhibited at the Woodstock Street Gallery, London, between June and July, 1991. Two separate floors were transformed into a tropical rainforest simulation, filled with differently colored monochrome paintings. Pupae hatched in minimalist boxes and then flew around the room alighting on the various canvases." The lot, which measures 87 by 120 by 84 inches, has an estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. It sold for $624,000.
A different take on life is Duane Hanson's "Executive," Lot 60, a polyester resin and Fiberglass, polychromed in oil, mixed media, with accessories sculpture of Melvyn Kaufman, a partner in the William Kaufman Organization, a major developer of office buildings in New York City. When I first interview Mr. Kaufman in his office in the early 1970s when I was a real estate reporter for The New York Times this sculpture was in his office and he remained motionless in his chair when I entered. I eventually discovered the real "Mel" Kaufman, who first owned this work and was responsible for such intriguing and important New York office buildings as 747 Third Avenue, 77 Water Street, 127 John Street and 17 State Street among others, all among the most urbanistic in the city over the several decades. In describing the 1971 work, the catalogue maintains that it "embodies allof Hanson's most recognizable characteristics," adding that "With his dazed stare and his slouched posture, the viewer feels as if he is looking directly at not just one man, but a whole world of humanity." The real Mr. Kaufman is the most unforgettable and imaginative and concerned developer I ever met. The lot has an estimate of $220,000 to $280,000 and sold for $265,600.
Lot 21 is a fine untitled welded steel sculpture by David Smith. Executed in 1960, it measures 99 by 34 ½ by 8 ½ inches. The very graceful, totemic sculpture has an ambitious estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It sold for $3,032,000.
Lot 19, "Vache La Belle Muflée," is an excellent "cow" picture by Jean Dubuffet, one of 13 that he painted. An oil on canvas that measures 45 5/8 by 35 inches, it was executed in 1954 and has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It sold for $2,136,000. The catalogue entry for this lot offers a great quotation from Robert Hughes from Time Magazine July 26, 1993:
"The funniest and most agrestic of all his paintings were, undoubtedly the cows - a snook cocked at Picasso's heroic Spanish bulls. Kippered there on the canvas in their dense yet somehow airy paint, yearning, dumb and absurdly coquettish, they are among the most memorable animals in modern art. Several of them, like Vache La Belle Muflée, 1954 also contain some of the most inspired and wristy drawing of Dubuffet's career, formed by the brush - or its handle - dragging through the thick paint."
The auction has two major works by Roy Lichtenstein that have been recently on the auction block.
Lot 43, "Stretcher Frame with Vertical Bars," an oil and magna on canvas that measures 36 by 68 inches, was sold at Christie's, May 14, 2003 for $1,575,500 including the buyer's premium. Executed in 1968, it has an estimate this time of $1,500,000 to $2,000,000, the same it had in 2003. It sold for $1,352,000. "Stretcher Frame with Vertical Bars is one of twelve 'Stretcher' paintings that the artist began making in 1968," the catalogue entry for this lot noted, adding that "Deliberately engaging the viewer, Lichtenstein masterfully plays with the line between seriousness and wittiness in his own updated version of Trompe l'oeil....Lichtenstein has updated and 'Popified' the ancient technique of fooling the eye."
Lot 31, "Step-on Can with Leg," another Lichtenstein, was sold at Sotheby's November 12, 2002 for $4,840,500 including the buyer's premium. Its estimate this time is $4,000,000 to $5,000,000. It sold for $5,104,000. The oil on canvas is in two parts, each 31 7/8 by 26 inches. It was executed in 1961.
The catalogue provides the following commentary:
"Step-on Can with Leg is a painting that boldly announced the arrival of Roy Lichtenstein's new Pop style in 1961. A radical break with his previous work, this germinal example of Lichtenstein's new aesthetic embodies so many of the tenets of Pop Art, that it must be seen not only as a crucial example of the artist's revolutionary visual vocabulary, but of the movement of Pop Art itself."
The painting was the first Lichtenstein sold at the Castelli Gallery and was purchased by Guy Atkins, a London scholar, for $275. "His new aesthetic," the catalogue entry continued, "one which essentially purloined and then amplified...[advertising] printed images onto canvas in a manner that denied, as much as possible, any record of the artist, or his artistry, was extraordinary....Step-on Can with Leg is one of the very first paintings where Lichtenstein approximated the effect of newspaper printing by treating clearly demarcated areas as a thin film of rubbed color which would exaggerate the coarse grain of the canvas, appearing like pixilated dots. The effect, here clearly evident in the legs and floor of the work, refers to the properties of printed Benday dots. In the present work, these 'dots' are all achieved by hand. Later works would see the artist apply his paint through a screen perforated with a grid of identical holes, literrally removing his hand from the canvas and further distancing him from his own work, thereby exaggerating the sense of mechanical reproduction he so desred."
Lot 15 is a fined baked enamel on steel sculpture by Sol Lewitt. Entitled "Serial Project #1 ABCD 6," it measures 19 1/2 by 57 by 57 inches. Executed in 1968, it has a modest estimate of $120,000 to $180,000. It sold for $310,400 breaking the artist's former world auction record of $243,200.
Lot 18 is an excellent painted sheet metal and wire sculpture by Alexander Calder that is notable for its curved main yellow element. The 1942 work measures 41 1/2 by 46 by 15 inches has a modest estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $792,000.
Lot 11, "Low-pressure Zone," is a fine acrylic, oilstick and collage on canvas mounted on tied wood supports by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988). It mesaures 59 3/8 by 48 inches and was executed in 1982. It has an estimate of $1,200,000 to $1,800,000. It sold for $2,136,000.
Lot 30 is a nice oil on canvas by Gerhard Richter (b. 1932) entitled "Flasche Mit Apfeln (Bottle with Apple)." It measures 32 by 24 inches and was executed in 1988. It has an estimate of $1,200,000 to $1,800,000. It sold for $2,248,000.
Another work recently on the auction block is Lot 16, "Untitled (Bolsena)," by Cy Twombly. An oil-pased house paint, wax crayon and lead pencil on canvas that measures 79 by 94 3/4 inches, it was executed in 1969. It sold for $2,869,500, including the buyer's premium, at Phillips, de Pury and Luxembourg November 11, 2002 when it had an estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. This time is has an estimate of $2,200,000 to $2,800,000. It is an excellent Twombly. It sold for $2,920,000.
Lot 42 is an enormous black-and-white version of "The Last Supper" with a large blue Wise potato chip logo obstructing the view of Judas, Peter and John by Andy Warhol. An acrylic on canvas that measures 118 by 252 inches, it was executed in 1986. It has an estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It sold for $2,920,000.
Lot 3, "Flower Ball (3D)," is a hugh circular acrylic on canvas mounted on board by Takashi Murakami (b. 1962). The 98 1/2-inch diameter work was executed in 2002. It has an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $624,000, beating the artist's previous world auction record by $500. "Flower Ball (3D) is a stunning example of how skillfully Takashi Murakami, Japan's foremost contemporary artist, can merge his traditional Japanese training and background with contemporary culture. The brightly colored flowers smiling out at the viewer create a visual and cerebral amalgam of High (fine art) and Low (popular) art."
Lot 39 is a very handsome sculptural group by Rachel Whiteread. The colored resin pieces have different colors and were shaped by the spaces beneath chairs, a subject, the catalogue noted, that Bruce Nauman (b. 1941) had used in a 1965-8 concrete sculpture. This lot has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000 and would make a fine living room seating arrangement. It sold for $478,400, surpassing her previous world auction record of $365,500.
Lot 1, "The Sweet Smell of Excess," by Tim Noble (b. 1966) and Sue Webster (b. 1967), sold for $232,000, breaking their former world auction record of $218,500.
Lot 2, "Blue Sheep," by Yoshitomo Nara (b. 1960), sold for $198,400, breaking the artist's former world auction record of $130,700.
Lot 5, "The Optimist," by John Currin (b. 1962), sold for $433,600, breaking the world auction record of $427,500 for the artist who recently had a major show at theWhitney Museum of American Art.
Lot 7, "Untitled," by Jean-Michel Basquiat, sold for $568,000, breaking his world auction record for a work on paper of $458,271.
Lot 14, "Chatham XIII: Yellow Red (EK 464)," by Ellsworth Kelly (b. 1923), sold for $2,920,000, more than double his previous world auction record of $1,435,750.
Lot 22, "Corpse and Mirror," by Jasper Johns (b. 1930), sold for $3,144,000, breaking the artist's world auction record of $2,535,750 for a work on paper.
Lot 33, "Brighter Than The Sun," by James Rosenquist (1923-1997), sold for $456,000, slightly over his previous world auction record of $440,000 and Lot 41, "Air Hammer," also by Rosenquist, went higher and sold for $512,000.
Lot 34, "Sewing Machine," by Claes Oldenburg (b. 1929), sold for $1,464,000, more than doubling his previous world auction record of $691,500.
Lot 45, "34th Street, Manhattan, Looking East," by Richard Estes (b. 1936), sold for $568,000, just over his previous world auction record of $550,000.
Lot 47, "Love, Blue Red," by Robert Indiana (b. 1928), sold for $478,400, breaking his previous world auction record for a sculpture of $424,000.
Lot 58, "Untitled (People)," by Keith Haring (1958-1990), sold for $624,000, breaking his previous world auction record of $402,000.