1948
See also : Art on paper Abstract art II Giacometti Giacometti 1947-54 Still Pollock Rockwell Patek Philippe 1945-1980
1948 The Organic Abstraction of Jackson Pollock
2013 SOLD 58 M$ including premium
In 1946, Lee Krasner pushes Jackson Pollock to a secluded barn on Long Island. Thus freed from the bustle of the big city, Pollock has the luck to live his artistic Passion, in the strongest meaning of the word 'passion'.
He did not consider himself as an abstract artist. In the first months after his arrival in Long Island, he developed two series of paintings titled 'Sounds in the grass' and 'Accabonac Creek', reflecting his desire to commune with the earth for expressing its richness.
He then invented his own style so well known today but then so different from anything that existed before him. The surface to be painted is placed on the ground and not on an easel. He leaves his brushes to directly throw the liquid paint. There is no horizon and no framing even when the work is small, and there is also no longer a figuration.
The lines of pure colors of various widths form infinite and meticulous tangles. Sometimes, the start of the work is figurative before being hidden, but it is not the most important. The regularity of the final mesh is spectacular without being total, so that certain areas are breathing or vibrating such as an organic matter. Only Richter's rake will be able to generate similar effects.
On May 15 in New York, Christie's sells Number 19, 1948. This oil and enamel on paper mounted on canvas is small, 78 x 57 cm, but the fineness of the line is prodigious. Such a technical and artistic achievement deserves an estimate of $ 25M.
I invite you to watch the exciting video shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Despite its small size, Number 19-1948 is a masterpiece of Pollock by the extreme care of its realization. This painting was sold $ 58M including premium.
He did not consider himself as an abstract artist. In the first months after his arrival in Long Island, he developed two series of paintings titled 'Sounds in the grass' and 'Accabonac Creek', reflecting his desire to commune with the earth for expressing its richness.
He then invented his own style so well known today but then so different from anything that existed before him. The surface to be painted is placed on the ground and not on an easel. He leaves his brushes to directly throw the liquid paint. There is no horizon and no framing even when the work is small, and there is also no longer a figuration.
The lines of pure colors of various widths form infinite and meticulous tangles. Sometimes, the start of the work is figurative before being hidden, but it is not the most important. The regularity of the final mesh is spectacular without being total, so that certain areas are breathing or vibrating such as an organic matter. Only Richter's rake will be able to generate similar effects.
On May 15 in New York, Christie's sells Number 19, 1948. This oil and enamel on paper mounted on canvas is small, 78 x 57 cm, but the fineness of the line is prodigious. Such a technical and artistic achievement deserves an estimate of $ 25M.
I invite you to watch the exciting video shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Despite its small size, Number 19-1948 is a masterpiece of Pollock by the extreme care of its realization. This painting was sold $ 58M including premium.
1948 PH-125 by Clyfford Still
2021 SOLD for $ 31M by Sotheby's
PH-125, also titled 1948-No.1, oil on canvas 187 x 173 cm by Still, was sold for $ 31M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2021, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Its unlimited massive form is made of a richly saturated texture in various deep hues from gold to amber with a yellow jagged interstice. In the opposite of many other works by Still, it looks static and swelling except for its overlap by a deep red form on its right side.
A color photo in the catalogue shows it on the wall of a 1990 exhibition beside the fully static and larger opus PH-91, 240 x 200 cm, painted in the same year with the same pigments. Both appear like a demonstration of the artist's capability to offer an unprecedented mingle of rare colors, anticipating and possibly inspiring Rothko's rectangular forms.
It is one of the early works which were included in the 1969 selling exhibition at the Marlborough gallery in New York.
Its unlimited massive form is made of a richly saturated texture in various deep hues from gold to amber with a yellow jagged interstice. In the opposite of many other works by Still, it looks static and swelling except for its overlap by a deep red form on its right side.
A color photo in the catalogue shows it on the wall of a 1990 exhibition beside the fully static and larger opus PH-91, 240 x 200 cm, painted in the same year with the same pigments. Both appear like a demonstration of the artist's capability to offer an unprecedented mingle of rare colors, anticipating and possibly inspiring Rothko's rectangular forms.
It is one of the early works which were included in the 1969 selling exhibition at the Marlborough gallery in New York.
1948 The Inner Path of Clyfford Still
2016 SOLD for $ 28M including premium
Born in North Dakota far away from the cities, Clyfford Still is deeply original in his art. Along with Matta he is one of the earliest abstract painters to remove any geometric language and all false references to figurative themes or hermetic signs.
In front of the canvas, Still expresses his inner world beyond the influence of time. His thick paint is thoroughly reworked like a sculpture including extra thickness and scars until the color balance and the texture match the feeling that the artist wishes to express.
Like Mondrian, Still refuses that the vision is limited by the frame : he will influence Pollock. Like no one before him in abstract art, Still removes the line to provide to the viewer an almost organic vision of the transitions between colors : Monet was on that trend at the end of his career, and Still will influence Rothko. Like Malevich, Still considers that the artwork must be self-sufficient.
Clyfford Still is decidedly a man of the West. In his period of greatest creativity, from 1946 to 1950, he taught art in San Francisco. His return to New York will cause lasting quarrels with the art market and with the other artists. This pioneer who had everything to become the top abstract artist of his time isolated himself and refused the exhibitions.
He was reluctant to sell his art. At his death 2400 works were bequeathed to his family with the formal instructions to only entrust them to a place that will accept to devote an exclusive museum to him. The widow is quite logically looking for a solution in the West. Denver brilliantly accepts this challenge.
Before the opening of the Clyfford Still Museum, four paintings are released to the art market, creating an intense interest due to the extreme rarity of the masterpieces of this artist at auction. Sotheby's sells them on November 9, 2011. 1947-Y-No.2, 177 x 150 cm, fetches $ 31,5M including premium and 1949-A-No.1, 236 x 200 cm, $ 61,7M including premium.
On May 10 in New York, Christie's sells PH-234, oil on canvas 175 x 151 cm painted in 1948, estimated $ 25M, lot 28B.
In front of the canvas, Still expresses his inner world beyond the influence of time. His thick paint is thoroughly reworked like a sculpture including extra thickness and scars until the color balance and the texture match the feeling that the artist wishes to express.
Like Mondrian, Still refuses that the vision is limited by the frame : he will influence Pollock. Like no one before him in abstract art, Still removes the line to provide to the viewer an almost organic vision of the transitions between colors : Monet was on that trend at the end of his career, and Still will influence Rothko. Like Malevich, Still considers that the artwork must be self-sufficient.
Clyfford Still is decidedly a man of the West. In his period of greatest creativity, from 1946 to 1950, he taught art in San Francisco. His return to New York will cause lasting quarrels with the art market and with the other artists. This pioneer who had everything to become the top abstract artist of his time isolated himself and refused the exhibitions.
He was reluctant to sell his art. At his death 2400 works were bequeathed to his family with the formal instructions to only entrust them to a place that will accept to devote an exclusive museum to him. The widow is quite logically looking for a solution in the West. Denver brilliantly accepts this challenge.
Before the opening of the Clyfford Still Museum, four paintings are released to the art market, creating an intense interest due to the extreme rarity of the masterpieces of this artist at auction. Sotheby's sells them on November 9, 2011. 1947-Y-No.2, 177 x 150 cm, fetches $ 31,5M including premium and 1949-A-No.1, 236 x 200 cm, $ 61,7M including premium.
On May 10 in New York, Christie's sells PH-234, oil on canvas 175 x 151 cm painted in 1948, estimated $ 25M, lot 28B.
1948 La Main by Giacometti
2010 SOLD for $ 26M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2014 before the auction of another copy by Christie's (see below)
In 1946, Alberto Giacometti is not satisfied with his own art. His plaster figurines are expressive but too small. Haunted by the conjunction of death memories and of nightmares, he abandons the realistic figure of the body for a new wire-drawn disproportion.
1947 is his great year of creativity, including L'homme qui marche (walking man) who was to remain his most powerful work, the masterpiece of the derision of man in his loneliness.
The flesh is a mystery that has no meaning after death. All organs may contribute to the expression. The mouth in his Head on rod is wide open in the agony. The sculpture entitled La Main is actually a hand with long opened fingers at the end of a complete folded arm also mounted on a rod.
A hand does not require the rest of the body for expressing a passion. This asexual hand holds nothing. Fingers crave but the wide opening of the elbow is a gesture of hope.
Pierre Matisse appreciates that Alberto has become one of the most important artists of his time. With the financial participation of Matisse, Giacometti can commission bronzes of his new works to the best foundry in Paris, the Alexis Rudier workshop.
The serial number 1 of the first edition cast by Rudier in 1947 was part of the seminal exhibition of the new art of Giacometti opened by Matisse in New York on January 19, 1948. This bronze with brown patina 57 x 72 x 3.5 cm passed at Christie's on June 24, 2014, from a lower estimate of £ 10M.
A bronze of La Main in the same dimension with brown and green patina cast by Rudier in March 1948 was sold for $ 26M including premium by Christie's on May 4, 2010, lot 30, from a lower estimate of $ 10M.
1947 is his great year of creativity, including L'homme qui marche (walking man) who was to remain his most powerful work, the masterpiece of the derision of man in his loneliness.
The flesh is a mystery that has no meaning after death. All organs may contribute to the expression. The mouth in his Head on rod is wide open in the agony. The sculpture entitled La Main is actually a hand with long opened fingers at the end of a complete folded arm also mounted on a rod.
A hand does not require the rest of the body for expressing a passion. This asexual hand holds nothing. Fingers crave but the wide opening of the elbow is a gesture of hope.
Pierre Matisse appreciates that Alberto has become one of the most important artists of his time. With the financial participation of Matisse, Giacometti can commission bronzes of his new works to the best foundry in Paris, the Alexis Rudier workshop.
The serial number 1 of the first edition cast by Rudier in 1947 was part of the seminal exhibition of the new art of Giacometti opened by Matisse in New York on January 19, 1948. This bronze with brown patina 57 x 72 x 3.5 cm passed at Christie's on June 24, 2014, from a lower estimate of £ 10M.
A bronze of La Main in the same dimension with brown and green patina cast by Rudier in March 1948 was sold for $ 26M including premium by Christie's on May 4, 2010, lot 30, from a lower estimate of $ 10M.
1948 And Alberto created Woman
2017 SOLD for £ 18M including premium
After the war Alberto Giacometti reinstalled himself in his Parisian studio which had been carefully maintained by Diego. His life is stabilized by his meeting with Annette. He wants to exhibit through his sculptures his own view about the human nature, close to Sartre's existentialism.
His threadlike characters are both fragile in their bodies and solid in their bronze. These humans are not identifiable but the original plaster tirelessly kneaded by the artist's hand brings them a tormented texture that resembles their creator.
Pierre Matisse is seduced but cannot wait. Alberto achieves in 1947 in a hurry which is not his usual practice his primordial trilogy dominated by the Man with the finger. The other two elements are the Walking man with his compass shaped legs prophesying the imbalance of the future, and his opposite the everlasting Standing woman.
Other figures will soon be created as well as groups and busts. The attitude of the frail and stoic woman will remain unchanged throughout Alberto's career as if this perfectionist artist had at first found how to express the timeless woman. With her strictly joined legs she is inspired from the Egyptian anthropomorphic coffins. Gilt or perched on a chariot to be worshiped, she is the mother goddess of Alberto's surrealist pantheon.
On June 21 in London, Sotheby's sells Grande Figure, a bronze 1.30m high in a patina of dark gold color. Cast as a unique copy by the Alexis Rudier company in Paris in 1948 from a plaster dated 1947, it is one of the earliest large size examples of Alberto's standing woman. It is estimated £ 15M, lot 57.
His threadlike characters are both fragile in their bodies and solid in their bronze. These humans are not identifiable but the original plaster tirelessly kneaded by the artist's hand brings them a tormented texture that resembles their creator.
Pierre Matisse is seduced but cannot wait. Alberto achieves in 1947 in a hurry which is not his usual practice his primordial trilogy dominated by the Man with the finger. The other two elements are the Walking man with his compass shaped legs prophesying the imbalance of the future, and his opposite the everlasting Standing woman.
Other figures will soon be created as well as groups and busts. The attitude of the frail and stoic woman will remain unchanged throughout Alberto's career as if this perfectionist artist had at first found how to express the timeless woman. With her strictly joined legs she is inspired from the Egyptian anthropomorphic coffins. Gilt or perched on a chariot to be worshiped, she is the mother goddess of Alberto's surrealist pantheon.
On June 21 in London, Sotheby's sells Grande Figure, a bronze 1.30m high in a patina of dark gold color. Cast as a unique copy by the Alexis Rudier company in Paris in 1948 from a plaster dated 1947, it is one of the earliest large size examples of Alberto's standing woman. It is estimated £ 15M, lot 57.
1948 Two Goddesses by Fu Baoshi
2020 SOLD for RMB 105M including premium by Poly
SOLD on December 4, 2020, lot 0639
1948 The Key was in the Forest
2011 SOLD 10.7 M£ including premium
Great artists are building their own universe. In 1948, Alberto Giacometti chose this wire-like style that will constitute his trademark and began the theme of the man who walks, or who is trying to walk.
Some are shown in groups. The Trois hommes qui marchent I (three walking men I) will soon be telescoped. Three walking men II are leaving from each other in a contradictory movement, for which a moment before is impossible. It is a powerful work, which reminds that the artist had been tempted by surrealism.
Also in 1948, la Place (the square) shows five characters further apart, expressing the loneliness of every man in the crowd.
This great creative impulse will be achieved through the exhibition of works at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in 1950. La Forêt (the forest) and La Clairière (the glade) provide a coherent meaning to the whole. They are designed like the square, but impersonal trees have superseded the men. The arms and legs are united with the body but the head is still outlined at the top of the tree. Not only each man is alone, but in addition he is nothing.
On June 22 in London, Sotheby's sells a copy of the Trois hommes qui marchent II cast by Alexis Rudier company as early as 1948. This bronze with a rich brown patina, 76 cm high, once belonged to Pierre Matisse. It is estimated £ 10M.
POST SALE COMMENT
I was hoping that this bronze would exceed its estimate, but it remained reasonable. It was sold £ 10.7 million including premium.
Some are shown in groups. The Trois hommes qui marchent I (three walking men I) will soon be telescoped. Three walking men II are leaving from each other in a contradictory movement, for which a moment before is impossible. It is a powerful work, which reminds that the artist had been tempted by surrealism.
Also in 1948, la Place (the square) shows five characters further apart, expressing the loneliness of every man in the crowd.
This great creative impulse will be achieved through the exhibition of works at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in 1950. La Forêt (the forest) and La Clairière (the glade) provide a coherent meaning to the whole. They are designed like the square, but impersonal trees have superseded the men. The arms and legs are united with the body but the head is still outlined at the top of the tree. Not only each man is alone, but in addition he is nothing.
On June 22 in London, Sotheby's sells a copy of the Trois hommes qui marchent II cast by Alexis Rudier company as early as 1948. This bronze with a rich brown patina, 76 cm high, once belonged to Pierre Matisse. It is estimated £ 10M.
POST SALE COMMENT
I was hoping that this bronze would exceed its estimate, but it remained reasonable. It was sold £ 10.7 million including premium.
1948 Five Characters in Search of an Artist
2014 SOLD 13 M$ including premium
After the war, Alberto Giacometti creates and operates his own universe through the sculpture. He establishes rules that he will remarkably respect in his later work : man is walking, woman is still.
Man is walking with energy but nobody knows why, not even the character. The energy of his step is useful, or not. He is fragile. The woman is waiting and passive. She however must have a role, like the tree in the forest.
All these people may live at the same place. This does not mean that they will communicate with each other. In 1948, Alberto expresses this paradox in his first sculpture with multiple figures, La Place I.
Four men and a woman play their comedy on a rectangular platform 62 cm long. They are small and scattered, giving an impression of great void. It is easy to recognize among them the most iconic silhouette of all Alberto's characters, L'Homme qui marche, of which a large size later bronze held during a few months the absolute record price of a work of art at auction.
One from six bronzes of La Place I cast by Alexis Rudier company in 1948 is estimated beyond $ 12M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 7. Despite its small size, the estimate seems low for such a seminal work in Alberto's art.
Other groups had quickly followed La Place I, as if Alberto was desperately trying to find a logical order of the humanity. La Place II pushed the same five characters close to one edge of the platform. With Les Trois hommes qui marchent, the lack of communication leads to collision. The trees from La Forêt and La Clairière have the same proportions as the standing women.
I invite you to play the video in which Sotheby's announces five Giacometti artworks listed in the next sale.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 13M including premium, is in line with the lower estimate.
Man is walking with energy but nobody knows why, not even the character. The energy of his step is useful, or not. He is fragile. The woman is waiting and passive. She however must have a role, like the tree in the forest.
All these people may live at the same place. This does not mean that they will communicate with each other. In 1948, Alberto expresses this paradox in his first sculpture with multiple figures, La Place I.
Four men and a woman play their comedy on a rectangular platform 62 cm long. They are small and scattered, giving an impression of great void. It is easy to recognize among them the most iconic silhouette of all Alberto's characters, L'Homme qui marche, of which a large size later bronze held during a few months the absolute record price of a work of art at auction.
One from six bronzes of La Place I cast by Alexis Rudier company in 1948 is estimated beyond $ 12M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 7. Despite its small size, the estimate seems low for such a seminal work in Alberto's art.
Other groups had quickly followed La Place I, as if Alberto was desperately trying to find a logical order of the humanity. La Place II pushed the same five characters close to one edge of the platform. With Les Trois hommes qui marchent, the lack of communication leads to collision. The trees from La Forêt and La Clairière have the same proportions as the standing women.
I invite you to play the video in which Sotheby's announces five Giacometti artworks listed in the next sale.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 13M including premium, is in line with the lower estimate.
1948 Mobile by Calder
2021 SOLD for $ 11.3M by Sotheby's
Link to catalogue.
1948-H by Clyfford Still
2012 SOLD for $ 9.9M by Sotheby's
1948-H by Still features two tiny bright lightnings over a dark background in various rich tones. This oil on canvas 190 x 177 cm was sold by Sotheby's on November 13, 2012 for $ 9.9M, lot 14.
1948 Vertical out of Horizontal by Calder
2015 SOLD for $ 9.6M including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
1948 Demonstration of Dripping
2010 SOLD 8.7 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Life magazine asked the question in 1949: Jackson Pollock - is he the greatest living painter in the United States? An answer came in 2006 when a board painted in 1948, numbered No. 5, 244 x 122 cm, was sold $ 140 million in a private sale, with the probable participation of Sotheby's.
Let us return at Sotheby's but this time in an auction, the day after tomorrow, on May 12 in New York.
No. 12A is an important work, also made in 1948, and one of three which illustrated the article in Life. It is unfortunately small, 58 x 78 cm. Enameled dripping of various width in yellow, gray and black have been laid on a white paper prepared with a smooth and shiny coating. The image is shared by AuctionPublicity (as usual on the web, without warranty of color and with no shining effect !).
The estimate, $ 4 million, is a compromise. We probably prefer Pollock works on larger surface, on canvas or board, which better reflect that technical gesture for which he is recognized as one of the leading innovators in the history of art.
POST SALE COMMENT
This small painting on paper is important in art history. It was sold $ 8.7 million including premium.
Life magazine asked the question in 1949: Jackson Pollock - is he the greatest living painter in the United States? An answer came in 2006 when a board painted in 1948, numbered No. 5, 244 x 122 cm, was sold $ 140 million in a private sale, with the probable participation of Sotheby's.
Let us return at Sotheby's but this time in an auction, the day after tomorrow, on May 12 in New York.
No. 12A is an important work, also made in 1948, and one of three which illustrated the article in Life. It is unfortunately small, 58 x 78 cm. Enameled dripping of various width in yellow, gray and black have been laid on a white paper prepared with a smooth and shiny coating. The image is shared by AuctionPublicity (as usual on the web, without warranty of color and with no shining effect !).
The estimate, $ 4 million, is a compromise. We probably prefer Pollock works on larger surface, on canvas or board, which better reflect that technical gesture for which he is recognized as one of the leading innovators in the history of art.
POST SALE COMMENT
This small painting on paper is important in art history. It was sold $ 8.7 million including premium.
1948 Gossips from the Past
2013 SOLD 8.5 M$ including premium
Norman Rockwell was an illustrator. Time has passed and the world has changed. Some of his pictures, even among the most funny, have become an almost sociological testimony.
He was a meticulous professional who did not enjoy fame and city. He settled in a village in Vermont where he observed the behavior of his neighbors with a freshness that pleased all the Americans.
Designed from an assembly of photos that has been preserved, The Gossips is one of the most daring compositions by Rockwell. This image published in colors on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on March 6, 1948 was one of the most popular.
The gossip is spread by word of mouth, either directly or using the phone by a suite of fifteen characters successively in position of receiver and transmitter. Although the faces are very similar to their photographic models, each of them has the look of a very expressive caricature.
As always, the final art by Rockwell was an oil on canvas. This one followed the same path as Saying Grace, recently discussed in this group: it was donated by the artist to the art editor of the magazine, Kenneth Stuart, and is for sale on December 4 in New York by Sotheby's.
This 84 x 79 cm painting is estimated $ 6M. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
The uniqueness of this artwork had once pleased the readers of the magazine and still appeals to today's collectors. It was sold for $ 8.5 million including premium.
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikiart for fair use :
He was a meticulous professional who did not enjoy fame and city. He settled in a village in Vermont where he observed the behavior of his neighbors with a freshness that pleased all the Americans.
Designed from an assembly of photos that has been preserved, The Gossips is one of the most daring compositions by Rockwell. This image published in colors on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on March 6, 1948 was one of the most popular.
The gossip is spread by word of mouth, either directly or using the phone by a suite of fifteen characters successively in position of receiver and transmitter. Although the faces are very similar to their photographic models, each of them has the look of a very expressive caricature.
As always, the final art by Rockwell was an oil on canvas. This one followed the same path as Saying Grace, recently discussed in this group: it was donated by the artist to the art editor of the magazine, Kenneth Stuart, and is for sale on December 4 in New York by Sotheby's.
This 84 x 79 cm painting is estimated $ 6M. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
The uniqueness of this artwork had once pleased the readers of the magazine and still appeals to today's collectors. It was sold for $ 8.5 million including premium.
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikiart for fair use :
