1950
See also : USA Abstract art Children Rothko Picasso from 1940 Zao Wou-Ki Chagall European ceramics Early Ferrari
1950 White Center (yellow, pink and lavender on rose) by Rothko
2007 SOLD for $ 73M including premium by Sotheby's
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikimedia for fair use :
1950 Claude et Paloma by Picasso
2013 SOLD for $ 28M including premium by Christie's
1950 The Subconscious and the Organic
2015 SOLD for $ 18.3M including premium
The expressionist art of Jackson Pollock starts from the subconscious to achieve the organic. It is a representation of the soil created by countless constituents and changing with the seasons.
The surface to be painted is placed on the floor of the studio, allowing the artist to drip the paint. The flexibility of the wrist permits a progressive coverage of the entire area. Contrary to the drawing where rubbing stains the surface, this technique can be indefinitely repeated with additional layers.
In 1950, his third year of intensive practice of dripping, Pollock reached the thoroughness of a miniaturist. The fine lines of pure and brilliant colors are almost invisible, and from one painting to the other the overall effect is always different.
The elementary gesture is close to the convulsive subconscious of the surrealist drawing but the artwork is not completed until the overall result meets the desire of the artist.
He received from his brother fifteen masonite panels of the same size 56 x 56 cm. The dense fibers of the condensed wood interest him, perhaps because they offer a basic texture that exempts the artist to start with a trivial drawing from his fantasy that he will then have to hide.
Mondrian did not need a large size to express the infinite, same for Pollock for the sublime organic. These fifteen paintings are among the best of his art.
On May 12 in New York, Sotheby's sells Number 12, 1950, lot 31 estimated $ 15M. I invite you to watch the video shared by the auction house.
The surface to be painted is placed on the floor of the studio, allowing the artist to drip the paint. The flexibility of the wrist permits a progressive coverage of the entire area. Contrary to the drawing where rubbing stains the surface, this technique can be indefinitely repeated with additional layers.
In 1950, his third year of intensive practice of dripping, Pollock reached the thoroughness of a miniaturist. The fine lines of pure and brilliant colors are almost invisible, and from one painting to the other the overall effect is always different.
The elementary gesture is close to the convulsive subconscious of the surrealist drawing but the artwork is not completed until the overall result meets the desire of the artist.
He received from his brother fifteen masonite panels of the same size 56 x 56 cm. The dense fibers of the condensed wood interest him, perhaps because they offer a basic texture that exempts the artist to start with a trivial drawing from his fantasy that he will then have to hide.
Mondrian did not need a large size to express the infinite, same for Pollock for the sublime organic. These fifteen paintings are among the best of his art.
On May 12 in New York, Sotheby's sells Number 12, 1950, lot 31 estimated $ 15M. I invite you to watch the video shared by the auction house.
1950 Standing Women on Bases
2018 SOLD for $ 15.8M including premium
The human population is not limited to one walking man and one standing woman. In 1948 Alberto Giacometti multiplies them and assembles groups. The communication of the characters between one another takes the dimension of an existentialist mystery. He thus creates Place I and II and Trois hommes qui marchent I and II.
In 1950 Pierre Matisse asks for a new exhibition which will confirm the great success of the previous one in 1947. It is necessary to include new works but Alberto had not found a satisfactory answer concerning human communication. He will never find any. What to do ?
In his studio Alberto has multiplied the individual figures with mostly standing women in a gradually increasing elongation. Suddenly he looks at the mess of his studio as a whole. The sculptures had been divided into small groups without any voluntary intervention. He will accordingly create three artworks without modifying this assembly of chance.
Compared to the groups calculated by him two years earlier, two differences appear : the figures remain on their bases and the uniqueness of scale is canceled. When the bronzes come back from the foundry Alberto has a new vision : his women are so stretched that they look like trees. He had created La Forêt (the forest) and La Clairière (the glade). The third group is named La Place in a pun between the public square of his 1948 artwork and the immutable place of each figure standing on its base.
La Clairière, 59 cm high on a surface of 65 x 52 cm, is the most complex with nine standing women and the least illogical because it does not include a bust. A copy cast by Alexis Rudier company between 1950 and 1952 is estimated $ 10M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 15, lot 17 A.
In 1950 Pierre Matisse asks for a new exhibition which will confirm the great success of the previous one in 1947. It is necessary to include new works but Alberto had not found a satisfactory answer concerning human communication. He will never find any. What to do ?
In his studio Alberto has multiplied the individual figures with mostly standing women in a gradually increasing elongation. Suddenly he looks at the mess of his studio as a whole. The sculptures had been divided into small groups without any voluntary intervention. He will accordingly create three artworks without modifying this assembly of chance.
Compared to the groups calculated by him two years earlier, two differences appear : the figures remain on their bases and the uniqueness of scale is canceled. When the bronzes come back from the foundry Alberto has a new vision : his women are so stretched that they look like trees. He had created La Forêt (the forest) and La Clairière (the glade). The third group is named La Place in a pun between the public square of his 1948 artwork and the immutable place of each figure standing on its base.
La Clairière, 59 cm high on a surface of 65 x 52 cm, is the most complex with nine standing women and the least illogical because it does not include a bust. A copy cast by Alexis Rudier company between 1950 and 1952 is estimated $ 10M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 15, lot 17 A.
1950 Fifteen Small Masonite Boards
2018 SOLD for £ 9.3M including premium
In 1949 after an article in Life magazine Jackson Pollock becomes a subject of curiosity for Americans eager to promote new artistic trends. His method of dripping on huge canvases laid flat on the ground is unique. Physically and psychologically the artist becomes part of the art in progress.
From his remote studio in Long Island, Pollock does not care about his new reputation. Seconded by Lee Krasner who controls his sobriety, he has full confidence in his own creativity. His art is not limited to a gesticulation around large formats.
His brother Sanford "Sande" McCoy is a printer. He kept from a previous operation an attrition of fifteen masonite panels 56 x 56 cm printed on one side with a game of baseball. He gives them to "Jack" in early 1950.
The texture of the panel is more conducive than a canvas to the entanglement of bright colors of his enamel and aluminum paints. Pollock no longer needs a preparatory work. When he creates on the reverse of the baseball game the jewel like textures of his organic world, he is in direct contact with his work.
The result suits him so much that he renounces in this series to the idea of infinity supported by large formats : on the edges the raw masonite is preserved with great sharpness, probably obtained with a blanking mask.
Number 12, 1950 was sold for $ 18.3M including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015. Number 21, 1950 is estimated £ 10M for sale by Christie's in London on March 6, lot 28.
From his remote studio in Long Island, Pollock does not care about his new reputation. Seconded by Lee Krasner who controls his sobriety, he has full confidence in his own creativity. His art is not limited to a gesticulation around large formats.
His brother Sanford "Sande" McCoy is a printer. He kept from a previous operation an attrition of fifteen masonite panels 56 x 56 cm printed on one side with a game of baseball. He gives them to "Jack" in early 1950.
The texture of the panel is more conducive than a canvas to the entanglement of bright colors of his enamel and aluminum paints. Pollock no longer needs a preparatory work. When he creates on the reverse of the baseball game the jewel like textures of his organic world, he is in direct contact with his work.
The result suits him so much that he renounces in this series to the idea of infinity supported by large formats : on the edges the raw masonite is preserved with great sharpness, probably obtained with a blanking mask.
Number 12, 1950 was sold for $ 18.3M including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015. Number 21, 1950 is estimated £ 10M for sale by Christie's in London on March 6, lot 28.
1950 The Abstract Poem of Zao Wou-Ki
2016 SOLD for HK$ 70M including premium
The family of Zao Wou-Ki owned an artwork by Mi Fu, the outstanding artist of Song time who was so skillfully blending landscape and calligraphy. The boy considered early that painting and poetry must meet in a unique art.
In making his art studies in Hangzhou, Zao learns oil painting with Lin Fengmian. Arriving in Paris in 1948, he discovers abstract art. He is also inspired by the research of Henri Michaux on the abstraction of the calligraphic message.
For Zao, the color is a kind of theater stage on which he will write his poems on the hidden meaning of the universe. Figuration (boats, birds or the Moon) is drifting into a pseudo-calligraphy that makes it increasingly indecipherable.
In 1950 some oils on canvas by Zao are dominated by pure green that is mingled with more complex hues such as blue-green or yellow-brown. These colors express his vision of the world at that time. Green will soon cease to be an essential element of his palette.
On May 28 in Hong Kong, Christie's sells an oil on canvas "Vert émeraude" 127 x 127 cm, lot 24. The delicate balance of the masses may evoke day and night.
The trend of the artist toward an expressionist abstraction is already taken with fully filled surfaces as in Pollock, the absence of structural lines as in Still, an unreadable message announcing Gaitonde and a subtlety in color mixing which prefigures Richter.
In making his art studies in Hangzhou, Zao learns oil painting with Lin Fengmian. Arriving in Paris in 1948, he discovers abstract art. He is also inspired by the research of Henri Michaux on the abstraction of the calligraphic message.
For Zao, the color is a kind of theater stage on which he will write his poems on the hidden meaning of the universe. Figuration (boats, birds or the Moon) is drifting into a pseudo-calligraphy that makes it increasingly indecipherable.
In 1950 some oils on canvas by Zao are dominated by pure green that is mingled with more complex hues such as blue-green or yellow-brown. These colors express his vision of the world at that time. Green will soon cease to be an essential element of his palette.
On May 28 in Hong Kong, Christie's sells an oil on canvas "Vert émeraude" 127 x 127 cm, lot 24. The delicate balance of the masses may evoke day and night.
The trend of the artist toward an expressionist abstraction is already taken with fully filled surfaces as in Pollock, the absence of structural lines as in Still, an unreadable message announcing Gaitonde and a subtlety in color mixing which prefigures Richter.
1950 Ferrari improves his Engine
2015 SOLD for $ 7.9M including premium
Mastering chassis and engine is the key of the first successes ofFerrari, eager and anxious to overcome Alfa Romeo. His two motorist engineers are subject to a fierce internal competition.
Colombo equips the first models by assembling a twelve-cylinder engine desired by Ferrari. They are low-volume but a 125 S brings the first victory in a local track competition in Piacenza on 25 May 1947. The Ferrari 166 MM engages in road racing, taking its acronym in reference to the Mille Miglia.
Lampredi designs an innovative engine for Ferrari, also as a twelve-cylinder. The 3.3 liter is for road sport and the 4.1 liter is at first for Formula 1.
In 1950, the first cars equipped with the Lampredi 3.3 liter engine are two Ferrari 275 S, bodied by Touring in barchettas. Despite a promising start in the Mille Miglia, both cars leave the race for the same defect, a broken rear axle. The boss does not like defeat: there will be no further 275 S.
Both 275 S returned to the factory to be upgraded with the 4.1 liter engine that turns them into Ferrari 340 America. They had afterward an acceptable racing history.
The first 275S / 340 is estimated $ 7.5M, for sale by RM Sotheby's in Monterey on August 14, lot 217.
Like many cars of this period, it underwent transformations. After retiring from competition, its body was remade by Scaglietti, again as a barchetta. The 4.1 liter engine was then removed by a conscientious collector who carefully maintained it, and it was later reinstalled.
Driven by Ascari as a 275 S in the 1950 Mille Miglia, this car has reappeared more than once in this competition since 2005. I invite you to watch the video shared by RM Sotheby's demonstrating its great working condition.
Colombo equips the first models by assembling a twelve-cylinder engine desired by Ferrari. They are low-volume but a 125 S brings the first victory in a local track competition in Piacenza on 25 May 1947. The Ferrari 166 MM engages in road racing, taking its acronym in reference to the Mille Miglia.
Lampredi designs an innovative engine for Ferrari, also as a twelve-cylinder. The 3.3 liter is for road sport and the 4.1 liter is at first for Formula 1.
In 1950, the first cars equipped with the Lampredi 3.3 liter engine are two Ferrari 275 S, bodied by Touring in barchettas. Despite a promising start in the Mille Miglia, both cars leave the race for the same defect, a broken rear axle. The boss does not like defeat: there will be no further 275 S.
Both 275 S returned to the factory to be upgraded with the 4.1 liter engine that turns them into Ferrari 340 America. They had afterward an acceptable racing history.
The first 275S / 340 is estimated $ 7.5M, for sale by RM Sotheby's in Monterey on August 14, lot 217.
Like many cars of this period, it underwent transformations. After retiring from competition, its body was remade by Scaglietti, again as a barchetta. The 4.1 liter engine was then removed by a conscientious collector who carefully maintained it, and it was later reinstalled.
Driven by Ascari as a 275 S in the 1950 Mille Miglia, this car has reappeared more than once in this competition since 2005. I invite you to watch the video shared by RM Sotheby's demonstrating its great working condition.
1950 Touring Berlinetta and Colombo Engine
2016 SOLD for $ 6.5M including premium
The development of the engine is of paramount importance in the racing debut of Ferrari cars. The model 166 caused a sensation from its release in 1948. This figure indicates the displacement in cc of each of the twelve cylinders of the Colombo engine.
The chassis are sent to subcontractors who assemble the cars as berlinetta, barchetta or spyder. The berlinetta is an early success because it can be used both on road and on track. Berlinettas specially built for competition are not provided with all the equipment required for street homologation. All the elements that will make the tremendous success of the brand are already in place.
The Ferrari for sale by Gooding at Scottsdale on January 29 at lot 033 is one of the six 166MM coachworked as Berlinettas Le Mans by Touring.
Its history is great. Completed in June 1950, it is first raced in the following month. Chinetti, who is already the agent of Ferrari in the United States, exhibits it at the Paris Motor Show in October for finding an American buyer.
The car is purchased by the sportsman and constructor Cunningham, who previously admired the feat of Chinetti topping the early hours at Le Mans in 1950 with a 195S berlinetta. The difference between 166 and 195 is essentially its bore enlarged from 60 to 65 mm enabling a displacement of 2.3 liters.
Cunningham has immediately upgraded his 166 to 195 specification by Ferrari. In December 1950, this car has the honor of becoming the first competition Ferrari imported in the USA. A few days later it begins its American career at Sebring.
The 166MM/195S is estimated $ 5,75M. It is illustrated in the press release.
The chassis are sent to subcontractors who assemble the cars as berlinetta, barchetta or spyder. The berlinetta is an early success because it can be used both on road and on track. Berlinettas specially built for competition are not provided with all the equipment required for street homologation. All the elements that will make the tremendous success of the brand are already in place.
The Ferrari for sale by Gooding at Scottsdale on January 29 at lot 033 is one of the six 166MM coachworked as Berlinettas Le Mans by Touring.
Its history is great. Completed in June 1950, it is first raced in the following month. Chinetti, who is already the agent of Ferrari in the United States, exhibits it at the Paris Motor Show in October for finding an American buyer.
The car is purchased by the sportsman and constructor Cunningham, who previously admired the feat of Chinetti topping the early hours at Le Mans in 1950 with a 195S berlinetta. The difference between 166 and 195 is essentially its bore enlarged from 60 to 65 mm enabling a displacement of 2.3 liters.
Cunningham has immediately upgraded his 166 to 195 specification by Ferrari. In December 1950, this car has the honor of becoming the first competition Ferrari imported in the USA. A few days later it begins its American career at Sebring.
The 166MM/195S is estimated $ 5,75M. It is illustrated in the press release.
1950 A Wingless Jet on a Ferrari Frame
2017 SOLD for $ 4.5M including premium
The Marzotto family owns a very important textile factory at Valdagno in the Veneto region. The four sons of Count Gaetano enter very young in the automobile competition at the very moment when Enzo Ferrari is creating his company. They are the most important customers in Ferrari's beginning, owning and racing up to 20 cars of the new brand.
The young Count Giannino Marzotto bought as early as 1948 a Ferrari 166 Inter. There is no lack of flamboyance for him at this time when wealthy amateurs can still compete with professionals. His victory in full suit at the 1950 Mille Miglia on a Ferrari 195S remains in the annals.
The four brothers participated in that competition with Ferrari cars. The 166 MM of Umberto Marzotto, heavily crashed, returns to the factory and is supplied in the following year to Giannino. At the risk of displeasing Enzo, Giannino entrusts this chassis to the Carrozzeria Fontana which is not a usual partner to Ferrari.
Relying on the aeronautical training of Franco Reggiani, Fontana builds a berlinetta in the shape of a jet without wings, amicably nicknamed L'Uovo (the Egg), 150 Kg lighter than a regular Ferrari car. Marzotto's quest for efficiency pays off as he drives his Uovo to victory in the Giro della Toscana.
This Ferrari 166 MM upgraded to 212 Export that looks like no other car is estimated $ 5M for sale by RM Sotheby's in Monterey on August 18, lot 152. Please watch the video shared by RM.
The young Count Giannino Marzotto bought as early as 1948 a Ferrari 166 Inter. There is no lack of flamboyance for him at this time when wealthy amateurs can still compete with professionals. His victory in full suit at the 1950 Mille Miglia on a Ferrari 195S remains in the annals.
The four brothers participated in that competition with Ferrari cars. The 166 MM of Umberto Marzotto, heavily crashed, returns to the factory and is supplied in the following year to Giannino. At the risk of displeasing Enzo, Giannino entrusts this chassis to the Carrozzeria Fontana which is not a usual partner to Ferrari.
Relying on the aeronautical training of Franco Reggiani, Fontana builds a berlinetta in the shape of a jet without wings, amicably nicknamed L'Uovo (the Egg), 150 Kg lighter than a regular Ferrari car. Marzotto's quest for efficiency pays off as he drives his Uovo to victory in the Giro della Toscana.
This Ferrari 166 MM upgraded to 212 Export that looks like no other car is estimated $ 5M for sale by RM Sotheby's in Monterey on August 18, lot 152. Please watch the video shared by RM.
1950 The Tiger of the Chinese General
2010 SOLD 32 MHK$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The year 1950 of our calendar was in China the year of the Tiger. Qi Baishi, the old man of Chinese painting, had not been particularly interested in this animal before.
In China as elsewhere, artists and intellectuals maintained relationships with powerful patrons. Therefore Qi painted a picture of a tiger to decorate the living room of his friend General Yang Hu (the "Tiger" Yang), a former official in the regime of Yuan Shikai.
The animal, lying horizontally on his four legs, turns his back to the viewer. His fur and his stripes are very finely drawn. The undulating tail extends the flexibility of the body. As a supreme tribute to the old military, the neck of the tiger is powerful. The fine hairs of his whiskers also give an expressive presence in this great cat whose face is not visible.
For Westerners, Sotheby's did not publish the estimate in its press release, but a short visit to the website of New Tang Dynasty Television was sufficient to find that this lot could fetch U.S. $ 3.6 million. The sale takes place in Hong Kong on April 6.
POST SALE COMMENT
The information found on a Chinese website was right on target. Here is the result: HK $ 32 million including premium. A great price for an artwork on paper.
Here are the dimensions: 69x138 cm.
The year 1950 of our calendar was in China the year of the Tiger. Qi Baishi, the old man of Chinese painting, had not been particularly interested in this animal before.
In China as elsewhere, artists and intellectuals maintained relationships with powerful patrons. Therefore Qi painted a picture of a tiger to decorate the living room of his friend General Yang Hu (the "Tiger" Yang), a former official in the regime of Yuan Shikai.
The animal, lying horizontally on his four legs, turns his back to the viewer. His fur and his stripes are very finely drawn. The undulating tail extends the flexibility of the body. As a supreme tribute to the old military, the neck of the tiger is powerful. The fine hairs of his whiskers also give an expressive presence in this great cat whose face is not visible.
For Westerners, Sotheby's did not publish the estimate in its press release, but a short visit to the website of New Tang Dynasty Television was sufficient to find that this lot could fetch U.S. $ 3.6 million. The sale takes place in Hong Kong on April 6.
POST SALE COMMENT
The information found on a Chinese website was right on target. Here is the result: HK $ 32 million including premium. A great price for an artwork on paper.
Here are the dimensions: 69x138 cm.
1950 Grand vase aux femmes voilées by Picasso
2013 SOLD for £ 980K including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
1950 Grandma from Farm to Fair
2009 SOLD 1.08 M$ including premium
PRE SALE COMMENT
The Grandma of our story is Grandma Moses, of course. Her style of painting so special and so recognizable makes her one of the great names of American folk art. One could even say that she has become a legend since the art market discovered her in 1938, when she was only 78 years old. She lived a centenarian, without ever interrupting her new artistic career.
Too busy during her working life, she could not devote to painting until she retired. She shows the life in the countryside with a myriad of details. The horizon is wide, and lack of perspective makes it seeming near by.
No character is shown in close-up but they are finely drawn, and we can see the specific activity of each one. The comparison made with Pieter Brueghel by Wikipedia is exaggerated, because the characters of Grandma are not sufficiently differentiated. Rather, she is the rural equivalent of the English painter LS Lowry, who had us visiting Manchester at the same time in one of our first articles in this group.
The oil on canvas for sale by Sotheby's on May 21 in New York, 89 x 114 m, shows a village fair in 1950. More colorful than other important works of the artist, it deserves its estimate of 700 K $.
POST SALE COMMENT
Including the cost, our Grandma reached the million dollars: just $ 1.08 million. The estimate has been exceeded. It's good, because this painting was particularly lively and colorful.
The Grandma of our story is Grandma Moses, of course. Her style of painting so special and so recognizable makes her one of the great names of American folk art. One could even say that she has become a legend since the art market discovered her in 1938, when she was only 78 years old. She lived a centenarian, without ever interrupting her new artistic career.
Too busy during her working life, she could not devote to painting until she retired. She shows the life in the countryside with a myriad of details. The horizon is wide, and lack of perspective makes it seeming near by.
No character is shown in close-up but they are finely drawn, and we can see the specific activity of each one. The comparison made with Pieter Brueghel by Wikipedia is exaggerated, because the characters of Grandma are not sufficiently differentiated. Rather, she is the rural equivalent of the English painter LS Lowry, who had us visiting Manchester at the same time in one of our first articles in this group.
The oil on canvas for sale by Sotheby's on May 21 in New York, 89 x 114 m, shows a village fair in 1950. More colorful than other important works of the artist, it deserves its estimate of 700 K $.
POST SALE COMMENT
Including the cost, our Grandma reached the million dollars: just $ 1.08 million. The estimate has been exceeded. It's good, because this painting was particularly lively and colorful.
Post WWII - Bouquets with Bella
2018 SOLD for $ 1.06M including premium
Marc Chagall is an artist of joy and hope. Yet the twentieth century is terrible. The holocaust annihilates the Jews and does not spare Vitebsk, the beloved hometown where he had met Bella. He is in exile in New York where Bella suddenly dies of a viral infection in 1944.
For assembling his memories Marc composes his Bouquets d'Amour which he will paint frequently from the late 1940s until the early 1960s.
A mixed technique 58 x 45 cm in gouache, crayon, pastel, oil and collage on paper laid on canvas was sold for $ 410K including premium by Sotheby's on May 9, 2007 and for $ 790K including premium by Shapiro on September 26, 2015.
This Bouquet d'Amour is estimated $ 900K for sale on March 18 in New Orleans by New Orleans Auction Galleries, lot 920. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Around the lovers everything is mixed with balance and harmony : inside and outside, the Belorussian village and the flowers from France. A dark blue dominance expresses the peaceful night. Under the huge bouquet the couple is lying for a better dream. Bella is naked and modest. The fruit basket and the free dove complete the composition. The musicians did not come.
For assembling his memories Marc composes his Bouquets d'Amour which he will paint frequently from the late 1940s until the early 1960s.
A mixed technique 58 x 45 cm in gouache, crayon, pastel, oil and collage on paper laid on canvas was sold for $ 410K including premium by Sotheby's on May 9, 2007 and for $ 790K including premium by Shapiro on September 26, 2015.
This Bouquet d'Amour is estimated $ 900K for sale on March 18 in New Orleans by New Orleans Auction Galleries, lot 920. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Around the lovers everything is mixed with balance and harmony : inside and outside, the Belorussian village and the flowers from France. A dark blue dominance expresses the peaceful night. Under the huge bouquet the couple is lying for a better dream. Bella is naked and modest. The fruit basket and the free dove complete the composition. The musicians did not come.