1953
1953 The Sixth Year of the Creation
2013 SOLD 44 M$ including premium
From 1948 to 1953, Barnett Newman expressed his conception of the creation of the world in a series of six paintings titled Onement and numbered from I to VI. These monochrome works are crossed in the middle by a narrow vertical strip visible in another color after removal of a sparing tape. The strip is identified as the 'zip'.
The impression of homogeneity is false, as different techniques are used for applying color until the differences become almost imperceptible. Through his painstaking care, the monochromes of Newman precede the pop art flags of Jasper Johns.
The apparent simplicity of the result expresses the false uniformity of the universe. The central zip is designed as an assault by an all-powerful force.
Onement V, 152 x 96 cm, was sold for $ 22.5 million including premium at Christie's on May 8, 2012. The zip in low contrast separates the two dark blue vertical areas.
In 1953, Onement VI is the apotheosis of the series, in the metaphysical meaning of that word. The space, still dark blue, becomes huge and almost square, 300 x 260 cm. The light blue zip is the first in the series to have sharp edges, predicting the victory of the disturbance on the established order.
Onement VI is estimated $ 30M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 14. It is illustrated on the summary shared by Art Market Monitor.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Onement VI is an iconic work, able to propagate at their best the messages and searches of abstract expressionism. It was sold $ 44M including premium.
The impression of homogeneity is false, as different techniques are used for applying color until the differences become almost imperceptible. Through his painstaking care, the monochromes of Newman precede the pop art flags of Jasper Johns.
The apparent simplicity of the result expresses the false uniformity of the universe. The central zip is designed as an assault by an all-powerful force.
Onement V, 152 x 96 cm, was sold for $ 22.5 million including premium at Christie's on May 8, 2012. The zip in low contrast separates the two dark blue vertical areas.
In 1953, Onement VI is the apotheosis of the series, in the metaphysical meaning of that word. The space, still dark blue, becomes huge and almost square, 300 x 260 cm. The light blue zip is the first in the series to have sharp edges, predicting the victory of the disturbance on the established order.
Onement VI is estimated $ 30M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 14. It is illustrated on the summary shared by Art Market Monitor.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Onement VI is an iconic work, able to propagate at their best the messages and searches of abstract expressionism. It was sold $ 44M including premium.
1953 Study for a Trivial Man
2011 SOLD 18 M£ including premium
The artists of the twentieth century have greatly admired Velazquez. Francis Bacon goes further: his many studies of Innocent X are a great example of appropriation. Any pope is a human, and therefore has the ability to scream, but which message does he screams so? His social position does not allow such an arrogance.
In the artistic language of Bacon, a man who does not scream may be even more terrible because he does not eject his tensions. Painted in 1953, the Study for a portrait for sale by Christie's in London on June 28 anticipated by a few months the Man in Blue series. It is shared by Christie's Audio.
On this large oil on canvas, 198 x 137 cm, the anonymous man is sitting in an armchair, like a pope. Attention is drawn to the ageing serious face and to trivial attributes of social success like the glasses and the tie. The rest of the subject melts into the dark and sinister atmosphere.
This portrait is like a mirror where the viewer sees his own banality charged by empty feeling. This is a key work in the artistic development of Bacon. The auction house prefer not publishing an estimate.
POST SALE COMMENT
The price, £ 18M including premium, is consistent with the fact that it is a key work in the art of Bacon.
In the artistic language of Bacon, a man who does not scream may be even more terrible because he does not eject his tensions. Painted in 1953, the Study for a portrait for sale by Christie's in London on June 28 anticipated by a few months the Man in Blue series. It is shared by Christie's Audio.
On this large oil on canvas, 198 x 137 cm, the anonymous man is sitting in an armchair, like a pope. Attention is drawn to the ageing serious face and to trivial attributes of social success like the glasses and the tie. The rest of the subject melts into the dark and sinister atmosphere.
This portrait is like a mirror where the viewer sees his own banality charged by empty feeling. This is a key work in the artistic development of Bacon. The auction house prefer not publishing an estimate.
POST SALE COMMENT
The price, £ 18M including premium, is consistent with the fact that it is a key work in the art of Bacon.
1953 The Immobile Movement of the Bird
2015 SOLD for £ 9.2M including premium
In 1953, Joan Miro consciously deploys the enthusiasm of a child. The dark years of war and activism are over, only remains the need to express freedom. He is 60 years old.
The careful technique of the artist is not incompatible with the ampleness and speed of his gesture which had inspired Pollock. His pictorial grammar is childish. The composition is a search for a motion that would not contradict the immobility of the canvas.
On February 4 in London, Christie's sells an oil on canvas 90 x 116 cm painted in 1953, lot 116 estimated £ 7M.
The title-poem, L'Oiseau au plumage déployé vole vers l'arbre argenté (the bird with the deployed plumage flies to the silver tree), describes the image, which is not always the case in the surrealist art of Miro and suggests that the action was chosen very early in the design of this artwork.
The background provides the atmosphere of a peaceful twilight with the night coming from the right. A dynamic although imaginary arch supporting the upper part of the scenery leads the bird to the tree in a move that will cross through the crescent moon.
Miro does not accept empty spaces in his paintings. The picture is completed by stars stylized as snowflakes and a foreground with two important figures including some anthropomorphic features.
The careful technique of the artist is not incompatible with the ampleness and speed of his gesture which had inspired Pollock. His pictorial grammar is childish. The composition is a search for a motion that would not contradict the immobility of the canvas.
On February 4 in London, Christie's sells an oil on canvas 90 x 116 cm painted in 1953, lot 116 estimated £ 7M.
The title-poem, L'Oiseau au plumage déployé vole vers l'arbre argenté (the bird with the deployed plumage flies to the silver tree), describes the image, which is not always the case in the surrealist art of Miro and suggests that the action was chosen very early in the design of this artwork.
The background provides the atmosphere of a peaceful twilight with the night coming from the right. A dynamic although imaginary arch supporting the upper part of the scenery leads the bird to the tree in a move that will cross through the crescent moon.
Miro does not accept empty spaces in his paintings. The picture is completed by stars stylized as snowflakes and a foreground with two important figures including some anthropomorphic features.
1953 C-Type Jaguars for Le Mans
2015 SOLD for $ 13.2M including premium
In June 1950 in Le Mans, Jaguar executives are delighted. They had allocated some cars to private pilots and one of them showed a good behavior of his XK120 before dropping at the 21th hour for a braking issue. Jaguar is then resolutely committed to the technological challenge of competition and launches the study of the XK120C soon known as the C-Type.
In 1951, success is achieved for the first official attempt by Jaguar at Le Mans : a C-Type wins the race. In the following year, the failure is scathing. To counter Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar had modified the aerodynamics without appreciating that it would cause an excessive overheating.
The option taken for 1953 is innovative, with a lightweight body made of aluminum and some equipment improvements. The unique target of the brand is Le Mans, and only three cars are assembled. They will be the last three in the C-Type. Success returns : the new Jaguars brilliantly occupy the first, second and fourth final positions.
This variant of transition is the rarest Jaguar, made obsolete by the development of the D-Type.
Jaguar is not totally uninterested in the fate of its C-Type Works Lightweight since they managed to sell all the three cars to the Ecurie Ecosse after the 1953 season. The three cars are getting high successes throughout 1954 before being sold again.
The best overall record of these Lightweight comes to the car that had been fourth at Le Mans in 1953. It then will undergo major transformations including changing its coachwork. Its current owner has fitted a new body that scrupulously meets the 1953 configuration, excepted that it is metallic blue painted in the colors of Ecurie Ecosse.
The C-Type Lightweight is the rarest Jaguar. This newly restored unit is estimated $ 9M for sale by RM Sotheby's in Monterey on August 14, lot 235. I invite you to watch the video shared by Petrolicious.
In 1951, success is achieved for the first official attempt by Jaguar at Le Mans : a C-Type wins the race. In the following year, the failure is scathing. To counter Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar had modified the aerodynamics without appreciating that it would cause an excessive overheating.
The option taken for 1953 is innovative, with a lightweight body made of aluminum and some equipment improvements. The unique target of the brand is Le Mans, and only three cars are assembled. They will be the last three in the C-Type. Success returns : the new Jaguars brilliantly occupy the first, second and fourth final positions.
This variant of transition is the rarest Jaguar, made obsolete by the development of the D-Type.
Jaguar is not totally uninterested in the fate of its C-Type Works Lightweight since they managed to sell all the three cars to the Ecurie Ecosse after the 1953 season. The three cars are getting high successes throughout 1954 before being sold again.
The best overall record of these Lightweight comes to the car that had been fourth at Le Mans in 1953. It then will undergo major transformations including changing its coachwork. Its current owner has fitted a new body that scrupulously meets the 1953 configuration, excepted that it is metallic blue painted in the colors of Ecurie Ecosse.
The C-Type Lightweight is the rarest Jaguar. This newly restored unit is estimated $ 9M for sale by RM Sotheby's in Monterey on August 14, lot 235. I invite you to watch the video shared by Petrolicious.
1953 A Ferrari for Four Champions
2013 SOLD 9.9 M€ including premium
In 1953, Ferrari was already established as a formidable competitor to Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Maserati and Lancia.
La Scuderia entered three cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. One of them was assigned to Nino Farina, world champion in 1950, and to Mike Hawthorn who will have the same glory in 1958. Technically, this car is a 340MM changed with some characteristics of the 375MM.
This Ferrari is one of the best cars of that year. It was also driven by the 1953 world champion, Alberto Ascari. However, it was left to a very young driver named Umberto Maglioli to demonstrate its outstanding on-road behaviour by a legendary performance in the Carrera Panamericana.
Bodied by Pinin Farina, this elegant berlinetta has everything to seduce the most demanding collectors. It is for sale on May 25 by RM Auctions in Villa Erba in the auction organized at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este.
I invite you to watch the video shared by RM on YouTube, including images of both 1953 and 2013.
POST SALE COMMENT
This Ferrari is exceptional. The result, € 8.8 million before fees, is confirmed on the Facebook page of the auction house.
La Scuderia entered three cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. One of them was assigned to Nino Farina, world champion in 1950, and to Mike Hawthorn who will have the same glory in 1958. Technically, this car is a 340MM changed with some characteristics of the 375MM.
This Ferrari is one of the best cars of that year. It was also driven by the 1953 world champion, Alberto Ascari. However, it was left to a very young driver named Umberto Maglioli to demonstrate its outstanding on-road behaviour by a legendary performance in the Carrera Panamericana.
Bodied by Pinin Farina, this elegant berlinetta has everything to seduce the most demanding collectors. It is for sale on May 25 by RM Auctions in Villa Erba in the auction organized at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este.
I invite you to watch the video shared by RM on YouTube, including images of both 1953 and 2013.
POST SALE COMMENT
This Ferrari is exceptional. The result, € 8.8 million before fees, is confirmed on the Facebook page of the auction house.
1953 The Braking of Jim Kimberly
2013 SOLD 9.1 M$ including premium
Jim Kimberly was not happy with his Ferrari 340 America, a spider coachworked by Vignale whose effectiveness in competition was highly compromised by the heating of the brakes.
The gentleman-driver, who was also a wealthy American industrialist, now wanted a body that meets his own specifications. No problem, Ferrari will make that for him. Same as for watches at the time of Packard and Graves, listening to an important customer is boosting the progress.
The eighth 375 MM chassis was the third in the series to be built in spider by Pinin Farina, but it will be the only one to incorporate the requirements of Kimberly. It will also be the only one painted in Kimberly red, a spectacular deviation from the Ferrari red.
Kimberly was right. Delivered in 1953, his Ferrari won sixteen of the twenty races in which he engaged it in the following year. Better : the innovation of opening the body behind the wheels was incorporated in 1957 as the 'pontoon fender' in the legendary Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa.
The thermal and aerodynamic balance at the level of the wheels was indeed the ultimate factor for the success of a racing car in 1954. Fangio also won by refusing to enclose the wheels in the body of his Mercedes-Benz W196.
Jim Kimberly's 375 MM equipped with its original spare engine will be sold on August 16 in Monterey by RM Auctions. I invite you to play the video shared by the auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
This car is a significant milestone in the history of Ferrari. It was sold for $ 8.25 million before fees.
The gentleman-driver, who was also a wealthy American industrialist, now wanted a body that meets his own specifications. No problem, Ferrari will make that for him. Same as for watches at the time of Packard and Graves, listening to an important customer is boosting the progress.
The eighth 375 MM chassis was the third in the series to be built in spider by Pinin Farina, but it will be the only one to incorporate the requirements of Kimberly. It will also be the only one painted in Kimberly red, a spectacular deviation from the Ferrari red.
Kimberly was right. Delivered in 1953, his Ferrari won sixteen of the twenty races in which he engaged it in the following year. Better : the innovation of opening the body behind the wheels was incorporated in 1957 as the 'pontoon fender' in the legendary Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa.
The thermal and aerodynamic balance at the level of the wheels was indeed the ultimate factor for the success of a racing car in 1954. Fangio also won by refusing to enclose the wheels in the body of his Mercedes-Benz W196.
Jim Kimberly's 375 MM equipped with its original spare engine will be sold on August 16 in Monterey by RM Auctions. I invite you to play the video shared by the auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
This car is a significant milestone in the history of Ferrari. It was sold for $ 8.25 million before fees.
1953 De Staël remembers the Color
2012 SOLD 5.3 M£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Post war, a new social rite animates the French people: the summer vacation with the family at the seaside, in the mountains or by traveling. In August 1953, Nicolas de Staël visited southern Italy and Sicily.
Back to his new studio in Provence, Staël expresses his memory. He was much marked by the site of Agrigento, which will be for nearly a year his favorite theme. This series of landscape paintings done indoor has nothing to do with photography. The artist wants to revive and show the exceptional brilliance of Sicily in the summer light.
The oil on canvas, 89 x 130 cm, for sale by Christie's in London on February 14 is one of the earliest. Between thestrident yellow sand and the dense azure sky, there is a small colorful dune and the sea in deep blue. This artwork isestimated £ 3.5 M. Here is the link to the catalog.
Another painting on the same theme, 60 x 81 cm, made the following year, was sold € 2.5 million including premiumby Sotheby's in Paris on May 31, 2011. The memory of the form has vanished, replaced by a radiant structure close toabstract. Bright colors have survived, but the sky that became too dark is stifling.
We got the urge to compare Staël to Van Gogh, despite the difference of styles. Both needed to come to Provence toachieve their artistic approach. Both saw the most beautiful light, the quintessence of the art. After a brief period of intense and totally original creativity, both committed suicide.
POST SALE COMMENT
Agrigente is the theme where Nicolas de Staël has given the best of himself, and this painting is particularly outstanding in this series. It was sold £ 5.3 million including premium.
Post war, a new social rite animates the French people: the summer vacation with the family at the seaside, in the mountains or by traveling. In August 1953, Nicolas de Staël visited southern Italy and Sicily.
Back to his new studio in Provence, Staël expresses his memory. He was much marked by the site of Agrigento, which will be for nearly a year his favorite theme. This series of landscape paintings done indoor has nothing to do with photography. The artist wants to revive and show the exceptional brilliance of Sicily in the summer light.
The oil on canvas, 89 x 130 cm, for sale by Christie's in London on February 14 is one of the earliest. Between thestrident yellow sand and the dense azure sky, there is a small colorful dune and the sea in deep blue. This artwork isestimated £ 3.5 M. Here is the link to the catalog.
Another painting on the same theme, 60 x 81 cm, made the following year, was sold € 2.5 million including premiumby Sotheby's in Paris on May 31, 2011. The memory of the form has vanished, replaced by a radiant structure close toabstract. Bright colors have survived, but the sky that became too dark is stifling.
We got the urge to compare Staël to Van Gogh, despite the difference of styles. Both needed to come to Provence toachieve their artistic approach. Both saw the most beautiful light, the quintessence of the art. After a brief period of intense and totally original creativity, both committed suicide.
POST SALE COMMENT
Agrigente is the theme where Nicolas de Staël has given the best of himself, and this painting is particularly outstanding in this series. It was sold £ 5.3 million including premium.
1953 The Everlasting Beauty of the Chinese Woman
2014 SOLD for HK$ 66M including premium
The 31-month scholar and artistic work of Zhang Daqian in the grottoes of Dunhuang, from 1941 to 1943, have not only helped the Chinese to appreciate their ancient pictorial heritage. Now enjoying a new vision across ages in addition to his flawless technique, Zhang became the best modern Chinese artist.
With their precise thin line drawing, the Tang figures are the best mural art in Dunhuang. After copying, Zhang began to imitate them. A heroine named Hong Fu Nu from a novel evoking the Tang dynasty became his inspiration for the ideal woman.
In 1944, Zhang performs a sumptuous portrait of this court woman in an elaborate costume, with bright colors on a background dotted with gold. The flexible expression of the woman is inspired by Ming style. This artwork, 125 x 75 cm including the subframe, was sold for 71 million yuan including premium by China Guardian on May 10, 2013.
In 1953, while in Argentina, Zhang executes a second version with an almost identical drawing, but without gold and fake frame and in a lighter tone. This ink and color on paper 135 x 57 cm will be sold by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 7, lot 1518. It is catalogued with a title in French, La Beauté Antique, following an exhibition in Paris in 1956.
With their precise thin line drawing, the Tang figures are the best mural art in Dunhuang. After copying, Zhang began to imitate them. A heroine named Hong Fu Nu from a novel evoking the Tang dynasty became his inspiration for the ideal woman.
In 1944, Zhang performs a sumptuous portrait of this court woman in an elaborate costume, with bright colors on a background dotted with gold. The flexible expression of the woman is inspired by Ming style. This artwork, 125 x 75 cm including the subframe, was sold for 71 million yuan including premium by China Guardian on May 10, 2013.
In 1953, while in Argentina, Zhang executes a second version with an almost identical drawing, but without gold and fake frame and in a lighter tone. This ink and color on paper 135 x 57 cm will be sold by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 7, lot 1518. It is catalogued with a title in French, La Beauté Antique, following an exhibition in Paris in 1956.
1953 Zhang Daqian, Spirited Landscape Painter
2011 SOLD 64.5 MHK$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Zhang Daqian is a classical artist, adept in the technique of mogu of positioning the color wash wash without preparatory drawing.
Also known as a re-creator of lost works of ancient masters, he brought into his personal art a unique sensuality that makes him one of the best modern artists, who may be compared to the Impressionists despite his very different technique. He is along with Qi Baishi one of the top artists on the Chinese art market.
For Zhang, the landscape is a sensation of color interpreted from memory. On April 5 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a spring landscape in the Sichuan mountains, 90 x 45 cm. This hanging paper scroll was made in 1953 when Zhang was in exile in Argentina. The harmony of blue and green marks the artist's nostalgia for his home region as much as does the sensitive poem at the upper side of the work.
The interpretation made by Zhang in 1968 of Lake Achensee is one of the masterpieces of modern Chinese art. This explosion of expressionist colors, 264 x 76 cm on silk, was sold RMB 100M including premium by China Guardian in Beijing on May 17, 2010. It was also a work of memory, three years after a short sightseeing trip of the artist in Austria.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was not published, but we had to expect a high price. It is successful: HK $ 64.5 million including premium.
Here is the image of this successful lot, shared post sale by Auction News Network.
Zhang Daqian is a classical artist, adept in the technique of mogu of positioning the color wash wash without preparatory drawing.
Also known as a re-creator of lost works of ancient masters, he brought into his personal art a unique sensuality that makes him one of the best modern artists, who may be compared to the Impressionists despite his very different technique. He is along with Qi Baishi one of the top artists on the Chinese art market.
For Zhang, the landscape is a sensation of color interpreted from memory. On April 5 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a spring landscape in the Sichuan mountains, 90 x 45 cm. This hanging paper scroll was made in 1953 when Zhang was in exile in Argentina. The harmony of blue and green marks the artist's nostalgia for his home region as much as does the sensitive poem at the upper side of the work.
The interpretation made by Zhang in 1968 of Lake Achensee is one of the masterpieces of modern Chinese art. This explosion of expressionist colors, 264 x 76 cm on silk, was sold RMB 100M including premium by China Guardian in Beijing on May 17, 2010. It was also a work of memory, three years after a short sightseeing trip of the artist in Austria.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was not published, but we had to expect a high price. It is successful: HK $ 64.5 million including premium.
Here is the image of this successful lot, shared post sale by Auction News Network.
1953 The Traceability of a Jaguar C-Type
2016 SOLD for € 7.2M including premium
Traceability is a headache for collectors of racing cars made before the mid-1950s. The transparency of information from Ferrari offers a substantial advantage to that brand.
The Jaguar C-Type introduced in 1951 on the XK120 chassis displays an aerodynamic elegance well ahead of its time. One of them won the 24 hours of Le Mans in the very first year. It was one of the favorite models of Stirling Moss.
On November 18, 2015, a press release by Bonhams announced that a 1952 C-Type with XKC-011 chassis number, driven by Stirling Moss among others for the works team of the brand, will be one of the stars of their sale on May 13, 2016 in Monaco. The release also announced that the car had been lent in 1954 by Jaguar to the Belgian private team Ecurie Francorchamps.
Everything is great excepted that a previous owner had observed in 1963 that its bodywork was tagged with the number K1047 associated in principle with the XKC-047 chassis released from factory in 1953. The assumption of a swap of the bodies could explain this oddity. It comes to the credit of Bonhams to have pushed further the investigation.
The XKC-011 carving on the chassis is authentic and without falsification. This car is in an original condition close to perfect. The known history of the two frames shows that the gearbox fitted to the car for sale is not compatible with the XKC-011 driven by Moss.
In 1954, for rewarding the good results of the Belgian team, Jaguar had agreed to transfer to them the ownership of the XKC-011 which previously had only been loaned, for the purpose of a sale to be realized immediately. The Ecurie Francorchamps restitutes to Jaguar their XKC-047 which is now prepared to be sold on the following year to Dunlop for tyre testing. Jaguar probably observed at that time that the chassis was not serialized. They mark the XKC-047 with the XKC-011 number whose history in competition was slightly more prestigious.
The C-Type offered for sale was never driven by Moss but it remains one of the most authentic examples of this remarkable model. Only some minor changes have been made over time to maintain its road certification. This stunning car is reasonably estimated at € 4M, lot 114.
The Jaguar C-Type introduced in 1951 on the XK120 chassis displays an aerodynamic elegance well ahead of its time. One of them won the 24 hours of Le Mans in the very first year. It was one of the favorite models of Stirling Moss.
On November 18, 2015, a press release by Bonhams announced that a 1952 C-Type with XKC-011 chassis number, driven by Stirling Moss among others for the works team of the brand, will be one of the stars of their sale on May 13, 2016 in Monaco. The release also announced that the car had been lent in 1954 by Jaguar to the Belgian private team Ecurie Francorchamps.
Everything is great excepted that a previous owner had observed in 1963 that its bodywork was tagged with the number K1047 associated in principle with the XKC-047 chassis released from factory in 1953. The assumption of a swap of the bodies could explain this oddity. It comes to the credit of Bonhams to have pushed further the investigation.
The XKC-011 carving on the chassis is authentic and without falsification. This car is in an original condition close to perfect. The known history of the two frames shows that the gearbox fitted to the car for sale is not compatible with the XKC-011 driven by Moss.
In 1954, for rewarding the good results of the Belgian team, Jaguar had agreed to transfer to them the ownership of the XKC-011 which previously had only been loaned, for the purpose of a sale to be realized immediately. The Ecurie Francorchamps restitutes to Jaguar their XKC-047 which is now prepared to be sold on the following year to Dunlop for tyre testing. Jaguar probably observed at that time that the chassis was not serialized. They mark the XKC-047 with the XKC-011 number whose history in competition was slightly more prestigious.
The C-Type offered for sale was never driven by Moss but it remains one of the most authentic examples of this remarkable model. Only some minor changes have been made over time to maintain its road certification. This stunning car is reasonably estimated at € 4M, lot 114.