1985
See also : Abstract art Abstract art II China Modern China Zao Wou-Ki Sport in art Cars 1970s 1980s Porsche Modern watches Australia Los Angeles
1985 Pei and Zao at Raffles City
2018 SOLD for HK$ 510M including premium
The architect I.M. Pei has considerably influenced the style of the great modern cities. When his fame becomes international, he revisits his native China. In the 1970s the Far East no longer wants its urbanism to follow the West. They always desire higher, more spectacular, more functional. Pei is building an office skyscraper 198 meters high in Singapore.
Zao Wou-Ki also made his own return to his sources. In the 1980s the originality of his abstract paintings inspired by East and West met with great success in the Far East.
Pei is creating in Singapore a complex named Raffles City based on a tower and two hotels, and incorporating a shopping center and a convention center. In 1985 the project is advanced enough to anticipate the interior design. Zao is traveling in the Far East. Pei makes him visit the Raffles site and commissions him a gigantic painting for adorning the grand lobby of the main building alongside abstractions by Ellsworth Kelly and Kenneth Noland in the minimalist taste of the architect.
Back in France, Zao prepares this work with a passion comparable to Monet opening with the Grandes Décorations the ultimate phase of his career. The result is a triptych of oils on canvas, 2.80 m x 10 m overall, which is installed in 1986 as planned and will remain there until 2005. Contrary to Zao's usual practice, the title is not a mere date but a period, Juin-Octobre 1985, thus confirming the prolonged attention given by the artist in its execution.
Juin-Octobre 1985 is the most monumental artwork in Zao's entire career. According to his inspiration in that decade, it evokes the mystical unicity between nature and the infinite. The incandescent center is seen beyond a dark curtain accented by strident blue. It will be sold by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on September 30, lot 1004. The press release of September 7 indicates that this painting is expected beyond HK $ 350M.
Zao Wou-Ki also made his own return to his sources. In the 1980s the originality of his abstract paintings inspired by East and West met with great success in the Far East.
Pei is creating in Singapore a complex named Raffles City based on a tower and two hotels, and incorporating a shopping center and a convention center. In 1985 the project is advanced enough to anticipate the interior design. Zao is traveling in the Far East. Pei makes him visit the Raffles site and commissions him a gigantic painting for adorning the grand lobby of the main building alongside abstractions by Ellsworth Kelly and Kenneth Noland in the minimalist taste of the architect.
Back in France, Zao prepares this work with a passion comparable to Monet opening with the Grandes Décorations the ultimate phase of his career. The result is a triptych of oils on canvas, 2.80 m x 10 m overall, which is installed in 1986 as planned and will remain there until 2005. Contrary to Zao's usual practice, the title is not a mere date but a period, Juin-Octobre 1985, thus confirming the prolonged attention given by the artist in its execution.
Juin-Octobre 1985 is the most monumental artwork in Zao's entire career. According to his inspiration in that decade, it evokes the mystical unicity between nature and the infinite. The incandescent center is seen beyond a dark curtain accented by strident blue. It will be sold by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on September 30, lot 1004. The press release of September 7 indicates that this painting is expected beyond HK $ 350M.
1985 Farewell to the Ocean
2018 SOLD for $ 22.6M including premium
From 1967 to 1985 the series of paintings titled Ocean Park is the interpretation by Richard Diebenkorn of the atmosphere and colors of Santa Monica. Seeking the dazzling light as de Staël had done, he goes further by sublimating the landscape in abstract compositions.
During these two decades the emotions of the artist were changing. He interrupts Ocean Park in 1980 after opus 125. He feels the need for a greater realization of his vision on large canvases and composes opus 126 to 140 in 1984 and 1985.
On November 15 in New York, Christie's sells Ocean Park 137, oil on canvas 254 x 206 cm painted in 1985, lot 31 C estimated $ 18M.
Within the final sub-series, 137 is the only one that appears to be almost entirely devoted to the blue of the sea. Far from being monochrome, it offers shades that lead from left to right to the dominant zone in deep blue of the open sea.
The other paintings leave a significant place to the colors of the shore. The first of them, 126, is an abstract landscape in many colors with a structured geometry. This 236 x 206 cm oil on canvas was sold for $ 24M including premium by Christie's on May 17, 2018.
While still admiring the colors of what had been his frame of life since 1967, Diebenkorn was tired from Los Angeles. In 1986 he prospected to settle in the countryside and made his masterpiece of print, Green, 114 x 90 cm. A copy was sold for $ 530K including premium by Sotheby's on May 2, 2014. He bought in 1987 an old house inside a vineyard in Northern California.
During these two decades the emotions of the artist were changing. He interrupts Ocean Park in 1980 after opus 125. He feels the need for a greater realization of his vision on large canvases and composes opus 126 to 140 in 1984 and 1985.
On November 15 in New York, Christie's sells Ocean Park 137, oil on canvas 254 x 206 cm painted in 1985, lot 31 C estimated $ 18M.
Within the final sub-series, 137 is the only one that appears to be almost entirely devoted to the blue of the sea. Far from being monochrome, it offers shades that lead from left to right to the dominant zone in deep blue of the open sea.
The other paintings leave a significant place to the colors of the shore. The first of them, 126, is an abstract landscape in many colors with a structured geometry. This 236 x 206 cm oil on canvas was sold for $ 24M including premium by Christie's on May 17, 2018.
While still admiring the colors of what had been his frame of life since 1967, Diebenkorn was tired from Los Angeles. In 1986 he prospected to settle in the countryside and made his masterpiece of print, Green, 114 x 90 cm. A copy was sold for $ 530K including premium by Sotheby's on May 2, 2014. He bought in 1987 an old house inside a vineyard in Northern California.
1985 The Ready Made within the Impossible
2016 SOLD for $ 15.3M including premium
Jeff Koons is the star of current art since he creates what the audience wishes to see. He talks too much for the purpose that people will believe in the universality of his artistic message. With his perpetual smile, he acts as a rare example of an optimistic creator.
In 1977, aged 22, he begins by making kitsch scenes with toys and objects. On the following year he imagines inflatable flowers and rabbits and builds them in painted vinyl. In 1980 his first exhibition entitled The New is an application of the ready made conception in a simulated trade show of household electrical equipment.
He must now find an artifact and a theme that would appeal to visitors from all social classes. Basketball, this sport from yard to competition, meets this requirement by its ability to generate champions while using some very simple equipment.
He acquires balls of Spalding brand but it is not foregone to amaze the public with such everyday pieces. He decides to display them frozen in flight with no visible structure like in a sports photograph. Or like a cosmic planet.
This is of course not possible. Yet it happens. Dr. Feynman who was one of the most brilliant physicists of his time indicates him a chance. In 1985 after two years of trials, Koons puts his balls in aquariums filled successively with saturated salt water and pure water. The two densities do not mingle and the ball stands still at mid height of its showcase. After several weeks some maintenance will be required.
The Equilibrium exhibition is the first success for Jeff Koons. Its central work is a minimalist tank with a single ball. The technique is demythified by so called "50/50" tanks in which the ball floats at the same height on a visible surface of water. Bronzes and posters on the theme of basketball complete the appeal.
On May 8 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 21 A One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank (Spalding Dr. J Silver Series). On 12 May 2014 the same auction house had sold for $ 6.9 million including premium a similar artwork with two balls of the same type.
The Equilibrium Tanks mark the first encounter between Jeff Koons and advanced techniques, anticipating the development of the reflective layers of his Celebrations.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
In 1977, aged 22, he begins by making kitsch scenes with toys and objects. On the following year he imagines inflatable flowers and rabbits and builds them in painted vinyl. In 1980 his first exhibition entitled The New is an application of the ready made conception in a simulated trade show of household electrical equipment.
He must now find an artifact and a theme that would appeal to visitors from all social classes. Basketball, this sport from yard to competition, meets this requirement by its ability to generate champions while using some very simple equipment.
He acquires balls of Spalding brand but it is not foregone to amaze the public with such everyday pieces. He decides to display them frozen in flight with no visible structure like in a sports photograph. Or like a cosmic planet.
This is of course not possible. Yet it happens. Dr. Feynman who was one of the most brilliant physicists of his time indicates him a chance. In 1985 after two years of trials, Koons puts his balls in aquariums filled successively with saturated salt water and pure water. The two densities do not mingle and the ball stands still at mid height of its showcase. After several weeks some maintenance will be required.
The Equilibrium exhibition is the first success for Jeff Koons. Its central work is a minimalist tank with a single ball. The technique is demythified by so called "50/50" tanks in which the ball floats at the same height on a visible surface of water. Bronzes and posters on the theme of basketball complete the appeal.
On May 8 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 21 A One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank (Spalding Dr. J Silver Series). On 12 May 2014 the same auction house had sold for $ 6.9 million including premium a similar artwork with two balls of the same type.
The Equilibrium Tanks mark the first encounter between Jeff Koons and advanced techniques, anticipating the development of the reflective layers of his Celebrations.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
1985 The Hell of the Rubber
2020 SOLD for £ 7.5M including premium
The art of Jean-Michel Basquiat is political, and he is a remarkable connoisseur of the history of slavery. During 1981 and most of 1982, he had also been an entertainer, basing many works on street life including the hide and seek game with the cops.
From the start, he uses words that imitate the tags. The bourgeois see it as an irreverent complement to the illustration, but the message is often subtle and well targeted. Pollo Frito, painted in 1982, is a direct reference to the living conditions of the slaves in the south of the United States. This diptych was sold for $ 25.7M including premium by Sotheby's on November 14, 2018.
In 1983 he internationalizes his vision by castigating the slavery of black people in antique Egypt, a social fact deliberately forgotten by most historians. The word NILE is half crossed out, like a lie that generates a critical question : is today's society, based on consumerism, creating new forms of slavery which are once again denied by the bourgeoisie ?
In the last phase of his short career, the theme of slavery takes an increasingly obsessive place.
On February 11 in London, Sotheby's sells Rubber, acrylic, oil stick and collage on canvas 220 x 173 cm made in 1985, lot 8 estimated £ 6M.
The dominant colors are blazing red and orange, and the flames of hell appear repeatedly. The only word is RUBBER, inscribed with a great clarity. In the 1880s and the following decades throughout the Amazon rainforest, the rubber boom (ciclo da borracha) marks a resurgence of slavery in its most atrocious conditions, to meet the new needs of the consumer society.
Rubber is dominated by a much stylized black head with mouth and empty eyes lit from behind, mounted on a barrel which can serve as a lamp. The figure has no limbs but the flame closest to that head is shaped like a hand coming out of an incandescent lava pool.
Jim Crow, a direct reference to a former racial discrimination in Mississippi, features a similar figure, excepted that the barrel has retrieved two helpless arms and three pairs of ribs. This acrylic and oil stick on wooden parquet 205 x 244 x 4 cm executed in 1986 was sold for € 15M including premium by Christie's on October 20, 2017.
From the start, he uses words that imitate the tags. The bourgeois see it as an irreverent complement to the illustration, but the message is often subtle and well targeted. Pollo Frito, painted in 1982, is a direct reference to the living conditions of the slaves in the south of the United States. This diptych was sold for $ 25.7M including premium by Sotheby's on November 14, 2018.
In 1983 he internationalizes his vision by castigating the slavery of black people in antique Egypt, a social fact deliberately forgotten by most historians. The word NILE is half crossed out, like a lie that generates a critical question : is today's society, based on consumerism, creating new forms of slavery which are once again denied by the bourgeoisie ?
In the last phase of his short career, the theme of slavery takes an increasingly obsessive place.
On February 11 in London, Sotheby's sells Rubber, acrylic, oil stick and collage on canvas 220 x 173 cm made in 1985, lot 8 estimated £ 6M.
The dominant colors are blazing red and orange, and the flames of hell appear repeatedly. The only word is RUBBER, inscribed with a great clarity. In the 1880s and the following decades throughout the Amazon rainforest, the rubber boom (ciclo da borracha) marks a resurgence of slavery in its most atrocious conditions, to meet the new needs of the consumer society.
Rubber is dominated by a much stylized black head with mouth and empty eyes lit from behind, mounted on a barrel which can serve as a lamp. The figure has no limbs but the flame closest to that head is shaped like a hand coming out of an incandescent lava pool.
Jim Crow, a direct reference to a former racial discrimination in Mississippi, features a similar figure, excepted that the barrel has retrieved two helpless arms and three pairs of ribs. This acrylic and oil stick on wooden parquet 205 x 244 x 4 cm executed in 1986 was sold for € 15M including premium by Christie's on October 20, 2017.
1985 Porsche on the Paris-Dakar
2018 SOLD for $ 6M including premium
The Paris-Dakar rally was prestigious for its countless safari-style difficulties through 14000 km in France, Spain and Africa. In 1984 it was won by Metge and Lemoyne in a Porsche 953 with four-wheel drive, a great novelty for the brand. The suspension has also been improved.
Jacky Ickx, who had won the previous edition with a Mercedes-Benz, is also a regular driver for Porsche, including the 956, a model for endurance well suited for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Under his influence Porsche realizes a new development for the Paris-Dakar.
Three prototypes were built in 1985 and three more in 1986. A seventh car was reclassified as Porsche 961 prototype for Le Mans. These cars are an improvement of the 953 with an electronic control of the four-wheel drive. They do not constitute a new reference but benefit from the modernization efforts of the 959 and enter that range.
In 1984 the three entered 953 had finished the Paris-Dakar. 1985 is less glorious when none of the three 959 finish. In 1986 the three new Porsche 959 are 1st, 2nd and 6th overall.
Two of the six 959 Paris-Dakar remain in private hands with only one of them in working condition. This car was one of the three Porsche entered in the 1985 rally where it was driven by Metge and Lemoyne. Retired afterward from competition, it remains highly original. It is estimated $ 3M for sale by RM Sotheby's in Atlanta on October 27, lot 196.
Jacky Ickx, who had won the previous edition with a Mercedes-Benz, is also a regular driver for Porsche, including the 956, a model for endurance well suited for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Under his influence Porsche realizes a new development for the Paris-Dakar.
Three prototypes were built in 1985 and three more in 1986. A seventh car was reclassified as Porsche 961 prototype for Le Mans. These cars are an improvement of the 953 with an electronic control of the four-wheel drive. They do not constitute a new reference but benefit from the modernization efforts of the 959 and enter that range.
In 1984 the three entered 953 had finished the Paris-Dakar. 1985 is less glorious when none of the three 959 finish. In 1986 the three new Porsche 959 are 1st, 2nd and 6th overall.
Two of the six 959 Paris-Dakar remain in private hands with only one of them in working condition. This car was one of the three Porsche entered in the 1985 rally where it was driven by Metge and Lemoyne. Retired afterward from competition, it remains highly original. It is estimated $ 3M for sale by RM Sotheby's in Atlanta on October 27, lot 196.
1985 The Creatures of Amsterdam
2017 SOLD for $ 3.6M including premium
In 1985 in Amsterdam the Galerie Paul Andriesse devotes to Marlene Dumas a solo exhibition entitled The Eyes of the Night Creatures.
The South African born Dumas was then established since ten years in Holland where she had studied art and also psychology. Her friends from the Amsterdam's art communities are interesting in their nightlife, their vices and their disarray.
Under poor lighting the faces are pale and unhealthy. The people of the night counterbalance their banality by their desire for pleasure. Their portraits painted by Dumas far beyond life size anticipate by a few years the expression of the real ugliness by Young British Artists including Jenny Saville. She works from photographs like Francis Bacon had done.
On November 16 in New York, Phillips sells an oil on linen 125 x 211 cm painted in 1985 by Marlene Dumas and titled The Yellow Fingers of the Artist, lot 13 estimated $ 2.2M, which had been exhibited in the group of the Eyes of the Night Creatures.
This artwork is a diptych consisting of two portraits on a black background. The two characters look ahead and ignore each other like Munch's loners. On the left, the man dazed by the night has his fingers yellowed by fresh paint but also by the abuse of tobacco. On the right the young woman who is an assistant to Andriesse has her eyes too wide open and hides her mouth behind a glass of red wine.
The South African born Dumas was then established since ten years in Holland where she had studied art and also psychology. Her friends from the Amsterdam's art communities are interesting in their nightlife, their vices and their disarray.
Under poor lighting the faces are pale and unhealthy. The people of the night counterbalance their banality by their desire for pleasure. Their portraits painted by Dumas far beyond life size anticipate by a few years the expression of the real ugliness by Young British Artists including Jenny Saville. She works from photographs like Francis Bacon had done.
On November 16 in New York, Phillips sells an oil on linen 125 x 211 cm painted in 1985 by Marlene Dumas and titled The Yellow Fingers of the Artist, lot 13 estimated $ 2.2M, which had been exhibited in the group of the Eyes of the Night Creatures.
This artwork is a diptych consisting of two portraits on a black background. The two characters look ahead and ignore each other like Munch's loners. On the left, the man dazed by the night has his fingers yellowed by fresh paint but also by the abuse of tobacco. On the right the young woman who is an assistant to Andriesse has her eyes too wide open and hides her mouth behind a glass of red wine.
1985 Untitled 10 by Agnes Martin
2020 SOLD for $ 3.4M including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
1985 Cupid's Quiver by Riley
2021 SOLD for £ 2.24M including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
1985 The Olgas for Ernest Giles by Brett Whiteley
2007 SOLD for A$ 3.5M including premium by Menzies
1985 Failed Appointment with Group B
2016 SOLD for $ 2.6M including premium
FIA regulations have been continuously modified in search of an impossible compromise between performance and risk. In 1982, the Group B restarts an earlier idea of competing cars designed over commercial units of Grand Touring category.
The rules in Group B request that 200 commercial cars are produced. Manufacturers can make design adjustments for race that are referred as Evolution.
Ferrari is interested but reminds the difficulties of homologation twenty years earlier for the 250 GTO and the 250 LM. No risk is taken against the Group B requirements. The introduction of the new model 288 begins in 1984 by the 200 road cars. To assess that their brand is the good guy, the new car is identified by Ferrari as GTO (Omologato).
The 288 GTO is a significant development, with a bodywork inspired by the 308 GTB and modernized by Pininfarina. It is lightweight, powerful and fast. Customers are appealed and the production is increased to 272. One of them is estimated $ 2.3M for sale by RM Sotheby's on March 12 in Amelia Island, lot 148. It had been in 1985 the first 288 GTO officially exported to Japan.
Everything is well excepted that the FIA gives up the Group B in 1986 after two fatal accidents. Launched in 5 units, the 288 GTO Evolution was not ready. None will compete. Two of these Evoluzione are modified to be used as prototypes for the F40. Unused in its original application, the 288 GTO has the great merit of opening the two decades of commercial success of the Ferrari supercars : F40, F50 and Enzo.
The rules in Group B request that 200 commercial cars are produced. Manufacturers can make design adjustments for race that are referred as Evolution.
Ferrari is interested but reminds the difficulties of homologation twenty years earlier for the 250 GTO and the 250 LM. No risk is taken against the Group B requirements. The introduction of the new model 288 begins in 1984 by the 200 road cars. To assess that their brand is the good guy, the new car is identified by Ferrari as GTO (Omologato).
The 288 GTO is a significant development, with a bodywork inspired by the 308 GTB and modernized by Pininfarina. It is lightweight, powerful and fast. Customers are appealed and the production is increased to 272. One of them is estimated $ 2.3M for sale by RM Sotheby's on March 12 in Amelia Island, lot 148. It had been in 1985 the first 288 GTO officially exported to Japan.
Everything is well excepted that the FIA gives up the Group B in 1986 after two fatal accidents. Launched in 5 units, the 288 GTO Evolution was not ready. None will compete. Two of these Evoluzione are modified to be used as prototypes for the F40. Unused in its original application, the 288 GTO has the great merit of opening the two decades of commercial success of the Ferrari supercars : F40, F50 and Enzo.
1985 Jumping into the New Wave
2015 SOLD for HK$ 16.6M including premium
2015 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the 85 New Wave in China with its unprecedented artistic and cultural revival four years before the protests in Tiananmen Square.
The 1985 movement is multiple, with groups of artists in all major cities. The common point is their total opposition to the official art of political propaganda. The corollary is the expression by painting of new messages resolutely inspired by the contradictions of modern life. The groups communicate together and the first major exhibitions, wandering or located, are managed before the end of that first year.
The new wave of 1985 came out of nothingness. It was previously impossible for an artist to acquire the necessary equipment and such a situation was as effective for the central government as the implementation of its severe censorship. The underground art under Maoism and early post-Maoism was indeed of poor technical quality and the permanent threat against the artists had concentrated their creativity on political claiming.
Zhang Peili led the group of Hangzhou. He appreciated the risk of sentimentality. The faces of his characters are blurred or erased, not allowing the likeness to a real person nor the expression of an emotion or even of an impassivity, on the opposite to Zhang Xiaogang for example. He probably contributed to inspire the hidden portraits of Zeng Fanzhi.
In 1985, Zhang Peili painted bathers in a pool, ready to jump, or swimming, or floating. The water-filled basin is the new world that welcomes their future.
On October 5 in Hong Kong, Poly Auction sells Midsummer Swimmers, lot 209 shown on the third page of the press release. This oil on canvas 173 x 170 cm, a very large size for this artist, was selected for the seminal exhibition of his group in December 1985 in Hangzhou. The four young men in bathing suits symbolize the four founders of the group.
Zhang Peili's career as a painter was short. Seeking more up-to-date means of expression, he is considered since 1994 as the pioneer and master of Chinese video art.
The 1985 movement is multiple, with groups of artists in all major cities. The common point is their total opposition to the official art of political propaganda. The corollary is the expression by painting of new messages resolutely inspired by the contradictions of modern life. The groups communicate together and the first major exhibitions, wandering or located, are managed before the end of that first year.
The new wave of 1985 came out of nothingness. It was previously impossible for an artist to acquire the necessary equipment and such a situation was as effective for the central government as the implementation of its severe censorship. The underground art under Maoism and early post-Maoism was indeed of poor technical quality and the permanent threat against the artists had concentrated their creativity on political claiming.
Zhang Peili led the group of Hangzhou. He appreciated the risk of sentimentality. The faces of his characters are blurred or erased, not allowing the likeness to a real person nor the expression of an emotion or even of an impassivity, on the opposite to Zhang Xiaogang for example. He probably contributed to inspire the hidden portraits of Zeng Fanzhi.
In 1985, Zhang Peili painted bathers in a pool, ready to jump, or swimming, or floating. The water-filled basin is the new world that welcomes their future.
On October 5 in Hong Kong, Poly Auction sells Midsummer Swimmers, lot 209 shown on the third page of the press release. This oil on canvas 173 x 170 cm, a very large size for this artist, was selected for the seminal exhibition of his group in December 1985 in Hangzhou. The four young men in bathing suits symbolize the four founders of the group.
Zhang Peili's career as a painter was short. Seeking more up-to-date means of expression, he is considered since 1994 as the pioneer and master of Chinese video art.
1985 Homage to the Life by Keith Haring
2014 SOLD 1.54 M£ including premium
The late twentieth century saw the recognition of street artists. Keith Haring was one of the most prolific, using all materials and all formats to spread his activist message. Died of AIDS at 32 in 1990, he became the best symbol of anti-homophobic art.
His world is teeming with figures often repeated and perfectly recognizable in a cheerful and sexual mood. Despite the impossible links between the bodies and their monstrous deformations, his drawing inspired by graffiti is too simple to climb to the highest level of the art market.
In 1985 one of his friends died accidentally at age 20. Keith chooses for her memory the theme of the tree of life.
Drawing a tree is one of the basics of psycho-technical analysis. The branches of Keith's tree do not extend in leaves but in humanoid shapes which spring to life with vitality. In the foreground, four faceless characters sing an incantation in a wild celebration akin to the voodoo universe of Wifredo Lam.
This monumental acrylic on canvas 294 x 362 cm was sold for $ 2.17 million including premium by Sotheby's on 14 November 2007. It is estimated £ 1M for sale by Christie's in London on July 1, lot 34.
ADDENDUM
We have been informed by a message on twitter that the friend for whom he painted it was Maria Bonnier, killed in a car accident at 15 years old.
POST SALE COMMENT
This highly emotional painting was sold for £ 1.54M including premium.
His world is teeming with figures often repeated and perfectly recognizable in a cheerful and sexual mood. Despite the impossible links between the bodies and their monstrous deformations, his drawing inspired by graffiti is too simple to climb to the highest level of the art market.
In 1985 one of his friends died accidentally at age 20. Keith chooses for her memory the theme of the tree of life.
Drawing a tree is one of the basics of psycho-technical analysis. The branches of Keith's tree do not extend in leaves but in humanoid shapes which spring to life with vitality. In the foreground, four faceless characters sing an incantation in a wild celebration akin to the voodoo universe of Wifredo Lam.
This monumental acrylic on canvas 294 x 362 cm was sold for $ 2.17 million including premium by Sotheby's on 14 November 2007. It is estimated £ 1M for sale by Christie's in London on July 1, lot 34.
ADDENDUM
We have been informed by a message on twitter that the friend for whom he painted it was Maria Bonnier, killed in a car accident at 15 years old.
POST SALE COMMENT
This highly emotional painting was sold for £ 1.54M including premium.
1985 The Full Control of the Calendar
2015 SOLD for HK$ 12M including premium
The perpetual calendar was offered since the 1920s by Patek Philippe in some of their references of watches but the perfectionists were still awaiting a leap year indicator.
The first experiment made in 1975 by the transformation of a watch of the 3448 reference was not acceptable: the position of the indicator was incompatible with another complication of the model.
The success comes in 1981 with the transformation of another 3448. This white gold watch was sold for CHF 1,62M including premium by Christie's on May 13, 2013 over a lower estimate of CHF 800K. After their achievement, Patek Philippe decided to release this improved version to which they attributed the reference 3450.
Only two 3450 are known in white gold. One of them made in 1985 is estimated in excess of HK $ 8M for sale by Phillips in Hong Kong on December 1, lot 305. It is in excellent condition.
The first experiment made in 1975 by the transformation of a watch of the 3448 reference was not acceptable: the position of the indicator was incompatible with another complication of the model.
The success comes in 1981 with the transformation of another 3448. This white gold watch was sold for CHF 1,62M including premium by Christie's on May 13, 2013 over a lower estimate of CHF 800K. After their achievement, Patek Philippe decided to release this improved version to which they attributed the reference 3450.
Only two 3450 are known in white gold. One of them made in 1985 is estimated in excess of HK $ 8M for sale by Phillips in Hong Kong on December 1, lot 305. It is in excellent condition.
