1997
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Wu Guanzhong Richter Freud Marshall Women artists French sculpture British cars
See also : Wu Guanzhong Richter Freud Marshall Women artists French sculpture British cars
1997 Spider by BOURGEOIS
1
3.26 m high, 2/6
2019 SOLD for $ 32M by Christie's
Within her old age, Louise Bourgeois remained hypersensitive to sexual ambiguity and sexual promiscuity. The carefully carved body of her spiders is a further female carnal symbol. By choosing this beast as a symbol of motherhood, she is not an artist of animals but indeed a highly disturbing surrealist artist.
A spider 3.26 m high on a 7.56 x 7.06 m overall perimeter designed in 1996 was sculpted in steel and cast in bronze in 1997 in six copies plus one artist's proof and one variant in bronze.
The 2/6 was sold for $ 32M from a lower is estimated $ 25M by Christie's on May 15, 2019, lot 21 B.
A spider 3.26 m high on a 7.56 x 7.06 m overall perimeter designed in 1996 was sculpted in steel and cast in bronze in 1997 in six copies plus one artist's proof and one variant in bronze.
The 2/6 was sold for $ 32M from a lower is estimated $ 25M by Christie's on May 15, 2019, lot 21 B.
2
3.26 m high 2/6
2015 SOLD for $ 28M by Christie's
On November 10, 2015, Christie's, sold for $ 28M the bronze 3/6 of the large variant 7.56 x 7.06 x 3.26 m, executed in 1997, lot 10B.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
3
Spider IV
2022 SOLD for HK$ 130M by Sotheby's
By realizing her spiders in bronze from 1995 Louise Bourgeois concretizes with an indestructible material her lifelong fantasies about the intrauterine relations. The cohort of these protective spiders form a deeply feminine surrealist universe. The bronzes are edited in six copies plus an artist's proof.
Spider I (127 x 117 x 31 cm) and II (185 x 185 x 57 cm) conceived in 1995 and Spider IV (203 x 180 x 53 cm) conceived in 1996 have a lowered body that invites to apply them on a wall. The right rear leg of Spider IV is folded simulating an upward walking. A Spider II edited in 1995 was sold for $ 11.6M by Christie's on November 15, 2017, lot 7 B.
Spider III (48 x 84 x 83 cm) designed in 1995 is raised on its legs and anticipates the gigantic bronzes of 1996 and 1997 that can be used as garden shelters. The culmination of this evolution is the 9.20 m high spider named Maman made in 1999 which can be used as a city monument.
The Spider IV number 2/6 from the 1997 original edition was sold by Sotheby's for $ 14.7M on November 16, 2017, lot 34 and for HK $ 130M on April 27, 2022, lot 1116. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Spider I (127 x 117 x 31 cm) and II (185 x 185 x 57 cm) conceived in 1995 and Spider IV (203 x 180 x 53 cm) conceived in 1996 have a lowered body that invites to apply them on a wall. The right rear leg of Spider IV is folded simulating an upward walking. A Spider II edited in 1995 was sold for $ 11.6M by Christie's on November 15, 2017, lot 7 B.
Spider III (48 x 84 x 83 cm) designed in 1995 is raised on its legs and anticipates the gigantic bronzes of 1996 and 1997 that can be used as garden shelters. The culmination of this evolution is the 9.20 m high spider named Maman made in 1999 which can be used as a city monument.
The Spider IV number 2/6 from the 1997 original edition was sold by Sotheby's for $ 14.7M on November 16, 2017, lot 34 and for HK $ 130M on April 27, 2022, lot 1116. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1997 RICHTER
1
AB 849-1
2023 SOLD for $ 32M by Sotheby's
The Abstraktes Bild 849 by Richter is made of three elements painted in 1997.
849-1, oil on canvas 275 x 275 cm painted by Richter in 1997, was sold for $ 32M from a lower estimate of $ 25M by Sotheby's on November 15, 2023, lot 125. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The artist applied his squeegee with bright color in intense gesture reminding the physical painting actions by Pollock, Shiraga or Klein. The result is a complex composition of horizontal and vertical strikes that also reveal the underneath colors through crevices.
849-1, oil on canvas 275 x 275 cm painted by Richter in 1997, was sold for $ 32M from a lower estimate of $ 25M by Sotheby's on November 15, 2023, lot 125. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The artist applied his squeegee with bright color in intense gesture reminding the physical painting actions by Pollock, Shiraga or Klein. The result is a complex composition of horizontal and vertical strikes that also reveal the underneath colors through crevices.
2
AB 849-3
2011 SOLD for $ 21M by Sotheby's
849-3, oil on canvas 260 x 340 cm, was sold for $ 21M from a lower estimate of $ 9M by Sotheby's on November 9, 2011, lot 33.
1997 WU GUANZHONG
1
The Zhou Village
2016 SOLD for HK$ 236M by Poly
Wu Guanzhong is a full range artist who integrated tradition and modernism. After the torments of the Cultural Revolution, he endeavored to make people love his native region, Jiangnan, south of the Yangtze River. He observes landscapes and villages by bringing the utmost importance to their geometric decomposition.
Suzhou is a big city enjoying 2,500 years of history. Wu took in 1983 as one of his favorite themes the Lion Grove Garden, with a texture of rocks that reaches the limits of abstraction. An ink and colors on paper 144 x 297 cm painted in 1988 was sold for RMB 144M by China Guardian on June 2, 2019.
The Zhou village is also located in Suzhou. On April 4, 2016, Poly sold for HK $ 236M a painting 148 x 297 cm made in 1997, which transposed to oil an ink and colors made in 1986.
The old village is appealing to tourists, with its pattern of houses huddled together. Suzhou is the Venice of the East which amazed Marco Polo with its canals crossed by a multitude of small stone bridges.
The image is seen in a slightly plunging perspective. The village is symmetrical, with its central axis on the very narrow street leading to the bridge. The edge of the canal and the horizon form an oval, like in a fish eye photo. This harmony of curves is reinforced by the arched shapes of the bridge.
Suzhou is a big city enjoying 2,500 years of history. Wu took in 1983 as one of his favorite themes the Lion Grove Garden, with a texture of rocks that reaches the limits of abstraction. An ink and colors on paper 144 x 297 cm painted in 1988 was sold for RMB 144M by China Guardian on June 2, 2019.
The Zhou village is also located in Suzhou. On April 4, 2016, Poly sold for HK $ 236M a painting 148 x 297 cm made in 1997, which transposed to oil an ink and colors made in 1986.
The old village is appealing to tourists, with its pattern of houses huddled together. Suzhou is the Venice of the East which amazed Marco Polo with its canals crossed by a multitude of small stone bridges.
The image is seen in a slightly plunging perspective. The village is symmetrical, with its central axis on the very narrow street leading to the bridge. The edge of the canal and the horizon form an oval, like in a fish eye photo. This harmony of curves is reinforced by the arched shapes of the bridge.
2
Lotus Pond
2016 SOLD for HK$ 106M by Poly
Wu Guanzhong assured the transition between classicism and modernism in Chinese graphic art. He was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and the works of his early career are barely known. Like Zhang Daqian before him he had the merit of being a complete artist able to master a variety of techniques, styles and themes.
Wu was watching the earth as an environment for the lifestyle, from wide landscapes around the world up to tiny details in the blossoming trees. He successfully practiced oil painting and returned to the traditional ink when he wanted to position spots of pure colors.
1997 is a year of great creativity. Freed of threats at 78, he continues to explore many possibilities of the artistic language. The Zhou Village, sold for HK $ 236M by Poly in April 2016, is an oil on canvase.
An ink and colors on paper 144 x 368 cm from 1997 was sold for HK $ 106M by Poly in October 2016, lot 139. Its theme of the lotus pond is an excuse for a color balance that comes close to abstraction. The field is unlimited as in a Pollock. The bright spots compensate for the lack of perspective for suggesting the depth. The leaves and their reflections are interwoven in a tight pattern.
Wu was watching the earth as an environment for the lifestyle, from wide landscapes around the world up to tiny details in the blossoming trees. He successfully practiced oil painting and returned to the traditional ink when he wanted to position spots of pure colors.
1997 is a year of great creativity. Freed of threats at 78, he continues to explore many possibilities of the artistic language. The Zhou Village, sold for HK $ 236M by Poly in April 2016, is an oil on canvase.
An ink and colors on paper 144 x 368 cm from 1997 was sold for HK $ 106M by Poly in October 2016, lot 139. Its theme of the lotus pond is an excuse for a color balance that comes close to abstraction. The field is unlimited as in a Pollock. The bright spots compensate for the lack of perspective for suggesting the depth. The leaves and their reflections are interwoven in a tight pattern.
1997 Garden Project by Marshall
2018 SOLD for $ 21M by Sotheby's
Kerry James Marshall lives in Chicago. An activist for civil rights, he observes African-Americans who do not know how to create a community revealing their own culture. They have the same hobbies as the whites but their skin is invariably painted in a deep black that is a signature of his art.
Real estate projects in the suburbs sometimes name 'Garden' their ghettos which do not want to be identified as such. In 1994 Marshall executed a series of five monumental paintings titled Garden Project. He reinforces his political message with three additional works.
Made in 1997 the last of these three artworks is an acrylic and collage on canvas 275 x 400 cm, was sold for $ 21M from a lower estimate of $ 8M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2018, lot 5 A. Its title is Past Times, a subtle pun for Pastime to show that these characters do not really benefit from the contemporary world, even when they imitate the whites.
This scene is staged in an idyllic park offering golf and water sports. Far away skyscrapers indicate that it is somewhere in the suburbs. In the foreground on and around a plaid blanket a family enjoys a moment of rest.
The man is hitting a golf ball. The little girl with bunches tries to imitate him, with awkwardness. The woman is in traditional African clothes and the teenage boy does not want to be disturbed when he listens to his music. The dog is sleeping.
There are no whites in Marshall's world, not because he rejects them but rather because his social observation does not apply to them. It is somehow like giving a sequel to Seurat's Grande Jatte after firing the bourgeois. There is no doubt that this groundbreaking painting kept at the Art Institute of Chicago had a decisive influence on Marshall's narrative style.
Real estate projects in the suburbs sometimes name 'Garden' their ghettos which do not want to be identified as such. In 1994 Marshall executed a series of five monumental paintings titled Garden Project. He reinforces his political message with three additional works.
Made in 1997 the last of these three artworks is an acrylic and collage on canvas 275 x 400 cm, was sold for $ 21M from a lower estimate of $ 8M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2018, lot 5 A. Its title is Past Times, a subtle pun for Pastime to show that these characters do not really benefit from the contemporary world, even when they imitate the whites.
This scene is staged in an idyllic park offering golf and water sports. Far away skyscrapers indicate that it is somewhere in the suburbs. In the foreground on and around a plaid blanket a family enjoys a moment of rest.
The man is hitting a golf ball. The little girl with bunches tries to imitate him, with awkwardness. The woman is in traditional African clothes and the teenage boy does not want to be disturbed when he listens to his music. The dog is sleeping.
There are no whites in Marshall's world, not because he rejects them but rather because his social observation does not apply to them. It is somehow like giving a sequel to Seurat's Grande Jatte after firing the bourgeois. There is no doubt that this groundbreaking painting kept at the Art Institute of Chicago had a decisive influence on Marshall's narrative style.
1997 Ib Reading by Freud
2023 SOLD for £ 17M by Sotheby's
There is always some reason for Lucian Freud to execute a painting. Going older, he manages to reconcile himself with his memory including some regrets to have neglected his children.
His daughter Isobel "Ib" Boyt later said : "Each time I did a picture with him I swore I'd never do it again, but I then do because it is a way of having a relationship with my dad as well as there is a part of me that if he wants to paint me I am quite flattered".
Ib reading, oil on canvas 138 x 157 cm, was painted in 1997 when the father was 75 and the daughter 36.
Lucian usually took care that is sitter is comfortably positioned to go into the endless pose sessions. It is not the case in this painting. The open book is too far away for reading and she only has a gaze to it, held unbalanced on her lap.
The book is clearly identified as A la recherche du temps perdu by Proust. Lucian maliciously suggests that Ib is losing her time when posing for him.
He obviously also considers that the estrangement with his children during their youth was an irreparable missed time. That latter interpretation is confirmed by the appearance in the background of the chest where he kept the letters and photos from his own youth. It is too late : Ib is growing unglamorous, as evidenced in his signature impasto by the texture on her face and bare legs and feet.
Ib reading was sold for £ 17M by Sotheby's on March 1, 2023, lot 106. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
His daughter Isobel "Ib" Boyt later said : "Each time I did a picture with him I swore I'd never do it again, but I then do because it is a way of having a relationship with my dad as well as there is a part of me that if he wants to paint me I am quite flattered".
Ib reading, oil on canvas 138 x 157 cm, was painted in 1997 when the father was 75 and the daughter 36.
Lucian usually took care that is sitter is comfortably positioned to go into the endless pose sessions. It is not the case in this painting. The open book is too far away for reading and she only has a gaze to it, held unbalanced on her lap.
The book is clearly identified as A la recherche du temps perdu by Proust. Lucian maliciously suggests that Ib is losing her time when posing for him.
He obviously also considers that the estrangement with his children during their youth was an irreparable missed time. That latter interpretation is confirmed by the appearance in the background of the chest where he kept the letters and photos from his own youth. It is too late : Ib is growing unglamorous, as evidenced in his signature impasto by the texture on her face and bare legs and feet.
Ib reading was sold for £ 17M by Sotheby's on March 1, 2023, lot 106. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1997 Miss January by Dumas
2025 SOLD for $ 13.6M by Christie's
Born in Cape Town as a white woman of Afrikaans descent at the time of the apartheid, Marlene Dumas was upset by the beauty contests that always highlighted the same race. She stated three decades later : "When I was young all the Miss Worlds looked alike". She kept a child drawing aligning glamorous models that she had titled Miss World.
Miss January comes in the follow in 1997. In the usual practice of the artist, it is inspired by an illustration in a magazine, in this case a center page from Playboy. The title is evoking the 'playmate of the month'.
That Miss has a heavy make up and red lips, and wears a flashy semi-transparent top. She is standing in a frontal nudity below the waist, excepted one single inelegant sock. Her attitude asks for an irrelevant admiration but she does not wear the contest sash. She indeed looks like an aging prostitute displaying her pubic hair.
This Miss January highly exceeding life size shared the spot with other pin-ups in a solo exhibition titled Miss World in 1998 in Amsterdam, a city reputed for its pleasure districts. Miss is also a homophony for mis-, altering a word for expressing its worst meaning. Dumas had once included a painting titled Misinterpreted in a Miss Interpreted exhibition.
This oil on canvas 280 x 100 cm was sold for $ 13.6M from a lower estimte of $ 12M by Christie's on May 14, 2025, lot 21B.
Miss January comes in the follow in 1997. In the usual practice of the artist, it is inspired by an illustration in a magazine, in this case a center page from Playboy. The title is evoking the 'playmate of the month'.
That Miss has a heavy make up and red lips, and wears a flashy semi-transparent top. She is standing in a frontal nudity below the waist, excepted one single inelegant sock. Her attitude asks for an irrelevant admiration but she does not wear the contest sash. She indeed looks like an aging prostitute displaying her pubic hair.
This Miss January highly exceeding life size shared the spot with other pin-ups in a solo exhibition titled Miss World in 1998 in Amsterdam, a city reputed for its pleasure districts. Miss is also a homophony for mis-, altering a word for expressing its worst meaning. Dumas had once included a painting titled Misinterpreted in a Miss Interpreted exhibition.
This oil on canvas 280 x 100 cm was sold for $ 13.6M from a lower estimte of $ 12M by Christie's on May 14, 2025, lot 21B.
