Modern Prints
1946-1947 Océanie - la Mer by Matisse
2011 SOLD for £ 2.95M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2018 before the sale of another copy by Sotheby's (see below)
Henri Matisse is seriously ill but has not lost his manual skill. The Jazz project started for Tériade in 1943, based on cut-off papers, maintains his creativity.
The beige walls of his apartment in Montparnasse remind him of the color of the beaches in Tahiti. He cuts in a white paper the stylized forms that his assistant Lydia pins on the wall. His aim is to create two tapestry cartoons forming pendants, Océanie - le ciel and Océanie - la mer, respectively populated with birds and fish.
In 1946 while Matisse was busy on this project Zika Ascher came to visit Paris. A fashion designer based since 1942 in London, Ascher usually works with Henry Moore. He now wants to edit a series of scarves prepared by a plurality of artists. Almost all of them including Matisse respond favorably.
Ascher also convinces Matisse to print his Océanie. Matisse is very demanding but Ascher manages to find a linen cloth and a pigment that exactly replicate the texture and sand color of the wall. The artist's attention to the sand anticipates by two decades Agnes Martin's escape in the desert.
Both artworks were edited in 1946-1947 in thirty copies each in an image format around 163 x 373 cm.
The Fondation Beyeler owns the pair 4/30. The number 26/30 of La Mer was sold by Christie's for £ 2.95M including premium on June 21, 2011 over a lower estimate of £ 500K, lot 16. It was then coming directly from the Beyeler estate after having belonged to the Matisse family.
The copy 20/30 of La Mer was sold for $ 1.22M including premium by Sotheby's on April 26, 2018, lot 15.
The beige walls of his apartment in Montparnasse remind him of the color of the beaches in Tahiti. He cuts in a white paper the stylized forms that his assistant Lydia pins on the wall. His aim is to create two tapestry cartoons forming pendants, Océanie - le ciel and Océanie - la mer, respectively populated with birds and fish.
In 1946 while Matisse was busy on this project Zika Ascher came to visit Paris. A fashion designer based since 1942 in London, Ascher usually works with Henry Moore. He now wants to edit a series of scarves prepared by a plurality of artists. Almost all of them including Matisse respond favorably.
Ascher also convinces Matisse to print his Océanie. Matisse is very demanding but Ascher manages to find a linen cloth and a pigment that exactly replicate the texture and sand color of the wall. The artist's attention to the sand anticipates by two decades Agnes Martin's escape in the desert.
Both artworks were edited in 1946-1947 in thirty copies each in an image format around 163 x 373 cm.
The Fondation Beyeler owns the pair 4/30. The number 26/30 of La Mer was sold by Christie's for £ 2.95M including premium on June 21, 2011 over a lower estimate of £ 500K, lot 16. It was then coming directly from the Beyeler estate after having belonged to the Matisse family.
The copy 20/30 of La Mer was sold for $ 1.22M including premium by Sotheby's on April 26, 2018, lot 15.
1946-1947 Beige Walls
2018 SOLD for $ 1.22M including premium
Full narration above.
blog.
As for prints, la Mer is the masterpiece of Henri Matisse.
On April 26 in New York, Sotheby's sells the copy 20/30 of La Mer, lot 15 estimated $ 500K. Its provenance is also interesting : it had belonged to Ascher and was on loan to the MoMA from 1950 to 1953. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
blog.
As for prints, la Mer is the masterpiece of Henri Matisse.
On April 26 in New York, Sotheby's sells the copy 20/30 of La Mer, lot 15 estimated $ 500K. Its provenance is also interesting : it had belonged to Ascher and was on loan to the MoMA from 1950 to 1953. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1947 Jazz by Matisse
2019 SOLD for $ 860K including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2013 before the sale of another copy by Christie's (see below)
Founder in 1937 of Verve magazine, Tériade was a great instigator of art. During the war, Matisse was sick. The intuition of Tériade was to appreciate that the creative impulses of the artist were intact and to convince him, which was not an easy task.
His health did not allow him to paint. Matisse invented for this project a new technique by which the color existed before the creation of the form: he cut with scissors gouache layered sheets in bright monochrome colors.
The result assembled by Matisse gave Tériade reason: the artist had regained the momentum and spontaneity of La Danse, painted in 1910. They had to find a title to this new hymn to joy. It could have been Le Cirque. It was Jazz.
Jazz was printed in 1947 in 20 plates on 44 x 67 cm sheets. Matisse had a requirement brilliant in its simplicity: he requested that the print colors are produced by the same gouaches, strictly from the same brand, which had served for the originals.
Tériade offered this set in two versions: portfolio, published in 100 copies, and book, published in 250 copies.
The portfolio, when it remains complete, is more prestigious because the sheets were not folded. The number 39/100 was sold for £ 410K including premium by Christie's on March 20, 2013. The number 50/100 was sold for $ 860K including premium by Sotheby's on April 30, 2019, lot 31.
His health did not allow him to paint. Matisse invented for this project a new technique by which the color existed before the creation of the form: he cut with scissors gouache layered sheets in bright monochrome colors.
The result assembled by Matisse gave Tériade reason: the artist had regained the momentum and spontaneity of La Danse, painted in 1910. They had to find a title to this new hymn to joy. It could have been Le Cirque. It was Jazz.
Jazz was printed in 1947 in 20 plates on 44 x 67 cm sheets. Matisse had a requirement brilliant in its simplicity: he requested that the print colors are produced by the same gouaches, strictly from the same brand, which had served for the originals.
Tériade offered this set in two versions: portfolio, published in 100 copies, and book, published in 250 copies.
The portfolio, when it remains complete, is more prestigious because the sheets were not folded. The number 39/100 was sold for £ 410K including premium by Christie's on March 20, 2013. The number 50/100 was sold for $ 860K including premium by Sotheby's on April 30, 2019, lot 31.
1961 Lesbos by Chagall
2019 SOLD for £ 735K including premium
A prolific painter, Marc Chagall works extremely slowly when it comes to illustration. Two of his greatest projects, La Bible and Daphnis et Chloé, were prepared by trips to Palestine and Greece respectively, during which he immersed himself in the landscapes and the atmosphere of the country.
La Bible was started in 1931 on an incitement from Vollard. When Vollard died in 1939, Tériade took over. Chagall finishes his iconographic preparation in 1956 and the set is published in 1958.
Tériade is from Lesbos, like Sappho and Longus. He would like Chagall to interpret his country based on the pastoral novel Daphnis et Chloé, previously set to music by Ravel. Chagall first refused because Bonnard had done a similar project.
For the painter of happy love, this idyllic theme is very tempting. In 1952, five years after Bonnard's death, he captures for the first time the dazzling light of a Greek summer. He returns to Greece in 1954. He prepares a set of 42 drawings in gouache and pastel.
The print by Mourlot is a technical feat whose work spans four years, from 1957 to 1961. Chagall does not accept any mistake in the lithographic printing on Arches of the 25 colors which he had used in his quest of the poetic perfection.
Daphnis et Chloé is published in 1961 by Tériade in loose portfolio in a regular edition of 250 copies and 20 artist proofs, plus 60 deluxe copies with large margins which are signed by the artist on each sheet. 16 of the 42 images are folded double pages. The standard size of an image is 44 x 34 cm.
The sets that remain complete are rare. A complete deluxe portfolio that had been kept by Tériade's family until 1995 is estimated £ 400K for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 27, lot 345.
La Bible was started in 1931 on an incitement from Vollard. When Vollard died in 1939, Tériade took over. Chagall finishes his iconographic preparation in 1956 and the set is published in 1958.
Tériade is from Lesbos, like Sappho and Longus. He would like Chagall to interpret his country based on the pastoral novel Daphnis et Chloé, previously set to music by Ravel. Chagall first refused because Bonnard had done a similar project.
For the painter of happy love, this idyllic theme is very tempting. In 1952, five years after Bonnard's death, he captures for the first time the dazzling light of a Greek summer. He returns to Greece in 1954. He prepares a set of 42 drawings in gouache and pastel.
The print by Mourlot is a technical feat whose work spans four years, from 1957 to 1961. Chagall does not accept any mistake in the lithographic printing on Arches of the 25 colors which he had used in his quest of the poetic perfection.
Daphnis et Chloé is published in 1961 by Tériade in loose portfolio in a regular edition of 250 copies and 20 artist proofs, plus 60 deluxe copies with large margins which are signed by the artist on each sheet. 16 of the 42 images are folded double pages. The standard size of an image is 44 x 34 cm.
The sets that remain complete are rare. A complete deluxe portfolio that had been kept by Tériade's family until 1995 is estimated £ 400K for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 27, lot 345.
1963 The Image Maker of the Anti Art
2017 SOLD for $ 970K including premium
At the time of the development of Pop Art, Jasper Johns is already famous for his Flags and his Targets. A lover of Rauschenberg, he belongs to the circle of Castelli. His quest for the annihilation of the meaning of art is of interest for the avant-gardes of New York.
Johns destroys everything : figuration, format, meaning, emotion. To go still further, he studies the variation in the perception of a painted or printed drawing with various techniques on various materials.
In 1960 Tanya Grosman invited him to experiment with her the lithography at the Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) in West Islip NY. At that time Johns worked on the numbers 0 to 9 that he superimposed, each figure covering the entire surface of a sheet to create an illegible but colorful magma. The engraving makes an additional contribution to his theories. He is convinced.
In 1963 ULAE publishes in portfolio the numbers 0-9 by Johns. Now each figure is printed on a separate sheet 52 x 40 cm. A single stone is used for the whole series, a new figure replacing the previous one with three passes per numeral : black, gray and a different color for each number. Despite the mechanical preparation of the artwork, the achieved readability is different for each figure.
The edition is composed of 10 black portfolios, 10 gray portfolios and 10 color portfolios. The text is written by the art critic Robert Rosenblum convinced of the importance of the innovative vision of Johns. Rosenblum's copy of the very rare 0-9 color portfolio is estimated $ 600K for sale by Sotheby's in New York on April 27, lot 87.
The paradox continues. This artist without a message becomes the best illustrator of his time with regard to the printing technique. His masterpiece is the 1973 Flags I where the lithography executed with 31 screens reaches the texture quality of a painted work. A copy fetched $ 1.7M including premium at Christie's on April 26, 2016.
0-9 should not be confused with the Numeral Series published in black in 1968 in 70 copies and in colors in 1969 in 40 copies plus 11 artist's proofs. A black portfolio was sold for $ 410K including premium by Sotheby's on May 9, 2008. A color portfolio was sold for $ 720K including premium by Christie's on May 12, 2011.
Johns destroys everything : figuration, format, meaning, emotion. To go still further, he studies the variation in the perception of a painted or printed drawing with various techniques on various materials.
In 1960 Tanya Grosman invited him to experiment with her the lithography at the Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) in West Islip NY. At that time Johns worked on the numbers 0 to 9 that he superimposed, each figure covering the entire surface of a sheet to create an illegible but colorful magma. The engraving makes an additional contribution to his theories. He is convinced.
In 1963 ULAE publishes in portfolio the numbers 0-9 by Johns. Now each figure is printed on a separate sheet 52 x 40 cm. A single stone is used for the whole series, a new figure replacing the previous one with three passes per numeral : black, gray and a different color for each number. Despite the mechanical preparation of the artwork, the achieved readability is different for each figure.
The edition is composed of 10 black portfolios, 10 gray portfolios and 10 color portfolios. The text is written by the art critic Robert Rosenblum convinced of the importance of the innovative vision of Johns. Rosenblum's copy of the very rare 0-9 color portfolio is estimated $ 600K for sale by Sotheby's in New York on April 27, lot 87.
The paradox continues. This artist without a message becomes the best illustrator of his time with regard to the printing technique. His masterpiece is the 1973 Flags I where the lithography executed with 31 screens reaches the texture quality of a painted work. A copy fetched $ 1.7M including premium at Christie's on April 26, 2016.
0-9 should not be confused with the Numeral Series published in black in 1968 in 70 copies and in colors in 1969 in 40 copies plus 11 artist's proofs. A black portfolio was sold for $ 410K including premium by Sotheby's on May 9, 2008. A color portfolio was sold for $ 720K including premium by Christie's on May 12, 2011.
1964 Look at La Joconde
2017 SOLD for € 630K including premium
The Dada movement demands a resolutely anti-conformist artistic language. La Joconde (Mona Lisa) is a favorite target for caricaturists and theorists. Already in 1914 Malevich flogged this symbol of bourgeois art. Its theft from the Louvre in 1911 had ranked it with the heroines of adventure novels.
In 1919 Marcel Duchamp draws a mustache and a goatee beard on a picture of Mona Lisa in postcard format. This irreverent act is very well targeted. The title L.H.O.O.Q. is both a homophone of Look in the meaning of voyeurism when reading the word and of the titillating Elle a chaud au cul when spelling the letters, as a great example of a successful bilingual pun.
Art allows any audacity. L.H.O.O.Q. is also a symbol of the mingling of genders. In 1910 Sigmund Freud had managed to observe in the ambiguous face of this woman a proof of Leonardo's homosexuality. The feminization of Marcel Duchamp as Rrose Sélavy in 1920 is an interesting continuation of that debate.
L.H.O.O.Q.. accompanies Duchamp's reputation as an innovator throughout his short career as a creative artist and his long retirement devoted to chess. Replicas and imitations are numerous.
In 1964 a friend of Duchamp prepares a monograph to be published in 35 copies. He invites the artist to insert an artwork therein. Duchamp buys 38 identical lithographs 30 x 23 cm. On each of them he reworks the face in pencil and erases in white gouache the reference to Leonardo and to the Louvre while maintaining the original title La Joconde. He adds L.H.O.O.Q. as the subtitle, signs and numbers all copies.
One of these recuperation prints was sold for $ 1.2M including premium by Christie's on May 8, 2016 over a lower estimate of $ 400K. Another copy is estimated € 400K for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on October 21, lot 105.
In 1919 Marcel Duchamp draws a mustache and a goatee beard on a picture of Mona Lisa in postcard format. This irreverent act is very well targeted. The title L.H.O.O.Q. is both a homophone of Look in the meaning of voyeurism when reading the word and of the titillating Elle a chaud au cul when spelling the letters, as a great example of a successful bilingual pun.
Art allows any audacity. L.H.O.O.Q. is also a symbol of the mingling of genders. In 1910 Sigmund Freud had managed to observe in the ambiguous face of this woman a proof of Leonardo's homosexuality. The feminization of Marcel Duchamp as Rrose Sélavy in 1920 is an interesting continuation of that debate.
L.H.O.O.Q.. accompanies Duchamp's reputation as an innovator throughout his short career as a creative artist and his long retirement devoted to chess. Replicas and imitations are numerous.
In 1964 a friend of Duchamp prepares a monograph to be published in 35 copies. He invites the artist to insert an artwork therein. Duchamp buys 38 identical lithographs 30 x 23 cm. On each of them he reworks the face in pencil and erases in white gouache the reference to Leonardo and to the Louvre while maintaining the original title La Joconde. He adds L.H.O.O.Q. as the subtitle, signs and numbers all copies.
One of these recuperation prints was sold for $ 1.2M including premium by Christie's on May 8, 2016 over a lower estimate of $ 400K. Another copy is estimated € 400K for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on October 21, lot 105.
1967 Marilyn set by Warhol
Two results :
SOLD for $ 2.2M including premium by Christie's on November 13, 2014
SOLD for $ 1M including premium by Sotheby's on October 31, 2008
SOLD for $ 2.2M including premium by Christie's on November 13, 2014
SOLD for $ 1M including premium by Sotheby's on October 31, 2008
1967 Variations for Marilyn
2012 SOLD 1.65 M$ including premium
In 1962, just when Warhol endeavors to conquer the universe, a star enters tragically into her legend : Marilyn.
Trained in advertising, Andy had understood how he could exploit the portraits of celebrities. In a few months, he built his pantheon with the most mythical men and women of his time. A new Warhol would be helpful for displaying the celebrities of today.
His use of screenprint enabled him to quickly produce many varied paintings. It was logical that he wishes to multiply his imaging. His portfolios of pure prints, often standardized to ten in a cardboard box, provides the most comprehensive artistic vision of the world in his time.
Posthumously, Marilyn will help mightily in his new project. Her portfolio is published in 250 copies in 1967 in large format, 91 x 91 cm. The face of the star is the same on the ten prints, but the variety of colors is total.
Despite the important printed quantity, this portfolio is rare at auction. Collectors prefer keeping these icons. A copy of the Marilyn portfolio was sold for $ 1M including premium by Sotheby's on 31 October 2008. Another copy, signed by Warhol, is estimated $ 1.4 million, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 2. Here is the link to the catalog.
Warhol loves his own success. In 1972, the Mao portfolio is created according to the same formula. The copy from the Gunter Sachs collection was sold £ 1.6 million including premium at Sotheby's on May 22, 2012.
POST SALE COMMENT
Logically, the iconic Marilyn portfolio has achieved the highest sale of that auction: $ 1.65 million including premium.
Here are the prizes including premium of the other Warhol sets of 10 pieces each: Mao: $ 720K; Flowers: $ 610K; Endangered species: $ 480K; Myths: $ 435K; Portraits of Jews: $ 265K; Electric Chairs: $ 160K.
Trained in advertising, Andy had understood how he could exploit the portraits of celebrities. In a few months, he built his pantheon with the most mythical men and women of his time. A new Warhol would be helpful for displaying the celebrities of today.
His use of screenprint enabled him to quickly produce many varied paintings. It was logical that he wishes to multiply his imaging. His portfolios of pure prints, often standardized to ten in a cardboard box, provides the most comprehensive artistic vision of the world in his time.
Posthumously, Marilyn will help mightily in his new project. Her portfolio is published in 250 copies in 1967 in large format, 91 x 91 cm. The face of the star is the same on the ten prints, but the variety of colors is total.
Despite the important printed quantity, this portfolio is rare at auction. Collectors prefer keeping these icons. A copy of the Marilyn portfolio was sold for $ 1M including premium by Sotheby's on 31 October 2008. Another copy, signed by Warhol, is estimated $ 1.4 million, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 2. Here is the link to the catalog.
Warhol loves his own success. In 1972, the Mao portfolio is created according to the same formula. The copy from the Gunter Sachs collection was sold £ 1.6 million including premium at Sotheby's on May 22, 2012.
POST SALE COMMENT
Logically, the iconic Marilyn portfolio has achieved the highest sale of that auction: $ 1.65 million including premium.
Here are the prizes including premium of the other Warhol sets of 10 pieces each: Mao: $ 720K; Flowers: $ 610K; Endangered species: $ 480K; Myths: $ 435K; Portraits of Jews: $ 265K; Electric Chairs: $ 160K.
1968 Campbell's Soup I set by Warhol
2020 SOLD for $ 930K including premium by Sotheby's
Link to catalogue.
1972 Mao set by Warhol
Two results :
SOLD for £ 1.6M including premium by Sotheby's on May 22, 2012
SOLD for £ 825K including premium by Christie's on October 16, 2007
SOLD for £ 1.6M including premium by Sotheby's on May 22, 2012
SOLD for £ 825K including premium by Christie's on October 16, 2007
1972 Ten Mao's for China
2010 SOLD 6.6 MHK$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The art market is turning to China: to Hong Kong where the international auction groups deploy their expertise for several years, and to Beijing where the now intense activity is still a bit tight for Westerner commentators.
Relations between China and the rest of the world is a theme in itself. Christie's is at ease and made the right choice by highlighting a copy of Mao portfolio by Andy Warhol, estimated HK $ 3 million, for sale in Hong Kong on May 29.The press is alerted, and awaits with interest the outcome. See as an example the article shared by Telegraph, where 6 of the 10 prints are illustrated.
Let us go now into Warholian history: Most characters of his portrait gallery of celebrities have been the subject of portfolios, where the same image is repeated in different colors. In 1967, this new art form invented by Warhol reaches success with the Marilyn Monroe, consisting of 10 prints 91 x 91 cm in an issue of 250 portfolios.
In 1972, Warhol considers the most powerful statesman on Earth, Mao, the Great Helmsman. The Mao set is on the same format as the Marilyn and also composed of 10 images, but only 50 portfolios have been produced.
The number 12, complete in its original box, was sold 825 K £ including premium at Christie's on October 16, 2007. The copy for Hong Kong, also complete with its box, is the number 10.
POST SALE COMMENT
The art market is global. Sold 6.6 MHK $ including premium, the Mao portfolio surpasses its conservative estimate and reaches a price within the normal range of the international market.
The art market is turning to China: to Hong Kong where the international auction groups deploy their expertise for several years, and to Beijing where the now intense activity is still a bit tight for Westerner commentators.
Relations between China and the rest of the world is a theme in itself. Christie's is at ease and made the right choice by highlighting a copy of Mao portfolio by Andy Warhol, estimated HK $ 3 million, for sale in Hong Kong on May 29.The press is alerted, and awaits with interest the outcome. See as an example the article shared by Telegraph, where 6 of the 10 prints are illustrated.
Let us go now into Warholian history: Most characters of his portrait gallery of celebrities have been the subject of portfolios, where the same image is repeated in different colors. In 1967, this new art form invented by Warhol reaches success with the Marilyn Monroe, consisting of 10 prints 91 x 91 cm in an issue of 250 portfolios.
In 1972, Warhol considers the most powerful statesman on Earth, Mao, the Great Helmsman. The Mao set is on the same format as the Marilyn and also composed of 10 images, but only 50 portfolios have been produced.
The number 12, complete in its original box, was sold 825 K £ including premium at Christie's on October 16, 2007. The copy for Hong Kong, also complete with its box, is the number 10.
POST SALE COMMENT
The art market is global. Sold 6.6 MHK $ including premium, the Mao portfolio surpasses its conservative estimate and reaches a price within the normal range of the international market.
1973 Two Flags and 31 Screens
2016 SOLD for $ 1.7M including premium
Jasper Johns explores the texture without rejecting the colors. He chooses preexisting themes without reworking their pattern. The US flag is an example of geometric shapes with pure colors. Its recuperation by Johns is both popular and provocative but the public does not perceive the whole extent of its ambiguity.
In 1973, the artist juxtaposes two US flags on one surface with their strips vertically dispositioned and the star block displaced to the upper left. It is an experiment by which he compares an oil coated with a glossy varnish with his signature technique in encaustic wax where the upper layers cover an already dry paint. In both cases the under-layers influence the colors visible at the surface.
The differences are subtle but Johns endeavors to reproduce them in a multiple. He chooses the silkscreen process but of course the usual four colors are not enough. The Simca Artist Prints Inc company develops with him for his double flag a set of 31 screens to be used in five stages.
Flags I is a technical feat. Johns was able to transfer to a multiple edition the voluntarily irregular layers of his paint. This image 67 x 84 cm on a sheet 70 x 90 cm is printed in 65 copies plus seven artist's proofs.
The best results were recorded by Christie's in a remarkably steady increase: $ 1.45M on November 11, 2015; $ 990K on November 13, 2013; $ 840K on May 11, 2010; $ 620K on April 30, 2008; $ 600K on November 9, 2005; $ 430K on 3 May 2005. These prices include the premium.
The print 59/65 is estimated $ 800K for sale by Christie's in New York on April 26, lot 107.
In 1973, the artist juxtaposes two US flags on one surface with their strips vertically dispositioned and the star block displaced to the upper left. It is an experiment by which he compares an oil coated with a glossy varnish with his signature technique in encaustic wax where the upper layers cover an already dry paint. In both cases the under-layers influence the colors visible at the surface.
The differences are subtle but Johns endeavors to reproduce them in a multiple. He chooses the silkscreen process but of course the usual four colors are not enough. The Simca Artist Prints Inc company develops with him for his double flag a set of 31 screens to be used in five stages.
Flags I is a technical feat. Johns was able to transfer to a multiple edition the voluntarily irregular layers of his paint. This image 67 x 84 cm on a sheet 70 x 90 cm is printed in 65 copies plus seven artist's proofs.
The best results were recorded by Christie's in a remarkably steady increase: $ 1.45M on November 11, 2015; $ 990K on November 13, 2013; $ 840K on May 11, 2010; $ 620K on April 30, 2008; $ 600K on November 9, 2005; $ 430K on 3 May 2005. These prices include the premium.
The print 59/65 is estimated $ 800K for sale by Christie's in New York on April 26, lot 107.
1973 Flags 1 by Jasper Johns
2020 SOLD for $ 1.47M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2009 beside another print sold by Sotheby's (see below)
In 1954, a young man of 24, familiar of the New York avant-gardes and close to Rauschenberg, decides to start his career with a bang. His name is Jasper Johns.
The subject of his first painting is the US flag, copied on a canvas in full frame with no border. The artist resolutely ignores the abstraction. He does not use the object, so his art is not a ready made. This painting shows an object that everyone can recognize, with a technique that the next generation would have described as hyperrealistic.
Since then, Johns has provided many variants of his original idea. In 1973, he produced a painting showing two similar flags, side by side vertically, identical except that one is painted in oil and the other in encaustic. This large size canvas, 133 x 176 cm, was sold $ 7.15 million including premium by Christie's in May 1999.
In 1973 also, he edited to 72 copies (including 7 artist's proofs) an engraving on the same theme, 70 x 89 cm, which is now considered one of the finest achievements of his printed work.
Coincidence : the serial number 60 was sold for $ 386K including premium by Sotheby's on October 29, 2009 while number 36 passed at Christie's the day before from a lower estimate of $ 350K. That 36/65 was sold for $ 1.47M including premium by Christie's on October 6, 2020, lot 32, from a lower estimate of $ 1M.
The subject of his first painting is the US flag, copied on a canvas in full frame with no border. The artist resolutely ignores the abstraction. He does not use the object, so his art is not a ready made. This painting shows an object that everyone can recognize, with a technique that the next generation would have described as hyperrealistic.
Since then, Johns has provided many variants of his original idea. In 1973, he produced a painting showing two similar flags, side by side vertically, identical except that one is painted in oil and the other in encaustic. This large size canvas, 133 x 176 cm, was sold $ 7.15 million including premium by Christie's in May 1999.
In 1973 also, he edited to 72 copies (including 7 artist's proofs) an engraving on the same theme, 70 x 89 cm, which is now considered one of the finest achievements of his printed work.
Coincidence : the serial number 60 was sold for $ 386K including premium by Sotheby's on October 29, 2009 while number 36 passed at Christie's the day before from a lower estimate of $ 350K. That 36/65 was sold for $ 1.47M including premium by Christie's on October 6, 2020, lot 32, from a lower estimate of $ 1M.
1973 Flags I by Jasper Johns
Three results :
SOLD for $ 1.45M including premium by Christie's on November 11, 2015
SOLD for $ 990K including premium by Christie's on November 13, 2013
SOLD for $ 840K including premium by Christie's on May 11, 2010
SOLD for $ 1.45M including premium by Christie's on November 11, 2015
SOLD for $ 990K including premium by Christie's on November 13, 2013
SOLD for $ 840K including premium by Christie's on May 11, 2010
1981 Myths set by Warhol
2020 SOLD for $ 870K including premium by Sotheby's
Link to catalogue.
2004 The Flying Heart
2020 SOLD for £ 790K including premium
Girl with Balloon, stencil painted by Banksy, first appeared in 2002 on a wall in London. Under a strong wind which messes her hair and inflates her skirt, the child has just let go the string of a heart-shaped balloon. A second painting also in London brings the artist's message, "There is always hope", which in some way revisits the traditional theme of the bottle thrown into the sea.
The image is simple and without social aggression, and it immediately becomes popular. Banksy is preparing several editions in which the character is in black and the flying heart is filled with red or another color. After 25 signed copies in 2003, 150 signed and 600 unsigned copies are produced in screenprint in 2004 and 2005, with 88 artist's copies covering the color variants. The image is 40 x 25 cm on a 70 x 50 cm sheet.
An artist's copy with the purple heart, one of the rarest colors in the series, will be sold online by Christie's on September 23, lot 2. Three days before the closing of the sale, the bidding has reached the higher estimate, £ 350K.
Banksy often reused this image for happenings or other actions to promote his political opinions.
A spray paint and acrylic on canvas 101 x 78 cm was listed by Sotheby's in London in the contemporary art evening sale of October 5, 2018. As the hammer falls for £ 1.04M including premium, the artwork is shredded in the auction room by a mechanism hidden in the 18 cm thick artist's frame.
Banksy claimed this remote-controlled destruction with a convincing evidence. The modified work has been certified by his authentication body Pest Control with a new title, Love is in the Bin. The new owner understood the specific place of her acquisition in the history of art. A collusion between Banksy and Sotheby's for this unprecedented happening is not credible.
The image is simple and without social aggression, and it immediately becomes popular. Banksy is preparing several editions in which the character is in black and the flying heart is filled with red or another color. After 25 signed copies in 2003, 150 signed and 600 unsigned copies are produced in screenprint in 2004 and 2005, with 88 artist's copies covering the color variants. The image is 40 x 25 cm on a 70 x 50 cm sheet.
An artist's copy with the purple heart, one of the rarest colors in the series, will be sold online by Christie's on September 23, lot 2. Three days before the closing of the sale, the bidding has reached the higher estimate, £ 350K.
Banksy often reused this image for happenings or other actions to promote his political opinions.
A spray paint and acrylic on canvas 101 x 78 cm was listed by Sotheby's in London in the contemporary art evening sale of October 5, 2018. As the hammer falls for £ 1.04M including premium, the artwork is shredded in the auction room by a mechanism hidden in the 18 cm thick artist's frame.
Banksy claimed this remote-controlled destruction with a convincing evidence. The modified work has been certified by his authentication body Pest Control with a new title, Love is in the Bin. The new owner understood the specific place of her acquisition in the history of art. A collusion between Banksy and Sotheby's for this unprecedented happening is not credible.
