Longo, Hirst, Warhol at Swann Galleries on Nov. 12
New York—On Wednesday, November 12, Swann Galleries will conduct an auction of Contemporary Art, which features unique works and multiples by artists working in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Unique works of note include Robert Longo’s 2012 Study of the Capitol, a charcoal and ink on vellum, typical of his hyperrealist/chiaroscuro style. This piece is a study for the artist’s colossal Capitol, 2013, a seven-panel charcoal drawing of the Capitol building in Washington, DC (estimate: $50,000 to $80,000).
Also estimated at $50,000 to $80,000 is Damien Hirst’s Happiness, oil on canvas with collage of butterflies, syringes and pills, 2008, which embodies several of his reoccurring themes such as drug use.
A featured unique work by Andy Warhol in the sale is Grapes (Special Edition), color screenprint with diamond dust on Strathmore Bristol paper, 1979, an example of his first use of diamond dust in his prints, a practice he repeated frequently in the early 1980s ($40,000 to $60,000). An excellent selection of other prints by Warhol includes Flowers, set of 10 screenprints on Arches (seven with hand coloring in watercolor), 1974 ($35,000 to $50,000); his iconic portrait of Liz, offset color lithograph, 1964 ($30,000 to $50,000); Blackglama (Judy Garland), color screenprint on board, 1985 ($25,000 to $35,000); as well as a felt-tip pen and black ink drawing of James Dean, circa 1985 ($30,000 to $50,000).
There is a Still Life Collage by Tom Wesselman, of Liquitex and collage on canvas mounted on Korpine, 1974 ($25,000 to $35,000); a Joseph Cornell collage and ink on board, Penny Arcade, circa 1962 ($20,000 to $30,000); and an oil, ink and wash and paper collage on canvas by Chuang Che (Zhuang Zhe), Remembrance, 1965 ($15,000 to $20,000).
A Yves Klein triptych, Monochrome und Feuer, three color plates in blue, pink and gold on card—two screenprinted and one coated with gold foil, with gold leaf applied by the artist—1961, created for the artist’s retrospective of the same name is estimated at $20,000 to $30,000. Swann sold a different Klein triptych in our May 2013 Contemporary Art auction for a record $36,000.
Also with that estimate is Carl Andre’s minimalist Irregular Rectangle Composed of Four Unequal Parts, steel sculpture in four parts, 1985.
Rounding out the unique works in the auction are the pen and ink Sculpture Study I by Alexander Calder, 1944, for his Tightrope Walker (Woman on Cord), bronze and nylon, in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Sol Lewitt’s Untitled (Vertical Brushstrokes), gouache on paper, 1992, ex-collection the artist ($15,000 to $20,000 each); and Joan Mitchell’s Untitled (Frank O'Hara's Birthday), color pastels and collage on cream wove paper, circa 1960 ($10,000 to $15,000).
Among print and multiple highlights are Lucian Freud’s Before the Fourth, etching, 2004 ($15,000 to $20,000); Willem de Kooning’s Figures in Landscape #6, color offset lithograph, 1980; Jasper Johns’s Fool's House, color lithograph on Angomois à la main paper, 1972; Richard Diebenkorn’s Cup, Saucer, Fork and Knife, color lithograph, 1965; and Ellsworth Kelly’s Untitled (New York State Award), color wool wall hanging, 1967, published by the New York State Council on the Arts (all $10,000 to $15,000 each).
The auction, will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 12. The works will be on public exhibition Friday, November 7, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, November 8, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Monday, November 10 and Tuesday, November 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Wednesday, November 12, from 10 a.m. to noon.
An illustrated catalogue is available for $35 from Swann Galleries, 104 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010, and may be viewed online at www.swanngalleries.com.
For further information, and to make advance arrangements to bid by telephone during the auction, please contact Todd Weyman at (212) 254-4710, ext. 32, or via email at tweyman@swanngalleries.com.
Live online bidding is also available via Invaluable.com.
First image: Robert Longo, Study of the Capitol, charcoal and ink on vellum, 2012 (estimate: $50,000 to $80,000).
Second image: Andy Warhol, Grapes (Special Edition), unique color screenprint with diamond dust on Strathmore Bristol paper, 1979 (estimate: $40,000 to $60,000).
