- Title: USA: NEW YORK AUCTION HOUSES DISPLAY CONTEMPORARY AND POST WAR ART
- Date: 12th May 2003
- Summary: (W2) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA (MAY 12, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. PAN OF CHRISTIE'S AUCTION HOUSE AND FLAGS 0.09 2. WIDE OF VIEWING ROOM FEATURING PREVIEW OF POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART 0.14 3. VARIOUS OF 'NO. 9 (WHITE AND BLACK ON WINE)' BY MARK ROTHKO (3 SHOTS) 0.32 4. VARIOUS OF 'MARLON' BY ANDY WARHOL (2 SHOTS) 0.42 5. WIDE OF ART EXHIBITION 0.47 6. VARIOUS, OF 'YEAR AFTER YEAR' MY ARCHILE GORKY 0.56 7. WIDE/ PAN 'BROWN AND BLACKS IN REDS' BY ROTHKO 1.05 8. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMY CAPPELLAZZO, CO-HEAD OF POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART FOR CHRISTIE'S SAYING: "It's our biggest sale ever for post-war and contemporary art here at Christie's. It has many, many, many museum quality things which is unusual to be able to get them in virtually any market. We're confident that many of our exceptional things are going to do well and feel that indeed the market is alive and well for quality things." 1.27 9. VARIOUS OF 'MISS KO2' BY TAKASHI MURAKAMI (4 SHOTS) 1.46 10. ZOOM INTO EXTERIOR OF SOTHEBY'S AUCTION HOUSE WITH FLAGS 1.52 11. SLV WOMAN LOOKING AT ''MINUTIAE' BY ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG 1.56 12. VARIOUS OF 'MINUTIAE' (4 SHOTS) 2.11 13. VARIOUS OF 'NUMBER 17, 1949 BY JACKSON POLLOCK (3 SHOTS) 2.28 14. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAURA PAULSON, DIRECTOR OF CONTEMPORARY ART FOR NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA FOR SOTHEBY'S SAYING: "For us we took a deliberate position of really looking at the reality of the world. We were putting a sale together in January and February and made a conscious decision to not over expand the sale, overextend the sale but keep estimates reasonable, quality high and the sale small. So we have 44 lots as opposed to our 68 lot sale last November and it seems from what we can tell from pre-sale interest that this is exactly the kind of position that...we were good to take." 2.56 15. WIDE OF PEOPLE LOOKING AT ART EXHIBITION 3.01 16. VARIOUS, 'DAVOS S.' BY GERHARD RICHTER 3.09 17. VARIOUS OF 'FOUR FOOT FLOWERS' BY ANDY WARHOL (2 SHOTS) 3.17 18. WIDE/ PAN OF EXTERIOR OF PHILLIPS AUCTION HOUSE IN NEW YORK 3.23 19. VARIOUS OF RE 21' BY YVES KLEIN (4 SHOTS) 3.40 20. WIDE OF PEOPLE LOOKING AT 'UNTITLED (BOLSENA) 1969' BY CY TWOMBLY 3.43 21. CLOSE OF 'UNTITLED (BOLSENA) 1969' BY TWOMBLY 3.47 22. VARIOUS OF 'SELF PORTRAIT (TWO WORKS)' BY ANDY WARHOL (2 SHOTS) 3.56 23. VARIOUS OF 'SOFT LIGHT SWITCHES' BY CLAES OLDENBURG ( 2 SHOTS) 4.07 24. WIDE OF PHILLIPS VIEWING ROOM 4.12 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 27th May 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA
- City:
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVA6K234D9J1QV2SB6VYS8LHL5JW
- Story Text: On the eve of the big spring contemporary and post-war
art sales in New York, the big three auction houses are taking
very different stances on the art market's appetite for works
by artists like Warhol, Pollock and Rothko.
Last week it was impressionist and modern art that was
on the block, and the houses put on small, with modest sales
and results.
With this week's contemporary sale just 2 days away,
Christies is betting that market appetite for post-war and
contemporary art will be different. In last week's
impressionist sale, the lots numbered in the 30s. This sale is
almost twice the size, with 61 lots with a total low estimate
of 75 million dollars (US).
Amy Cappellazzo, co-head of post-war and contemporary art
at Christie's said the market for this art is broader than for
Impressionist art at this time, and she said she is confident
that the results of the upcoming sale will be 'very good.'
"It's our biggest sale ever for post-war and contemporary
art here at Christie's. It has many, many, many museum quality
things which is unusual to be able to get them in virtually
any market. We're confident that many of our exceptional
things are going to do well and feel that indeed the market is
alive and well for quality things," said Cappellazzo.
The top lot is a large work by Mark Rothko called 'No. 9
(White and Black on Wine).' It was painted in 1958 to be part
of a series that was to hang at the Four Seasons Restaurant in
New York. Rothko later cancelled the sale because he was
offended at the overt luxury of the restaurant. No. 9 is
estimated to sell for between 8 and 12 million dollars (US).
'Marlon' by Andy Warhol dates from 1966 and is a portrait
of the movie actor Marlon Brando. Warhol was interested in
celebrities and has done famous works depicting Marilyn Monroe
and Elvis Presley. 'Marlon' is priced from 4 to 5 million
dollars (US).
The second most expensive lot by estimate in Christie's
sale is work by artist Arshile Gorky painted in 1947 titled
'Year after Year.' The work is estimated to go for around 10
million dollars (US).
Also on sale at Christie's is a larger-than-life 'Miss
Ko2' by the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. According to
Christie's, Miss Ko2 is based on a character from a popular
video game and 'makes allusion to the Japanese obsession with
young girls in their school uniforms. Miss Ko2 is estimated to
sell for between 300,000 and 400,000 dollars (US).
Christie's sale takes place in New York on May 14, and
also features works by Jean-Michel Basquait, David Hockney,
and many others.
Sotheby's spring sale of contemporary art is much more
modest in scale, reflecting the auction house's opinion that
the interest in contemporary art will be in line with the
subdued interest witnessed last week in the impressionist
sales.
According to Laura Paulson, Sotheby's Director of
Contemporary Art for North and South America, their sale
reflects the reality of the art market, in which the interest
in works priced at the higher levels is still very selective.
"We were putting a sale together in January and February
and made a conscious decision to not over expand the sale,
overextend the sale but keep estimates reasonable, quality
high and the sale small. So we have 44 lots as opposed to our
68 lot sale last November and it seems from what we can tell
from pre-sale interest that this is exactly the kind of
position that...we were good to take," said Paulson.
The top lot at Sotheby's is a 1954 work by Robert
Rauschenberg titled 'Minutiae.' This work is one of the
earliest and largest freestanding combines by the artist. It's
genesis is related to a collaboration between Rauchenberg,
dancer Merce Cunningham, and composer John Cage. The work was
situated on stage and the dancers danced around it. It is
estimated to sell for between 6 and 8 million dollars (US).
Also up for sale by Sotheby's a drip painting by Jackson
Pollock called 'Number 17, 1949. It is estimated to go for
between 5 and 7 million dollars (US).
A spokesperson for Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg said
their spring contemporary art sale is in line with their sale
of last fall.
The top lot for Phillips is a large blue painting by Yves
Klein called 'RE 21.' The highly textured work is from of the
artist most celebrated series of paintings, and it is
estimated to sell for between 6 and 8 million dollars (US).
Other works in the Phillips sale is a double self-portrait
by Warhol called 'Self-Portrait (Two Works), and it is priced
at between 800,000 and 1,200,000 dollars (US), a soft
sculpture by Claes Oldenburg called 'Soft Light Switches'
(500,000 to 700,000 dollars (US)), and a large painting by Cy
Twombly called 'Untitled (Bolsena), 1969' (2,000,000 to
2,500,000 dollars (US).
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