Rough start, smooth finish at fall auctions - Front Page

Art in America, Jan, 2003 by David Ebony

At Sotheby's the following evening, the auction total, $78.2 million, was below the night's $81.8-million low estimate, only 51 of 66 works found buyers, but several works exceeded their high estimates and seven new artist auction records were established. The top lot, de Kooning's black-and-white painting and collage Orestes (1947), from the collection of investment banker Thomas Weisel, soared above its $10-million high estimate to sell for $13.2 million. Another black-and-white painting, Ninth Street (1951) by Franz Kline, brought $4.5 million (est. $4-$6 million), a record auction price for the artist. Cy Twombly's auction record was broken when his large untitled 1970 painting sold for $5.6 million (est. $2-$3 million). More records were set for Wayne Thiebaud, whose cityscape Freeways (1975-79) brought $3.1 million (est. $1.5-$2 million), and David Park, whose painting The Flutist (1959) was knocked down for $779,500 (est. $500,000-$700,000). Other highlights included Roy Lichtenstein's painting Step-on Can with Leg (1961), which sold for $4.8 million, far above its $3-million high estimate, and Philip Guston's large 1973 canvas Painter in Bed, which brought $1.9 million (est. $1.2-$1.8 million), another artist auction record. Mark Tansey's painting Achilles and the Tortoise (1986) shot past its $700,000 high estimate to sell for $999,500, and Nathan Oliveira's Seated Figure with Pink Background (1960) garnered $317,500 (est. $150,000-$200,000), auction records for both artists. Among the sale's disappointments were major works by Calder, Gorky, Johns and Rauschenberg that failed to sell.

Although Christie's postwar and contemporary sale the following night also stumbled a bit, the end results were modestly successful. The house realized $66.9 million, above the night's $60-million low estimate. Sixty-two of 75 works sold and six new artist auction records were established. The top lot was 0 Through 9 (1961), a large, predominantly gray canvas by Jasper Johns, which sold for $6.2 million (est. $6-$8 million). Lichtenstein's 1964 painting Happy Tears was knocked down for $4.5 million (est. $5-$7 million), a new auction record for the artist. Another individual high was set by Barnett Newman's White Fire I (1954), which brought $3.9 million (est. $4-$6 million). David Hockney's auction record was shattered when his 1966 Portrait of Nick Wilder sold for $2.9 million (est. $2.5-$3.5 million), and a new record was set for Morris Louis when his large colorful untitled abstraction (1959-60), trounced its $700,000-$900,000 estimate to sell for $1.7 million. New auction highs were also established for Dan Flavin, whose Alternate Diagonals of March 2, 1964 (to Don Judd) sold for $405,500 (est. $300,000-$400,000), and Laura Owens, whose untitled 1995 painting went for $47,800 (est. $40,000-$60,000). Among other highlights, Matthew Barney's photo grouping Cremaster 4: The Isle of Man (1994) brought $229,500 (est. $150,000-$200,000), and Takashi Murakami's large canvas When the Double Helix Is Aroused I Hear a Familiar Voice (1999) sold for $427,500 (est. $150,000-$200,000).