ARTNET AUCTIONS LAUNCHES MODERN AND
CONTEMPORARY SALE
New
York / Berlin, May 11, 2010 – artnet Auctions offers
continuous online auctions of fine art, prints and
photographs. Beginning May 11, artnet Auctions will
present 60 modern and contemporary works of art by artists
including Damien Hirst, Alberto Giacometti, Pablo Picasso and
Andy Warhol. Represented in the sale are some of the most
important artists of the 20th-21st centuries.
Gilbert
and George
Torture Cross, 1981
Collage with
postcards on cardboard
Estimate:
$35,000-45,000
Leading the sale is an exceptional collection of works
by cutting edge contemporary artists including Gilbert +
George, Damien Hirst, Richard Pettibone and Wayne Thiebaud.
Ferrocene, 2008 is one of two works by Damien
Hirst offered in the sale. This 36 x 52 inch spot
painting in vibrant primary colors is offered in pristine
condition (estimate: $550,000-$750,000). In contrast,
Richard Pettibone’s diminutive Soup Can, 1968 is
a 5 x 4 inch replica of the Warhol original, in
acrylic on canvas (estimate: $75,000-$125,000). Other
contemporary highlights include Hot Dog Row, 2000 a
mixed media work by Wayne Thiebaud (estimate:
$225,000-$325,000) and Torture Cross, 1981 a graphic
collage by the irreverent British duo Gilbert + George
(estimate: $35,000-$45,000).
Damien
Hirst
Hallucinogenic Head, 2008
Household gloss
on plastic skull
Estimate:
$55,000-75,000
Pop
art also figures prominently in the sale including works by
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy
Warhol. Six works by Andy Warhol trace the artist’s
career from the 1954 Happy Bug Day, a unique
watercolor on offset lithograph (estimate: $20,000-$28,000) to
two stunning 1987 Camouflage screenprints (estimates:
$15,000-$20,000 each). Ground-breaking street artist
Jean-Michel Basquiat is represented with a rare work in
acrylic on brown paper, Untitled (Taxi Cab), 1980
(estimate: $375,000-$475,000).
David
LaChapelle
Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow: Burning
Down the House, 1997
C-print
Estimate:
$20,000-25,000
The
auction also features a collection of modern masterworks by
Willem de Kooning, Alberto Giacometti, Henri Matisse and Pablo
Picasso. Giacometti has set numerous auction records in
recent months. Included in this section is an exquisite
pencil on paper drawing by the artist, Tête d’homme
(estimate: $100,000-$200,000). Among the other modern
highlights are two remarkable works by Pablo Picasso,
Bacchanale, 1959, a dramatic linocut which juxtaposes
earth tones with cerulean blue and white (estimate:
$75,000-$85,000) and Untitled, 1963, a subtle
watercolor depicting the horse and the bull, iconic imagery
which recurs throughout Picasso’s oeuvre (estimate:
$150,000-$200,000).
Henry
Moore
Bonnet, 1982
Cast bronze with pale green
patina, Ed. 2/9
Estimate: $25,000-55,000
Rounding out the sale are sculptures by some of the
most celebrated artists of the last century including Harry
Bertoia and Henry Moore, and Latin American works of art by
Jesús Rafael Soto and Wifredo Lam.
We
invite you to browse the sale. Visit www.artnet.com/ModernandContemporary
About artnet:
artnet has been online since 1995 and is
host to approximately 2,000,000 visitors each month. Through
its Fine Art Price Database of over 3.8 million auction sales
results and its Gallery Network of over 2,200 galleries
worldwide, artnet is the leading online resource for the
international art market. With the new Online Auctions, artnet
has added a transaction platform to its successful information
services.
Artnet Worldwide Inc., 61 Broadway,
23rd Floor, New York, NY 10006-2701, U.S.A.
