The Abstract That Set Barnett Newman's Auction Record

Barnett Newman's Black Fire I (1961) sold for $84.17m at Christie's in New York on May 13, 2014. The oil on canvas work had been traded four times before.

Barnett Newman painted the sombre, abstract in 1961, the year of the sudden death of his brother. The artist had been forced to face his own mortality a few years before, when he suffered a heart attack.

Black Fire I was first owned by Jane Holzer, the original Andy Warhol "superstar", who was a 23-year-old Palm Beach heiress and Park Avenue housewife when she met the Pop artist.

By 1970, the former "Baby Jane Holzer" had amassed a serious art collection with her husband, Leonard. But something was missing: furniture to go with their contemporary art. "All my antique French things and my Louis XVI furniture didn't look right,” she told the New York Times.

With a can-do spirit, she encouraged leading artists to try their hand at designing furnture. It resulted in a show at Leo Castelli gallery, featuring a sofa designed by John Chamberlain and a Robert Rauschenberg rubber‐tire lamp.

The sale beat Newman's previous auction record by $40.32m, a 91% rise. His previous record was set by Onement VI (1953), which sold for $43.84m at Sotheby's on May 14, 2013. The work had been traded 4 times in the past.

A Brief History of Barnett Newman at Auction