The Collage That Set Jasper Johns's Auction Record
3 min read · 20 Jan 2025
Small False Start. Image courtesy of Christie's
Jasper Johns, Small False Start (1960), sold for $55.35m at Christie's in New York on November 9, 2022. It formed part of the $1 billion sale, "Visionary: The Paul G. Allen Collection". The encaustic, acrylic and paper collage on fiberboard work had been traded 5 times in the past but has been rarely exhibited.
Flag. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
The sale beat Johns' previous auction record by $19.34m, a 53% rise. The previous record was set by Flag (1983), which sold for $36.01m at Sotheby's on November 11, 2014. The work had not been traded before.
A Brief History of Jasper Johns at Auction
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022-11-09 | Small False Start | $55.35m | 54 % | Christie's | New York |
2014-11-11 | Flag | $36.01m | 26 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2010-05-11 | Flag | $28.64m | 65 % | Christie's | New York |
2007-05-16 | Figure 4 | $17.4m | 12 % | Christie's | New York |
1988-11-10 | False start | $15.5m | 142 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1988-11-09 | White Flag | $6.4m | 68 % | Christie's | New York |
1988-05-03 | Diver | $3.8m | 15 % | Christie's | New York |
1986-11-10 | Out of the window | $3.3m | 428 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1985-11-05 | Painting with ruler and grey | $625,000 | 89 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1983-05-20 | In memory of my feelings - Frank O'Hara | $330,000 | 38 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1973-10-18 | Double white map | $240,000 | 129 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1970-11-18 | Two flags | $105,000 | - | Sotheby's | New York |
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