The Painting That Set Lee Krasner's Auction Record
3 min read · 17 Jan 2025
The Eye Is The First Circle. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
Lee Krasner's The Eye Is The First Circle (1960) sold for $11.65m at Sotheby's in New York on May 16, 2019. The mural-sized, oil on canvas work, which measures 236cm x 487cm, had been traded once before.
Krasner painted the monumental canvas, part of her celebrated "Umber" series, in the aftermath of her husband Jackson Pollock's fatal car crash in 1956. After his death she moved her studio into the former barn in East Hampton where he used to paint and began to work on a more ambitious scale than before.
Krasner's Abstract Expressionist tour de force has featured in several major exhibition of the artist's work. The painting is now in the collection and on view at the Glenstone Museum in Maryland founded by Mitch and Emily Wei Rales.
Shattered Light. Image courtesy of Christie's
The sale beat Krasner's previous auction record by $6.17m, a 100% rise. The previous record was set by Shattered Light (1954), which sold for $5.49m at Christie's on November 15, 2017. The painting had not been traded before.
A Brief History of Lee Krasner at Auction
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019-05-16 | The Eye Is The First Circle | $11.65m | 112 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2017-11-15 | Shattered Light | $5.49m | 73 % | Christie's | New York |
2008-05-14 | Polar Stampede | $3.18m | 87 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2003-11-11 | Celebration | $1.7m | 900 % | Christie's | New York |
2003-05-14 | Uncial | $170,000 | 6 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2000-12-05 | Blue spot | $160,000 | 3 % | Christie's | Los Angeles |
1995-05-03 | Through Blue | $155,000 | 3 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1987-05-04 | Right bird left | $150,000 | 131 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1985-11-06 | Bird's parasol | $65,000 | 7 % | Christie's | New York |
1985-05-02 | Equation | $60,500 | 34 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1984-05-09 | Feathering | $45,000 | 29 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1983-05-20 | Stop and go | $35,000 | - | Sotheby's | New York |
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