The Sculpture That Set Louise Nevelson's Auction Record
3 min read · 27 Jan 2025
Floating Cloud VII. Image courtesy of Christie's
Louise Nevelson, Floating Cloud VII (1977). sold for $1.35m at Christie's in New York on May 14, 2021. The wood construction, painted white work had been traded twice in the past.
A signature work, Nevelson used found and salvaged wood to make her monochrome assemblages painted in black or white. She once said: “I wanted to show that wood picked up on the street can turn to gold.”
A major Nevelson survey show organized by the Centre Pompidou-Metz in France is due to open in the fall of 2025. It reflects renewed interest in her work, along with other female artists who first made their mark in the male dominated New York art world of the 1950s and 60s.
Sky Cathedral. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
The sale beat Nevelson's previous auction record by $361,000, a 36% rise. The previous record was set by her Sky Cathedral (1961), which sold for $989,000 at Sotheby's on November 12, 2014. The work had not been traded before.
A Brief History of Louise Nevelson at Auction
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021-05-14 | Floating Cloud VII | $1.35m | 37 % | Christie's | New York |
2014-11-12 | Sky Cathedral | $989,000 | 26 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2012-05-10 | Night Wall II | $782,500 | 23 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2008-05-14 | Dark Presence III | $634,600 | 15 % | Christie's | New York |
2007-09-10 | Dawn's Presence Two | $553,000 | 140 % | Christie's | New York |
1989-05-02 | Dawn's Wedding Chapel I | $230,000 | 24 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1988-11-11 | Sky City I | $185,000 | 68 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1987-11-04 | Royal tide III | $110,000 | 10 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1986-11-10 | Tide Echo | $100,000 | 79 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1984-10-31 | Rain garden Zag VIII | $56,000 | 56 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1984-02-16 | Wing column | $36,000 | 16 % | Christie's | New York |
1983-11-09 | End of day nightscape VII | $31,000 | - | Sotheby's | New York |
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