The Sculpture That Set Ruth Asawa's Auction Record

Ruth Asawa, Untitled (S.401, Hanging Seven-Lobed, Continuous Interlocking Form, with Spheres within Two Lobes) (1953-54), sold for $5.38m at Christie's in New York on July 10, 2020.

The hanging sculpture, hand made of enameled copper and brass wire, had been traded 4 times in the past.

The signature work, which dates from the time of Asawa's first solo show in New York, was initially owned by Blanchette H. Rockefeller, a MoMA trustee from 1949 who became its president from 1972 to 1985. The sculpture was then bought by Asawa's friend and patron, Gaylord Hall, a professor of dentistry, who made it a centerpiece of his homes, first in San Francisco and then Lake Tahoe.

A major international touring show of Ruth Asawa's work is due to open at SFMOMA in April 2025, before traveling to MoMA, New York, the Guggenheim Bilbao and Fondation Beyeler.

The sale beat Asawa’s previous auction record by $1.29m, a 31% rise. Her previous record was set by Untitled (S.387, Hanging Three Separate Layers of Three-Lobed Forms) (1955), which sold for $4.09m at Christie's on November 14, 2019. The work had been traded 3 times in the past.

A Brief History of Ruth Asawa at Auction