Week in Review: Basquiat Tops the Bill, Cindy Sherman’s Face Off and Remembering Frank Auerbach
3 min read · 15 Nov 2024
New York’s week of major auctions kicks off on Monday, November 18. Portraits by Jean-Michel Basquat lead not one but two of the marquee sales at Christie’s and Philips respectively. See the HENI News preview of these and other sales for an overview of all the top lots, including pre-sale estimates. Meanwhile, this week the spotlight was on Hong Kong where notable sales included a Mark Rothko with a backstory, sold for $32m, some $14m less than nine years ago.
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Untitled by Jean-Michel Basquiat estimated at $20m. Image courtesy of Christie's
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New York: Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982), a monumental portrait in crayon, has the highest estimate in '21st Century Evening Sale' at Christie's on November 21. Reportedly consigned by Peter Brant, the work’s $20m is a big slice of the sale’s total estimate of $78m. For more, see the HENI News preview.
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New York: A Basquiat double self-portrait has the highest estimate in 'Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale' at Phillips on November 19. The total pre-sale estimate is $51.04m. HENI News
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New York: A work by Wassily Kandinsky with a $15m-$20m estimate, is the top lot in the sale of the Sydell Miller’s collection, amassed by the woman and her husband who made a fortune in beauty products. The auction at Sotheby's on November 18 has a total estimate of $79.5m. HENI News
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Hong Kong: A work by Rothko with a colorful backstory delivered a 30% negative return despite selling for more than $32m at Sotheby’s. HENI News
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London: Frank Auerbach, the figurative painter who escaped Nazi Germany as a child, died at 93. A reclusive workaholic, he once said that he would die with a brush in his hand.
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Hong Kong: Works by Cindy Sherman and Yasumasa Morimura that explore female archetypes will be brought together by M+ museum, Time Out reports
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Paris: Miquel Barceló has been commissioned to create three tapestries for a chapel in Notre Dame, Vanguardia reports.
In other news
Market: A Bank of America report warns of concerns as Donald Trump heads back to the White House but it found signs that market conditions have improved, ARTnews reports.
Legal: Sotheby’s had agreed to pay the State of New York $6.25m to settle a case in which the auction house was accused of assisting clients in evading sales taxes.
Museums: Pro-Palestine protestors targeted MoMA as it hosted the World Jewish Congress, an organization led by the museum’s honorary chairman Ronald S. Lauder.
Doug Aitken is reflected in one of his works in his studio. His project “Lightscape” is an immersive film installation and performance in Disney Hall and later will be an installation at the Marciano Art Foundation. Photo by Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
"‘It was so weird. I realized I’m part of someone else’s fiction.’ Doug Aitken, whose film premieres at the LA Phil, recalls his phone blowing up when his mirror-clad house, Mirage, appeared in the Showtime series The Curse, and he got a namecheck. "
- The Los Angeles Times
