Provenance
Metro Pictures, New York
Exhibited
London, Simon Lee Gallery, Cindy Sherman: Clowns, 26 November, 2004 –15 January, 2005 (another example exhibited)
New York, Metro Pictures, Cindy Sherman, 8 May – 26 June, 2005 (another example exhibited)
Literature
M. Schlüter, Cindy Sherman: Clowns, Munich, 2004, p. 38 (illustrated)
R. Durand, Cindy Sherman, Paris, Jeu de Paume, 2006, p. 224 (illustrated)
Catalogue Essay
'I feel I'm anonymous in my work. When I look at the pictures, I never see myself; they aren't self-portraits. Sometimes I disappear.' Cindy Sherman

This series of Clowns marks an incredible culmination of the masquerading that has defined Sherman’s work throughout her career. The make-believe she first explored in her Untitled Film Stills of the 1970s and 1980s is rediscovered and heightened by the increased emphasis on the mask and the make-up of the clown character. Here we see a reflection on the artist’s own artistic process, exposing both the humor and the horror of charade and fantasy. Whatever her character, from a naive 1970s movie star, to a tragic figure of entertainment, Sherman continues exploring the boundaries between photography, portraiture, and identity. Both clown and artist are figures whose actions and expressions are always subject to scrutiny, and perceived beneath a layer of mysticism that removes them from reality. More so than any other series, her exploration of this historical entertainer provides an intriguing parallel to the role of the artist, especially one whose career is ultimately defined by disguise.
Artist Biography
Cindy Sherman
American • 1954
Seminal to the Pictures Generation as well as contemporary photography and performance art, Cindy Sherman is a powerhouse art practitioner. Wily and beguiling, Sherman's signature mode of art making involves transforming herself into a litany of characters, historical and fictional, that cross the lines of gender and culture. She startled contemporary art when, in 1977, she published a series of untitled film stills.
Through mise-en-scène and movie-like make-up and costume, Sherman treats each photograph as a portrait, though never one of herself. She embodies her characters even if only for the image itself. Presenting subversion through mimicry, against tableaus of mass media and image-based messages of pop culture, Sherman takes on both art history and the art world.
Though a shape-shifter, Sherman has become an art world celebrity in her own right. The subject of solo retrospectives across the world, including a blockbuster showing at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and a frequent exhibitor at the Venice Biennale among other biennials, Sherman holds an inextricable place in contemporary art history.
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Ο6

Cindy Sherman

Untitled #426

2004
colour photograph
201.9 x 139.1 cm. (79 1/2 x 54 3/4 in.)
Signed, numbered and dated 'Cindy Sherman, 2004, 4/6' on a label affixed to the reverse of the backing board. This work is number 4 from an edition of 6.

Estimate
£200,000 - 300,000

Sold for £242,500

Contact Specialist
Peter Sumner
Head of Contemporary Art Department
psumner@phillips.com
+44 207 318 4063

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

London 27 June 2013 7pm

1
Rob Pruitt
Chinese Buffet
Estimate £30,000 - 50,000 ‡
Sold for £104,500
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2
Kelley Walker
Untitled
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 †
Sold for £230,500
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3
Tauba Auerbach
Untitled (Fold) XV
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £386,500
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4
Ugo Rondinone
No. 209 DREISSIGSTERJUNIZWEITAUSENDUNDNULL
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ‡
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5
Ugo Rondinone
If There were Anywhere but Desert. Friday
Estimate £350,000 - 500,000 ‡
Sold for £410,500
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6
Cindy Sherman
Untitled #426
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000
Sold for £242,500
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7
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled (Bolego)
Estimate £600,000 - 800,000 ‡♠
Sold for £782,500
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8
Cindy Sherman
Untitled Film Still #36
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ‡
Sold for £302,500
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9
Glenn Brown
Oscillate Wildly (after ‘Autumnal Cannibalism’ 1936 by Salvador Dalí)
Estimate £2,500,000 - 3,500,000 ‡♠
Sold for £2,882,500
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10
Andy Warhol
Pontiac
Estimate £1,500,000 - 2,500,000 ‡
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11
Anish Kapoor
Untitled
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Sold for £1,142,500
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12
Andy Warhol
Diamond Dust Shoes
Estimate £900,000 - 1,200,000 ‡
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13
Andy Warhol
Skull
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14
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Three Pontificators
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15
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (Three-Tiered Perspective)
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16
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Untitled
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000
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17
Anish Kapoor
Turning the World Upside Down II
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ♠
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18
Antony Gormley
SICK
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19
This lot is no longer available.
20
Andy Warhol
Electric Chairs
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Sold for £122,500
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21
George Condo
Smiling Smoker
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000
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22
Marcel Broodthaers
Abbildung
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ♠
Sold for £218,500
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23
Oscar Murillo
Untitled
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ♠†
Sold for £146,500
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24
Sterling Ruby
Alabaster SR10-7
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Sold for £110,500
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25
Jacob Kassay
Untitled
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26
Rashid Johnson
Cosmic Slop
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27
Marc Quinn
Separation of Body and Soul (Ultramarine)
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ‡♠
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Contemporary Art Evening Sale

London 27 June 2013 7pm

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Provenance

Exhibited

Literature

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

Cindy Sherman

Ο6

Cindy Sherman

Untitled #426

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

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