Robert Longo’s Them (Russian Bomb) is apocalyptic and sublime in intensely contrasted charcoal rendering of a mushroom cloud. The artist's stunning depiction of a nuclear event engages with the power of atomic images while nodding to the debate over nuclear technology and testing, contending with the issue’s complex contemporary relevance. The physical power of the work, drawn from seminal images of nuclear tests published during the Cold War, inspires both fear and awe.
The present example is a superb preparatory drawing for Russian Bomb/Semipalatinsk, 2003, held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Robert Longo, Russian Bomb/Semipalatinsk, 2003, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Image: © The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY, Artwork: © Robert Longo/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York Provenance
Metro Pictures, New York
Private Collection (acquired from the above)
Thence by descent to the present owner
357
Them (Russian Bomb)
signed with the artist's initials and dated "RL 2003" lower right; titled "Them (Russian Bomb)" lower left
ink and charcoal on vellum
image 15 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. (39.4 x 29.2 cm)
sheet 19 x 19 3/4 in. (48.3 x 50.2 cm)
Executed in 2003.
Estimate
$30,000 - 50,000
Patrizia Koenig
Specialist, Head of Day Sale, Afternoon Session
+1 212 940 1279
pkoenig@phillips.com
20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Afternoon Session
New York Auction 16 November 2022
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