Provenance

Bernard Jacobsen Gallery, London
Exhibited

London, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, Tom Wesselmann: New Work, May 25-June 30, 2004
Literature

D. Hickey, Tom Wesselmann: New Work, London, 2004, p.19 (illustrated), D. Echer, ed., Tom Wesselmann, Rome, 2005, p. 272 (illustrated)
Catalogue Essay

Redolent with a sensual energy, brimming with the hot house passages of brilliant color and the artist’s signature mix of still-life, landscape and the odalisque figure the paintings individually and collectively project a rather glorious farewell.
J. Tully, Tom Wesselmann – Sunset Nudes, New York, 2006, n.p.
In the tradition of Manet and in the style of Pop-Art, Wesselman presents Sunset Nude (Light), a delectable female figure with sensuous curves and an inviting smile. As the last painting of his Sunset Nudes series, she is both exciting and calming –a yielding vulnerability as she lies in the sun with nipples erect and mouth open against a beautiful seascape. Her erotic body-language is provoking but non-offensive and highlights her femininity with simplified, reductivist shapes and lines. She is sexed-up with ravenous, cartoonish curvature and yet, she is present and aware.
This figure-ground reversal (developed as a result of the visual effects of the cut-laser wirks he began in the 1980s) eventually led Wesselmann to the next major shift in the direction of the nudes, which occurred about a decade later in the current figurative series entitled Sunset Nudes.In this series, Wesselmann continues to depict the familiar nude figure, now placed in front of a windowshowing a partial view of the sun, low on the distant horizon. Each of the figures has the same iconic features that highlight the more sensual body parts –lips, nipples, hair. In a movement toward a more abstract overall composition, Wesselmann outlines the body once with a thin line and again with a wide band of flesh tone, leaving a strip of white (negative space) through the torso and the length of each limb. [not so in ours, only through torso & one leg]The resulting wide white lines that intersect Sunset Nudes act as much as abstract compositional elements as signifiers of the contours of the body. Some works in this series remain similar in composition to the earlier nudes, sharing elements such as leg and arm position, frontal face, and nearby flowers. Others emphasize the zigzag pattern of the white lines and consequently venture further away from the early nudes and closer to Wesselmann’s pure abstractions. Gradually, the boundaries between Wesselmann’s figurative and non-representational works have begun to blur and the differences have become less overt
M. Lombino, “Variations on the Nude,” Tom Wesselmann: The Intimate Images, Long Beach, 2003
Rather than exploiting the female nude, Wesselman is able to transcend the naked form on display into something pure and refined. The paired-down style and primitivism of the piece highlight the innocence of the girl, a flower in her hair, fruit and palm tree by her side. Her contours are outlined and so are those of the natural setting that becomes part of the surrounding foreground and background. With no eyes, she is lost. Thus, the foliage and fauna become part of her identity.
The Sunset Nude Series was the last of the series before Wesselman’s death. This piece evokes a subtle knowing of his departure. It is therefore, a culmination of his oeuvre, of his life-long career that spanned the course of over fifty years. It pushes the boundaries of pop-art, solidifying his position as an incredible talent in the sunset of life.
What stands out in these last paintings are the artist’s unwavering drive to refine and extend his visual vocabulary and launch it in the jet stream of Modern and Post-War painting and sculpture. Though branded as a Pop Artist decades ago and assured of a lofty position in that profile epoch, Wesselmann quietly and deliberately labored far beyond those laurels and explored new territory. These last, palpably fresh and beautifully executed works deliver a fitting swan song.
J.Tully, Tom Wesselmann – Sunset Nudes, New York, 2006, n.p.
Artist Biography
Tom Wesselmann
American • 1931 - 2004
As a former cartoonist and leading figure of the Pop Art movement, Tom Wesselmann spent many years of his life repurposing popular imagery to produce small to large-scale works that burst with color. Active at a time when artists were moving away from the realism of figurative painting and growing increasingly interested in abstraction, Wesselmann opted for an antithetical approach: He took elements of city life that were both sensual and practical and represented them in a way that mirrored Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol's own methodologies.
Wesselmann considered pop culture objects as exclusively visual elements and incorporated them in his works as pure containers of bold color. This color palette became the foundation for his now-iconic suggestive figurative canvases, often depicting reclining nudes or women's lips balancing a cigarette.
View More Works

138

Tom Wesselmann

Sunset Nude (Light)

2004

Oil on canvas.
77 x 86 in. (195.6 x 218.4 cm).
Signed, titled and dated “Tom Wesselmann Sunset Nude (Light) 2004 Wesselmann 04” on the overlap.

Estimate
$800,000 - 1,200,000

Sold for $914,500

Contemporary Art Part I

13 May 2010
New York

101
Kelley Walker
Untitled
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $266,500
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102
George Condo
Young Woman with Pearl Necklace
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103
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled (Plan B)
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
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104
Urs Fischer
The Grass Munchers
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
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105
Ugo Rondinone
21. Mai 2006
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
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106
Rosemarie Trockel
Untitled
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107
Mark Handforth
Chain Trashcan
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108
Mark Bradford
All I Need is “One” More Chance
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109
Antony Gormley
Sublimate II
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110
Damien Hirst
Untitled
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111
Lisa Yuskavage
KK in Red Room
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112
Jeff Koons
Stay in Tonight
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113
Richard Prince
Oh Henry
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114
Kehinde Wiley
Support the Army and Look After the People
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115
Barnaby Furnas
Duel (July 4th)
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116
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Rubber
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117
Andy Warhol
Jackie
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118
Dan Flavin
Untitled (to Jörg Schellmann)
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119
Christopher Wool
Untitled (P447)
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
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120
Roni Horn
Key and Cue, No. 807: Expectation—is contentment
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121
Steven Parrino
Pull Down
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122
Donald Judd
Untitled (91-138 Menziken)
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123
Anish Kapoor
Untitled
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124
Yayoi Kusama
Infinity Nets (OQ4)
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125
Frank Stella
Khurasan Gate III
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126
Robert Mangold
Red February #3
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127
Adolph Gottlieb
Black Note
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128
Kenneth Noland
Untitled
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129
Robert Mangold
Curled Figure XXI Study
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130
Mary Heilmann
Black Dahlia III
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131
Peter Halley
Blue Prison
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132
Donald Judd
Untitled (1968-76)
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133
Mark Tansey
Redeployment
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134
John Baldessari
Lion Jet Truck
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135
Andy Warhol
Brillo Soap Pads Box
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136
Joseph Cornell
Hotel Andromeda
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137
Roy Lichtenstein
Modern Painting
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138
Tom Wesselmann
Sunset Nude (Light)
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000
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139
Andy Warhol
Flowers
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140
Andy Warhol
Ads Painting (Rebel Without a Cause [James Dean])
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141
Liza Lou
Offensive/Defensive
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142
Chris Ofili
Silver Moon
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143
George Condo
Widow’s Watch
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144
Lisa Yuskavage
Bad Habits: Asspicking, Foodeating, Headshrinking, Socialclimbing, Motherfucker
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
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145
Banksy
Untitled (Toxic Marys)
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146
Margherita Manzelli
Miss Missy
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147
Paul McCarthy
Untitled (from Propo-Series) (Peaches)
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148
Leandro Erlich
La Vista (The View)
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149
Jules de Balincourt
I Infect You, You Infect Me
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150
Wangechi Mutu
Untitled
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151
Wolfgang Tillmans
Supercollider (Refraction) C
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152
Tim Noble and Sue Webster
Lucky
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