Provenance
Tom Wesselmann Studio; Private Collection
Catalogue Essay
Tom Wesselmann's treatment of the female form is one of the most recognisable in 20th century art. Choosing the figure as his point of study, he transformed the semi-anonymous female nude into a symbol of both Pop Art and the new-found freedoms of the 1960s and 70s. His figures are highly sexualized, but at the same time disarmingly familiar – we are presented with stylised nude woman in her ordinary American home. In his studies, the artist is concerned more with the form of the figure than the specific individual. By removing the majority of facial features and placing the hands and feet out of the picture plane, Wesselmann concentrates the viewer on the contours of the body rather than the identity of the model. This focus on form is made more apparent by the limited background Wesselmann provides for his model; the backdrop's solid colour blocks simply emphasize the lines of her figure, and draw the eye back to her torso.
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.
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35

Tom Wesselmann

Study for Pat nude

1979
Oil on canvas.
56 x 76 cm (22 x 30 in).
Signed, titled and dated 'Wesselmann 1979 Study for Pat nude' on the reverse.

Estimate
£150,000 - 200,000 ‡

Sold for £159,650

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

29 June 2010
London

1
Johannes Kahrs
Hand
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ‡♠
Sold for £61,250
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2
Urs Fischer
Untitled (Nurnberg)
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000
Sold for £133,250
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3
Anselm Reyle
Untitled
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ‡♠
Sold for £99,650
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4
Ugo Rondinone
air/ gets/ into/ everything/ even/ nothing
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000
Sold for £361,250
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5
Andy Warhol
Disaster (Retrospective Series)
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000 ‡
Sold for £157,250
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6
Matthew Day Jackson
Gimme Shelter #2
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000
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7
Roni Horn
When Dickinson Shut Her Eyes, no. 1259
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000
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8
Thomas Schütte
Doppelkopf (Double Head)
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ‡♠
Sold for £481,250
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9
Hermann Nitsch
Schüttbild (Splatter Painting)
Estimate £25,000 - 35,000 ♠
Sold for £54,050
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10
Andy Warhol
Hamburger Michel
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
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11
Olafur Eliasson
Snow crystal roof
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ‡♠
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12
Anselm Kiefer
Untitled (Constellation Book)
Estimate £180,000 - 250,000 ‡♠
Sold for £193,250
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13
Joseph Kosuth
Meaning (Art as idea as idea)
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000
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14
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Ghost
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ‡
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15
Andy Warhol
Portrait of Joseph Beuys
Estimate £180,000 - 220,000 ‡
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16
Josef Albers
Homage to the Square
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000
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17
Gerhard Richter
Graues Bild I
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ‡♠
Sold for £91,250
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18
Roy Lichtenstein
Prop for a Film
Estimate £500,000 - 700,000 ‡
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19
Donald Judd
Untitled (92-4 Ballantine)
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000
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20
Bridget Riley
Out There
Estimate £400,000 - 500,000 ‡♠
Sold for £445,250
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21
Gilbert & George
Damned Buddleia
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000 ♠
Sold for £169,250
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22
Tony Cragg
Conical Flask
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ♠
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23
Salvatore Scarpitta
Trapped Canvas
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000
Sold for £409,250
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24
Arnaldo Pomodoro
Sfera con sfera (Sphere within sphere)
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ♠
Sold for £265,250
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25
Emilio Vedova
Ciclo
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000
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26
Antoni Tàpies
Grey between Brackets
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ‡♠
Sold for £79,250
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27
Juan Muñoz
Untitled
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000
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28
Wangechi Mutu
Untitled
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ‡
Sold for £82,850
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29
Georg Baselitz
Scarecrow (Eagle)
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000 ♠
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30
Li Songsong
Gift (diptych)
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000 †
Sold for £169,250
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31
Zheng Guogu
Waterfall
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 †
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32
Liu Wei
Swimmers
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ‡
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33
Yang Shaobin
Fun
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000
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34
Wang Guangyi
Prada
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ‡
Sold for £109,250
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35
Tom Wesselmann
Study for Pat nude
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000 ‡
Sold for £159,650
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36
Keith Haring
Untitled
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000
Sold for £157,250
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37
Damien Hirst
Bipyridinium Dibromind-N, N-Tetremethylene
Estimate £90,000 - 120,000 ‡♠
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38
Thomas Ruff
Substrat 13 I
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ♠
Sold for £61,250
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39
Sarah Morris
William Morris (Los Angeles)
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ♠
Sold for £55,250
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40
Gilbert & George
MIX
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ♠
Sold for £73,250
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41
Anselm Reyle
Untitled
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 ♠
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42
Iván Navarro
Record
Estimate £35,000 - 45,000 Ω♠
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43
Gavin Turk
Death of Che
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ♠†
Sold for £67,250
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44
Jim Lambie
The Doors
Estimate £25,000 - 35,000 ♠
Sold for £27,500
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45
Tim Noble and Sue Webster
Forever
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000 Ω♠
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