Phillips Announces Additional Highlights from the December Sales of 20th Century & Contemporary Art

Phillips Announces Additional Highlights from the

December Sales of 20th Century & Contemporary Art

Works by Hockney, Still, Basquiat, Hendricks, Rockwell, Richter,

Judd, and Louis to Lead the Evening Sale on 7 December

Day Sale on 8 December to Offer Emerging Artists Alongside 20th Century Masters, Plus a Dedicated Group of Works Offered in Partnership with the Hall Art Foundation to Benefit the Dreyfoos School of the Arts Foundation

NEW YORK – 24 NOVEMBER 2020 – Taking place on 7-8 December, Phillips’ New York auctions of 20th Century and Contemporary Art will encompass works by Modern, Post-War, Contemporary, and American masters. The Evening Sale will be held on 7 December at 7pm, featuring 38 lots, with the Day Sale’s Morning and Afternoon Sessions following on 8 December, offering over 300 lots. The full catalogues for each of these auctions are now online, with the New York exhibitions opening on Monday, 30 November, by appointment.

Robert Manley and Jean-Paul Engelen, Worldwide Co-Heads of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, said, “On the heels of two exceptional evening sales during such an unpredictable year, we are delighted to present one of Phillips' strongest and most diverse sales to date. Our carefully assembled auction brings some of the rarest works of art from each artist's oeuvre to the fore and aims to continue our mission of recognizing the importance of artists who have long been omitted from the art historical canon. We have also prioritized fresh-to-market works. Featuring 38 lots, 80% of the artworks in our Evening Sale have never been offered on the secondary market and, despite the uncertainty of the year, the resilience of the art market has been made clear, with collectors from across the globe participating in our sales at unprecedented levels."

Evening Sale | 7 December 

Phillips is pleased to present two remarkable paintings by Joan Mitchell bookending her groundbreaking painting career. Best known for her large-scale abstractions featuring assertive and gestural brushwork coupled with expressive and vivacious color, Mitchell is a central figure in Abstract Expressionism and one of the key artists of the movement. Representing nearly a thirty-year arc of her artistic output, Untitled, circa 1953, is one of the most important paintings from her early career and the large-scale diptych Untitled 1979 is a masterpiece from her late period.  Untitled, circa 1953, marks the opening era of her most sought-after mature works and has been requested to be included in the forthcoming retrospective organized by the Baltimore Museum of Art and will travel to SF MOMA and Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris. Directly related to Wood, Wind, No Tube, 1980, in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, Untitled, 1979, represented the culmination of her career and foreshadowed her subsequent Grand Vallée chapter.

Also highlighting the 20th Century and Contemporary Sale is a remarkable painting by Morris Louis – Beth Sin, 1958. Titled after two letters from the Hebrew alphabet, Beth Sin is a monumental masterpiece from Morris Louis’ first mature body of work. Belonging to his Veils series, which he executed in two distinct periods in 1954 and 1958-1959, the work is comprised of translucent washes of cerulean, violet, and moss green that gloriously flow down the surface of the work as overlapping waterfalls. One of the most refined and vibrant of its kind to come to auction, Beth Sin is an exquisite example from the pivotal series that would launch him to international acclaim

A stunning example of the artist’s abstract works, Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild (678-1), 1988, represents both the artist’s unrelenting formal innovation as well as his career-long quest to probe the natures of truth, perception, and reality. Abstraktes Bild (678-1) represents a culmination of Richter’s decades-long exploration of abstraction, a mode of representation that had consumed his career since his first shift from figuration in the late 1960s. Richter’s practice has always oscillated between interrogations of the formal capabilities of the two approaches to painting, often blending both abstraction and figuration into hybrid styles. Richter has intensively examined the successes and failures of both forms of artmaking; his first mature abstractions, and those that have since received the greatest international attention, were those in the late 1980s that, like Abstraktes Bild (678-1), incorporate the artist's innovative “squeegee” technique, inviting chance into the creation of the work. Abstraktes Bild is a stunning example of this breakthrough in the artist’s approach to painting, representing not only his ongoing inquisition of the artform but also the unending innovation with which he approaches his craft.

Phillips is offering a group of outstanding works of art from a Private Midwestern collector, all of which were acquired between 20-40 years ago and are completely fresh to the market. Leading the group is the very first example of Donald Judd’s large-scale “bullnose” wall progressions, untitled (DSS 70), which was created during a pivotal moment in the artist’s career-long investigation of positive and negative space. Coalescing the industrial material of galvanized iron with a scintillating, elegant surface, these “progressions”—in which each projection becomes longer and the space between them shrinks—would become one of Judd’s most well-known forms and revolutionized Minimalism and post-war art history. untitled specifically represents the culmination of the artist’s development of the iconic “bullnose” progression, building on the form of a wood prototype from a year prior and a smaller galvanized iron example earlier in 1965. Executed in 1965, this piece of history was first part of Leo Castelli’s own collection, and has been owned by the same important private collector for almost three decades.  Additional works from the same collection to be offered in the Evening Sale are Morris Louis’ Infeld, Agnes Martin’s Untitled, and Richard Diebenkorn’s Untitled (Berkeley).

The Evening Sale will also feature four works from the collection of pioneering Virginia-based philanthropists Pamela and William Royall – Amy Sherald’s The Bathers, Kehinde Wiley’s Portrait of Mickalene Thomas, the Coyote, Mickalene Thomas’ I've Been Good To Me, and Barkley Hendricks’ Selina/Star. Selina/Star, epitomizes Hendricks’ arresting portrayals of fashionable, super-cool Black and Latino subjects which revolutionized contemporary figurative painting. A superb example from the artist’s more celebrated bodies of work, it showcases his unrivaled ability to capture not only the personality but the inner spirit of each and every one of his sitters. The Royall’s collection reflects their broad interests, from well-known artists from the 20^th century to emerging and established Black artists. Committed arts patrons and forces of change in Richmond, the Royalls spearhead the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’s recent acquisition of Kehinde Wiley’s sculpture Rumors of War as board members of the institution and were instrumental to the museum’s expansion of the diversity of its collection. Believing in a vision of greater inclusivity for Richmond, the Royalls established a non-profit art gallery for the collection, Try-me, which was open without charge to the public, which fostered a space for local artists and education.

Known as one of the fathers of Abstract Expressionism, Clyfford Still was regarded as an influencer to some of the most significant artists of the 20th century. PH-407 is a magnificent, large scale work was painted in 1964 after Still left New York and relocated to the Maryland countryside, virtually cutting ties with the commercial art world. A testament to his protection over the paintings he created during this time, he left a will with strict instructions to keep them together in a Museum dedicated to his works. As a result, PH-407 is now one of only a few dozen paintings that are estimated to remain in private hands. It is a superb example from the artist’s body of work created in Maryland, which are being celebrated for the first time in the current exhibition at the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver. Bearing impeccable provenance and exhibition history, this monumental masterpiece is estimated in the region of $17 marking the first time that it is being sold publicly. Please click here for more information on the work. 

Leading the auction is David Hockney’s Nichols Canyon. With an estimate in the region of $35 million, it is the most important landscape by the artist in private hands. Marking the beginning of his decades-long panoramic landscapes series, it was one of only two monumental works Hockney executed following his return to painting from a brief hiatus spent exploring photography in the 1970s. As one of the greatest modern depictions of the Los Angeles environment, Nichols Canyon has been included as his first mature landscape in the most important exhibitions of his career. More can be read about this work here.

Another highlight for the evening sale will be Jean Michel Basquiat’s Portrait of A-One A.K.A. King. Energized by a string of career-launching exhibitions, Basquiat spent 1982 executing depictions of those close to him with invigorated passion — pictures which today are widely considered to be the finest of his career.  A nod to his community and time as a street artist, Portrait of A-One A.K.A. King portrays the artist’s close friend and collaborator, legendary New York graffiti artist A-One, standing before a wall covered in tags. Evoking both street culture and the art historical genre of royal portraiture, the crown became one of the artist’s most enduring and recognizable pictorial tropes, which Basquiat used to celebrate the Black experience—anointing pop culture icons, his friends, and himself. Please click here to read the full press release.

Following Phillips’ first sale of Norman Rockwell last November, this Evening Sale will also feature two works from the collection of legendary TV producers, Tom Miller and Robert Boyett. Known for their roles in creating iconic American TV shows, they amassed an impressive collection of American Art during their 40 years of partnership. An Audience of One, estimated at $2.5-3.5 million, and The Peephole, estimated at $1-1.5 million, are quintessential works by Rockwell. They capture a picture-perfect moment in time, showing Rockwell’s remarkable skill as a painter and cinematic storytelling ability. For more information on the history behind these works, please view the dedicated press release here.

Additional Evening Sale Highlights

Day Sale | 8 December 

Among the highlights of the Day Sale is Kudzanai-Violet Hwami’s Eve on Psilocybin. London-based artist Hwami was born in Zimbabwe and spent six years in South Africa before moving to the UK at the age of seventeen. Pulling from her personal experience with displacement and a sense of belonging, Eve on Psilocybin, 2018, illustrates the artist’s use of found imagery, from social media to family photo albums. The intimately painted subject collaged with a fragmented background in this work intersect with one other in ways that speak to the multi-dimensionality of the artist’s identity. This will be the first painting by Kudzanai-Violet Hwami to come to auction.

From Parisian salons and Park Avenue parlors, to the storied collection of prominent New York gallerist Ruth O’Hara, Alexander Calder’s Aerialist captures the unique trajectory of one of the most important American modern artists. Created circa 1926-1931, this early work belongs to the artist’s legendary Circus series created during the artist’s interwar sojourn in Paris. Comprised of a miniature troupe of figures, animals and objects, the so-called Cirque Calder represents the artist’s first major body of work. A rare example from this series to come to auction, Aerialist presents itself as a delicate wire figure gracefully soaring through the air– showcasing not only Calder’s mechanical prowess, sense of playfulness and pioneering imagination, but importantly exemplifies his interest in kineticism and drawing in space that would become the defining characteristic of his art from the 1930s onwards. Arguably one of Calder’s most beloved works, a major Circus installation is notably in the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Lush and sensuous, Willem de Kooning's Untitled is a quintessential example of the benchmark paintings the artist created in the mid-1960s. Painted in 1964, it speaks of the defining moment in both de Kooning’s life and practice ushered in by his move from New York City to the pastoral environs of East Hampton just the year prior. The dramatic shift in scenery served as a catalyst for a wholly new body of work in which de Kooning pushed his iconic subject matter of the female figure into abstraction – fusing body and landscape into one with a distinctive new painterly approach. These are pictures distinguished by a baroque painterly hedonism, a luminous chromatic palette evocative of East Hampton's light and sea, and a palpable sense of joy that harkens back to Henri Matisse's early fauvist work. Remaining in the same family collection for decades, Untitled perfectly encapsulates the turning point in de Kooning’s practice that gave rise to such masterpieces as Woman, Sag Harbor, 1964, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC., and The Visit, 1966, Tate, London.

Underscoring Phillips’ commitment to showcasing works by emerging artists, the Day Sale will debut several artists at auction for the first time on 8 December, including Christina Forrer, Joy Labinjo, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones and Alex Gardner.

Additional Day Sale Highlights

The Hall Art Foundation for Dreyfoos

Phillips is proud to have partnered with the Hall Art Foundation to offer a group of works on 8 December that will directly benefit Black students at the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida. With an enrollment of over 1,400 students, this magnet public high school provides a tuition-free, arts-centered education for Palm Beach Country’s most talented and disciplined students in the arts. Proceeds from the sale of these lots will be used to implement scholarships specifically for low-income Black students who wish to pursue a career in the visual and performing arts. The Hall Art Foundation will give all proceeds it receives from their sale to the Dreyfoos School of the Arts Foundation. Please click here for more information on this initiative.

EVENING SALE | 7 December 2020

Auction viewing: 1-6 December 

Location: 450 Park Avenue, New York

https://www.phillips.com/auctions/auction/NY010720/

DAY SALE | 8 December 2020

Auction viewing: 1-7 December 

Location: 450 Park Avenue, New York

Morning Session: https://www.phillips.com/auctions/auction/NY010820/

Afternoon Session: https://www.phillips.com/auctions/auction/NY010920/

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Phillips is a leading global platform for buying and selling 20th and 21st century art and design. With dedicated expertise in the areas of 20th Century and Contemporary Art, Design, Photographs, Editions, Watches, and Jewelry, Phillips offers professional services and advice on all aspects of collecting. Auctions and exhibitions are held at salerooms in New York, London, Geneva, and Hong Kong, while clients are further served through representative offices based throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. Phillips also offers an online auction platform accessible anywhere in the world.  In addition to providing selling and buying opportunities through auction, Phillips brokers private sales and offers assistance with appraisals, valuations, and other financial services. Visit www.phillips.com for further information.

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium; prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium.

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