Christie's Online Magazine No.307

From: Christie's - Saturday May 07, 2022 03:02 pm

Christie’s

Rothko’s reds, Basquiat’s symbols, Cy Twombly, A magnificent doucai vase, London’s new art fair, Livres d’artistes, and more |

How Cy Twombly’s ‘love of the eternal themes of the classical world’ morphed into abstract art

Rothko’s reds: a deep dive into the artist’s obsession with the colour of cataclysm and power

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Decoded: the words and symbols within Basquiat’s intricate Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict

A new art fair for a new era — meet Nazy Vassegh, founder and CEO of Eye of the Collector

The US widow who discovered this large doucai vase in 1883 — and why it could now fetch $5m

‘I see what it is to make a book and not merely to illustrate it’: livres d’artistes by luminaries of art

More stories

Editor’s picks

From the dream world of Gustave Moreau comes La Bonne Fée, the Symbolist’s 1880 watercolour vision of a fairy godmother. Riding a winged dragon, she is majestic in her jewelled crown and robe, and an inscription ‘to Marie Louise’ grants the recipient three wishes: goodness, beauty and happiness

Estimate: €30,000-50,000
18 May, Paris

The idea of making everyday items the subject of art was fairly well established by the late 1960s. Ed Ruscha took it a step further in works such as 1969’s Bowling Ball, Olive by painting hyperreal objects that seem to float in mid-air, nudging the familiar into the uncanny

Estimate: $1,500,000-2,000,000
12 May, New York

This floor lamp, designed by Alberto Giacometti around 1933, was owned by Hollywood royalty. Kirk Douglas became interested in art after playing Van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956), and he and his wife Anne built up a fine collection. They bought the lamp from Alberto’s brother Diego in 1982

Estimate: $150,000-250,000
14 May, New York

KawsBob (It Took Five Minutes) is a 2010 work from the ‘Package Painting’ series by the artist Brian Donnelly, better known as KAWS. A canvas based on the cartoon character SpongeBob is placed inside the kind of blister pack usually found in shop displays, raising questions about art, commerce and value

Estimate: $150,000-200,000
13 May, New York

Cy Twombly, 1958. Photo: David Lees/Getty Images. Artwork: © Cy Twombly Foundation // Mark Rothko (1903-1970), No. 1, 1962. Oil on canvas. 69 x 60 in (175.3 x 152.4 cm). Estimate: $45,000,000-65,000,000 / Mark Rothko (1903-1970), Untitled (Shades of Red), 1961. Oil on canvas. 69 x 56 in (175.3 x 142.2 cm). Estimate: $60,000,000-80,000,000. Both offered in The Collection of Anne H. Bass on 12 May 2022 at Christie's in New York // Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict, 1982. Triptych — acrylic, oil, oilstick and hardware on hinged wood construction. Overall: 81⅝ x 82⅜ x 3⅝ in (207.3 x 209.2 x 9.2 cm). Estimate on request. Offered in the 21st Century Evening Sale on 10 May 2022 at Christie’s in New York // Nazy Vessegh. Photo: Alex Board // Marc Chagall (1887-1985). Original drawing signed by Marc Chagall and inscribed to book collector Edmée Maus. Estimate: €20,000-30,000 / Fernand Léger (1881-1955) and Paul Éluard (1895-1952). Liberté, j'écris ton nom. Paris: Seghers, 1953. Estimate: €7,000-10,000 / Pierre Nivollet (b. 1946) and Marcelin Pleynet (b. 1933). La Dogana. Paris: Claude Letessier, 1994. Estimate: €150-200. All offered in Une vie de bibliophilie until 12 May 2022 at Christie's Online

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Christie's Online Magazine No.307