Category: Announcements

Contemporary Art Sales at Sotheby’s, New York

Iconic Post-War American Art
Roy Lichtenstein’s Sleeping Girl, 1964
36″ x 36″
Estimate: $30 – $40 Million
“Sleeping Girl is one of the great masterpieces of the 20th century, counting iconic depictions of women by Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brancusi and Amedeo Modigliani among its peers,” commented Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art.



Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #21
Estimate: $150,000 – $200,000
Untitled Film Still #21 is perhaps one of the most profound images that grew out of the second wave of the feminist movement. The 1950’s working girl has been transformed into a confident 1970’s businesswoman ready to assert herself upon the metropolis that surrounds her. Throughout the Untitled Film Stills series Sherman charts the evolution of the role of women from damsels in distress to women in control of their destiny. Nowhere is this transformation more clearly felt than in Untitled Film Still #21.
Gerhard Richter
The Cindy Sherman Film Still will lead Sotheby’s Mid-Season Contemporary Art Sale which is scheduled for Friday, March 9th. The celebrated series sees the artist cast herself as a modern 1970s businesswoman surrounded by the urban jungle. Sherman is widely recognized as one of the most important female artists of her generation and Untitled Film Still #21 appears at Sotheby’s as a major retrospective of the artist’s work that will go on view at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. All works in the sale go on view at the auction house this Saturday, March 3.
On Wednesday, May 9th, Sotheby’s will hold another important evening sale, which will highlight one of my favorites Roy Lichtenstein’s work – Sleeping Girl from 1964. The sexy blonde women of the comic book series are not only one of the most instantly recognizable icons of the Pop Art movement but continue the long, rich tradition of artists’ celebrations of the sleeping female form. Paintings from this series are featured in the collections of major institutions throughout the world such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York and this work has remained in private hands for the past 48 years. Like Picasso, Lichtenstein was fascinated by women but in contrast to the modern master, works like Sleeping Girl are a vehicle for his innovation and contribution to 20th century art history, rather than homage to specific women.

Asia Week New York: March 16 – 24, 2012

“Asia Week New York provides an astonishing showcase for the strength and breath of material that this city offers in all disciplines of Asian art” said Howard-Sneyd, Sotherby’s Vice-Chairman Asian Art, Americas. “In a few short years, New York has become an essential destination for international collectors, curators, scholars, and Asian art enthusiasts alike.”
Yue Minjun*
The Grassland Series Woodcut – 2008
46 1/4 x 33 5/8 inches. Edition of 80
Photo courtesy: Pace Prints
Judging from the impressive list of dealers, I was delighted to see that this year show promises to reach even greater heights. The week-long celebration will be filled with non-stop schedule of simultaneous gallery open houses, Asian art auctions, as well as myriads of museums and galleries exhibitions, lectures, and my personal favorite: special events. Right now, you can visit, www.AsiaWeekNewYork.com, in order to navigate through a detailed, 88-page guide, complete with maps. This guide is also available at the participating galleries, and auction houses (Christie’s, Doyle, iGavel, and Sotherby’s).
A couple of prominent players will be entering the scene, this year. They include Chambers Fine Art, Erik Thomsen, Littleton & Hennessy Aisan Art, and Pace Prints, from New York; Francesca Galloway, Jonathan Tucker Antonia Tozer Asian Art, both from London, and Michael Woerner Oriental Art, from Bangkok.

* Regarding Yue Minjun

Born in Daquing, China in 1962, Yue Minjun was lauded as one of the leading contemporary artists from China. He is an accomplished painter, sculptor and print maker whose signature motif of gleefully laughing figures as caricatures that reflect the contradictions and absurdities of contemporary life. The artist is often listed as a member of the cynical realism movement that emerged in China in the 1090s, which came of age in the wake of the socio-political upheaval created by the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in Beijing.

1stDibs’ 20th Century Art & Design Fair

Top 20th Century 1stDibs Dealers sign on for inaugural edition of the New York 20th Century Art and Design Fair on April 12 – 15, 2012. The event is to be held at the tent at Lincoln Center in Damrosch Park and presented by Dolphin Promotions

Many of the leading names in the field of 20th Century design will showcase a cross-section of iconic material including furniture, lighting, sculpture, paintings, jewelry, silver, glass, ceramics, photography, textiles, prints, vintage clothing and accessories. Among the participants from the United States are: Bridges Over Time; Camilla Dietz BergeronLtd.; Christopher Anthony; Collage-20th Century Classics; Donzella; Downtown; Dragonette Ltd.; Fat Chance; Framont Fine Art; Good Design; Joyce Groussman; Katy Kane Vintage & Couture Clothing; Le Lampade; Lillian Nassau LLC; Liz O’Brien; Lobel Modern; Mark McDonald; Modernism Gallery; Neil Marrs; R 20thCentury; Reform; Sally Rosen 20th Century Collections; Steve Newman Fine Arts; The Silver Fund; Todd Merrill & Associates; Vojtech Blau, Trinity House and Caira Mandaglio.

An early-buying preview party benefiting the Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture will be held on Thursday evening, April 12, and is expected to draw serious collectors, designers, investors, and museum curators. The show opens to the public from Friday, April 13 through Sunday, April 15. The venue at Lincoln Center, located at West 62nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues in the fashionable and easily accessible Upper Wide Side neighborhood of New York, is a gorgeous climate-controlled tent with hard walls and flooring. It is one of the largest event sites in Manhattan and has become an established location for some of the city’s most celebrated events, including the American Ballet Theatre Gala, New York Philharmonic Gala, and HBO’s Sex in the City party.
Further details regarding the preview gala, lecture series, and special guests will be announced soon. For more information, please visit NYC20.net or contact Dolphin Promotions at (708) 366-2710 or (954) 563-6747.

The New York School of Interior Design Honors Jack Lenor Larsen and Thomas Woltz

The New York School of Interior Design will honor visionary, scholar, world traveler, and authority on traditional and contemporary crafts, Jack Lenor Larsen and Thomas Woltz,  at its annual spring benefit, on Wednesday, April 18 at the Metropolitan Club.

Jack Lenor Larsen
Photo credit: Roberto Dutesco

Mr. Larsen will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award and Mr. Woltz, who is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and owner of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, will receive the school’s first Thomas N. Armstrong III Award in Landscape Design. This year’s Benefit co-chairs include Mario Buatta, Ellie Cullman, Philip Gorrivan, Amy Lau, Stephanie Odegard, Campion Platt, and Barbara Slifka. The Vice-chairs include Graham Arader, James Druckman, Marina Kellen French, Hugh Hardy, and Mary Ellen and Richard Oldenburg.

Thomas Woltz
Photo credit: Will Kemer Photographer

Thomas Woltz works between offices in Virginia and New York, he has led designs of a broad range of institutional projects in the US and abroad including The Peggy Guggenheim Sculpture Garden in Venice, Italy, The McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, Round Hill, Jamaica, the National Arboretum of New Zealand and a Master Plan for the conservation of 42,000 acres of Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles. Many of Thomas’ projects focused on restoration of damaged ecological infrastructure within working farmland and create models of biodiversity and sustainable agriculture. Thomas serves on the Board of Directors of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, and is an avid gardener.

“We are very pleased to salute Jack Lenor Larsen and Thomas Woltz,” said Patricia Sovern, Chairman, Board of Trustees. “Each of these men has enriched the textures of our lives and the quality of the built environment. We are particularly proud to launch the Thomas N. Armstrong III Award in Landscape Design, honoring our late trustee’s devotion to landscape design.” According to Sovern, Armstrong’s son, landscape architect, Whitney Armstrong, will present Woltz with the award.

Tickets for the benefit start at $500 and $1,000 per person. Tables of 10 can be purchased for $5,000 (Supporter), $10,000 (Benefactor), $15,000 (Connoisseur) or $25,000 (Patron). To purchase tickets or for more information contact: Monica Cheslak at 212-472-1500, or email: mcheslak@nysid.edu.