Rago’s May 2008 auction of Post-War and Contemporary art is a hit
Jun. 2, 2008
Trademark mix of leading names and artists new to the market attracts bidders worldwide
LAMBERTVILLE, New Jersey—Rago’s Post War and Contemporary Art auction hit the block May 17, capping the week of New York area sales. When the bidding was through, close to 90% of the 300+ lots were sold for a total hammer of $1.2 million. A with all Rago sales, auction catalog preview and Internet bidding were offered by LiveAuctioneers.com.
“Rago’s makes it our business to draw attention to strong, significant art that would be lost to view among the most expensive works in the New York sales. Then there’s the newest work - worthy of the market’s consideration, but unproven. Other auctions won’t present it, but we will. I think these are the essentials that make our sales a particular draw for both buyers and sellers.” says Meredith Hilferty, Director of Fine Art.
Session One, which featured 100+ lots of paintings, drawings and sculpture, was strong out of the gate, with Theodore Stamos’ L.I. Sound selling for $14,400 against a $2,000-$3,000 estimate, followed swiftly by an Anne Ryan collage for $9,600 against a $4,000-$6,000 estimate, a Lenore Tawney mixed media work from 1968 for $4,000 and an oil by John Saccaro from 1961 for $21,600. (All prices include buyer’s premium.)
Rago’s continues to find and feature early work by Richard Pettibone. This sale contained three and all sold well: Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe 1964 from 1968 for $84,000; Roy Lichtenstein, Aloha 1962 from 1968 for $66,000; and Jasper Johns, The Disappearance II 1961 from 1967 for $21,600. Mike Bidlo’s 1983 Not Pollack, another appropriationist chosen for the sale, sold way out of the money for $15,600 against a high estimate of only $1,800.
The sale featured two drawings by Andy Warhol for the Myths portfolio, Mother Goose and Howdy Doody, the former extremely rare, as it did not ultimately become part of the portfolio. Each sold for $66,000, one during the sale and one just after.
Artists whose reputations were forged in the 80s and 90s proved popular. Rago’s sold two untitled 1989 works on paper by Baechler for $10,200 and $9,600; an acrylic on linen by Peter Schuyff for $6,000; Joseph Beuys’ DDR Radikal Kubismus for $12,000; a bold oil wash on paper by Eric Fischl for $13,200; the mixed media riff Blacknuss from Radcliffe Bailey for $16,800 (a record for this artist at auction); a large oil by Anton Henning for $32,400.
Strong work by women artists was a notable aspect of the sale. In addition to the sale of work by Ryan and Tawney already noted, work by Suzanne Caporael, Nancy Spero, Jane Hammond, Lynda Benglis and Amy Sillman all found favor with buyers.
Rago’s presented a number of worthy works by young and emerging artists and the buyers selected their favorites. Among the many highlights were works by Chris Johanson, Hiroto Murakami, Emi Avora, Nick Mauss, Amy Gartrell, Royal Art Lodge, Judy Ledgerwood (for the first time at auction) and Clara Desire.
Other works selling well above estimate in the first session include Mel Bochner’s 2000 oil on paper, Measurements: 12 for $7,800; Roxy Paine’s RF 15, Angelbert Metoyer’s Jin II, and a Jim Lambie untitled collage from 2000 each for $3,240; and the above-mentioned Judy Ledgerwood’s Lil Spot 2 for $2,280.
Session Two embraced works on paper, prints and photographs. The popularity of Warhol’s screenprints continued unabated: After the Party selling for $12,000; Jackie II for $15,600; Electric Chair for $14,400; and St. Apollonia, after furious bidding, for $6,000. Also noteworthy among other masterprints: 1984 by Ed Ruscha for $11,400, Jim Dine’s Wallchart I for $7,800; an untitled lithograph by Phillip Guston for $10,800; Sinjerli Variation II from Frank Stella for $9,000 and Robert Rauschenberg’s Cardboard Birds for $7,800.
Rago’s chose well over fifty lots of photography for the sale; this was a very solid category. Highlights include: Robert Mapplethorpe’s Cock and Devil for $12,000; Hans Christoph Haacke’s Water in Wind for $2,400; four works by Morton Bartlett for $4,500; an untitled work by Lorna Simpson for $3,120; an untitled work by Carrie Mae Weems for $2,400; a Kiki Smith self-portrait for $1,800; an untitled work by Chen Quilin for $7,200 (also first time at auction); and an untitled work by Robert Gober for $6,000.
The art of Joseph Beuys was as strong in this session as the former, with Element from 1982 selling for $10,800. Other standouts: Le Surrealisme en 1947 by Breton and Duchamps, reaching $10,200 against a high estimate $1,500; Jeff Koons’ popular multiples Puppy, which sold for $7,800 (a record for this edition); and Sol LeWitt’s untitled linocut for $3,000.
To view the fully illustrated catalog, with prices realized, please visit www.liveauctioneers.com
