Auction Blotter: Julie Curtiss Shocks, Ed Ruscha Sizzles, and KAWS Keeps On Keeping On in the New York Day Sales

The late-September day sales in New York might not get the
high-wattage attention of the splashy evening sales, but this is
where auction stars of future are made. Here’s a rundown of the
notable results at Phillips, Christie’s, and Sotheby’s this
week.

Paper Money

At the New Now sale at Phillips, a slew of artists beat their
records in the category of works of paper. Batting leadoff was a
gouache on paper by Julie Curtiss, the young French artist whose
work has been highly sought after on the secondary market since
last May, when frenzied bidding at Phillips pushed a painting of
hers light years past its $6,000 high estimate. Shockingly, it hit
$106,250 (including fees). On Tuesday, online bidders got
outmatched by a phone bidder on the line with sale head Sam
Mansour, hammering at $28,000 (or $35,000 with fees)—easily a
record for the artist in that medium. A paper work by Shara Hughes
hammered at $22,000 ($27,500 with fees). And two works on paper by
Nicolas Party that each had high estimates of $60,000 nearly
tripled that, selling for $175,000 apiece.

Auspicious Debut

Paddle-wielders, say hello to Leidy Churchman, who just made his
very first appearance at auction, courtesy of the New Now sale. The
Phillips team that pulled together the sale may have been hoping
that his current show at the Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College
would spur some interest in the untested artist. And perhaps it
helped that the painting was a big, bright depiction of Kali, the
Hindu goddess of doom, with her many heads bobbing about. Estimated
at $10,000 to $15,000, it ended up going for $50,000. (More like
the goddess of boom!) Given that number, expect collectors
with Churchmans to take notice, so look out for a few paintings
sprinkled through the day and afternoon sales in New York this
November.

KAWS and Effect?

Brian Donnelly, the wizard of KAWS, has a vast and eclectic
collection that may surprise those who are used to the artist’s
own, um, distinctive output. He favors the loopy paintings of Peter
Saul, early overlooked abstractions of Carolee Schneemann, and the
photography of David Wojnarowicz, whose market Donnelly has reset
twice in the last 18 months. He also collects Martin Wong, an
artist who made affectionate renderings of the Lower East Side in
the ’80s and ’90s before dying of AIDS in 1999. Could it be a
coincidence, then, that days after an article was published
about how KAWS loves Wong, a 10-part painting by the late artist
obliterated its $80,000 high estimate to sell for $884,000 at
Sotheby’s?

And Speaking of…

No, that bubble has not yet burst—all the KAWS in the Phillips
sale sold for double the high estimates. A wooden Pinocchio made as
an edition of 100 sold for $118,750, more than four times its high
estimate. And during the Post-War to Present sale at Christie’s, a
figurine that KAWS designed for the Japanese collectibles company
Medicom Toy smashed high estimates to hammer at $75,000, or $93,750
with fees. Again, this was for a toy; toys are playthings for
children.

Bad Bets

The top lot of the New Now sale, Keith
Haring’s Untitled (Three Dancing Figures), Version A
(1989) failed to find a buyer Tuesday when no bids hit the low
threshold of $600,000. At Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated
sale, works by Joan Mitchell and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
were priced in the mid-six figures and flopped—surprising, given
the fact that their artworks have broken records in recent years as
the demand for work by women and black artists has grown to a fever
pitch. And at Christie’s Friday, a Jean Dubuffet and a John
Chamberlain, both estimated at $350,000 to $450,000, could not find
anyone to bid.

Ruscha Rush

On Thursday, Christie’s had a sale called “Thirtyfive Works by
Ed Ruscha” where the house sold… 35 works by Ed Ruscha. Imagine a
Ruscha work with the text reading “White Glove Sale.” The top lot
was Wavy Robot (1975), a gunpowder-on-paper concoction
that brought in $1.2 million. And at Sotheby’s on Wednesday,
Ruscha’s Please Note (1990)—an acrylic-on-canvas
painting—sold for $1.5 million.

Across the Pond

All this bodes fairly well for the day sales at the auction
houses’ headquarters in London, all of which are within walking
distance of one another in Mayfair. Phillips is hoping to make a
splash with works by budding stars Simone Leigh, Nathaniel Mary
Quinn, and Derek Fordjour in the opening three slots. Sotheby’s has
work by the young artists Clair Tabouret and Donna Huanca, as well
as pricier works by newcomer blue-chippers such as Dana Schutz and
Mickalene Thomas. And Christie’s is kicking off its day sale with a
painting by, look at that, Julie Curtiss—the first painting of hers
to come to auction since the shocking record-breaker last May. With
a high estimate at nearly $75,000 and demand peaking, expect
ferocious bidding, and perhaps another new record.

All these houses have to do is avoid a Brexit-related art market
crash, and all will go well.

The post Auction Blotter: Julie Curtiss Shocks, Ed Ruscha
Sizzles, and KAWS Keeps On Keeping On in the New York Day Sales
appeared first on artnet News.