William Kentridge - New Now New York Tuesday, February 28, 2017 | Phillips
  • Provenance

    Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Exhibited

    Philadelphia Museum of Art, William Kentridge: Tapestries, December 12, 2007 - April 6, 2008, pl. 23, p. 77 (illustrated)

  • Catalogue Essay

    "Mr. Kentridge’s 'Porter Series'... measuring as much as 11 feet high or wide, they show one or two figures carrying, or oddly fused with, objects. Of indefinite race, age and often gender, the porters have a Michelangelesque grandeur, even as their black-brown tonality suggests tar or earth. Contributing to their imposing stature are their backgrounds: maps from a world atlas published in 19th-century Europe, when its empires were the most expansive. True to their name, the porters are moving stuff. They are nomads, refugees, asylum seekers or maybe even adventurers. They seem more industrious than driven, but mostly they are on the move, set in motion by forces beyond their control." (Roberta Smith, "Shadowy Nomads, Writ in Warp and Woof; ART REVIEW | 'WILLIAM KENTRIDGE: TAPESTRIES," The New York Times, December 31, 2007)

115

Porter Series: Man with Bed on Back

signed, titled, numbered and dated “Porter with Bed, 1/3, 2000, William Kentridge” on a fabric label affixed to the reverse; further signed "KENTRIDGE" on the reverse
mohair, silk and embroidered tapestry
105 1/8 x 80 3/4 in. (267 x 205.1 cm.)
Executed in 2000, this work is number 1 from an edition of 3.

Estimate
$70,000 - 100,000 

Sold for $87,500

Contact Specialist
Rebekah Bowling
Head of Sale
New York
+ 1 212 940 1250

New Now

New York Auction 28 February 2017