Press | Phillips

05 November 2024

JACKSON POLLOCK MASTERWORK FORMERLY FROM THE COLLECTION OF FLORENCE KNOLL TO LEAD PHILLIPS’ NEW YORK EVENING SALE OF MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART

 
NEW YORK – 5 NOVEMBER 2024 – Phillips is pleased to announce highlights from the November Evening Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art. This auction brings together significant works from across the art historical canon, featuring strong examples by masters of Modern, Post-War, and Contemporary Art. Among the blue-chip offerings are a significant Jackson Pollock painting, formerly from the collection of Design icon Florence Knoll, and a pair of rare double self-portraits from the early 1980s by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, along with serious examples by Cy Twombly, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miró. Underscoring Phillips’ commitment to offering time-tested names alongside Contemporary artists of the 21st century, the Evening Sale will also include important works by artists still creating today, such as Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and auction newcomer Li Hei Di. Comprised of 33 lots, Phillips’ Evening Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art will take place at 5pm EST on 19 November at 432 Park Avenue, following a public exhibition from 9-19 November.
 
Jean-Paul Engelen, President, Americas, and Robert Manley, Deputy Chairman, Phillips’ Worldwide Co-Heads of Modern & Contemporary Art, said, “This November, our Evening Sale offerings respond directly to the demand we’ve seen from our global collecting community, reflecting their appreciation for high-quality works by artists who carry an enduring legacy and that hail from prominent collections. This is perhaps best represented by Jackson Pollock’s Untitled, which was included in the major 1998-1999 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art and formerly resided in the collection of the inimitable Florence Knoll. The inclusion of two double self-portraits by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol also starring in the sale marks the first time that two major examples of this kind have ever been offered in the same auction. With other distinguished names, such as Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, Ed Ruscha, Mary Cassatt, and Joan Mitchell, we proudly reaffirm our commitment to bringing the highest quality works to auction as we meet the demands of our discerning collectors in today’s market."  
 
Jackson Pollock’s Untitled, circa 1948, leads Phillips’ November Evening Sale. The work was created at the pinnacle of his career, during his short-lived revolutionary drip period of the late 1940s. These startling, original, and accomplished paintings completely transformed the use of the medium and, in the process, reshaped the entire history of 20th-century art. Its inclusion in Phillips’ auction marks the first time the work is being shown since having been exhibited at the major 1998-1999 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), which later traveled to the Tate Gallery in London. Prior to its sale in 1987, the work belonged in the collection of Florence Knoll and her husband Harry H. Bassett, who acquired the work directly from the artist.  The work was featured on the pages of Vogue in the July 1954 issue, as it hung on the walls of Florence Knoll’s apartment.
 
Executed on three hinged wooden panels that evoke the form of a religious altarpiece, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Self-Portrait immortalizes the artist’s own image in two hollow-eyed silhouettes crowned with his iconic dreadlocks, transforming him into a contemporary idol. The figures are surrounded by song titles from Thelonious Monk and the name of Jazz legend Ben Webster, repeated in a rhythmic litany. By positioning his image alongside these icons, Basquiat aligns himself within a lineage of pioneering Black artists while also branding the work with his own SAMO© graffiti tag—a nod to his early career. The use of found materials and mythic evocation of Black heroes makes this work emblematic of a pivotal period when Basquiat ascended from street art provocateur to fully-fledged art-world megastar. Boasting exceptional provenance, the work has been a treasured part of the collections of Larry Warsh, Johnny Depp, and the Mugrabi Family, and has also been exhibited internationally—from Milan’s Museo delle Culture to London’s Barbican Art Gallery. Nearly forty years after its creation, this work remains an essential testament to Basquiat’s enduring impact on art and culture. 
 
The iconic double Self-Portrait by Andy Warhol, first exhibited at the Anthony d’Offay Gallery in London, epitomizes Warhol’s profound exploration of identity as an artistic medium. Featured in a landmark exhibition touring international museums from 2004 to 2005, this self-portrait emerged alongside Warhol’s 1981 series where he collaborated with photographer Christopher Makos, capturing himself in drag through Polaroid images. Warhol’s self-portraits, from the early 1963 photo-booth series to his spectral Fright Wig portraits before his death in 1987, reveal his constructed celebrity persona—a deliberate reflection on fame, identity, and mortality. Often donning disguises, Warhol fashioned himself into a recognizable brand, presenting his “self” as an artificial identity. This 1981 portrait captures him “in character” but undisguised, demonstrating the performance and introspection central to his later works and cementing his status as both an artist and a cultural icon.
 
These two double self-portraits were created just before Warhol and Basquiat began their storied collaboration, providing a fascinating glimpse at their trajectories in conversation with one another. As star lots in the auction, these works underscore the current market fervor for both artists. This spring, Phillips achieved the highest sale price among all the auction houses with the sale of Basquiat’s Untitled (ELMAR) realizing $46.5 million, while his Native Carrying Some Guns, Bibles, Amorites on Safari sold for HK$98.7 million, the highest sale price in Asia for the season. The demand for significant works by Andy Warhol also remains steadfast, with two of the artist’s top three auction prices having been set in the last two years, and double self-portraits as impressive as the present example seldom appear at auction.
 
Also among the highlights of the Evening Sale is Cy Twombly’s Crimes of Passion I, 1960, an example of the artist’s celebrated Baroque Paintings, which defined his practice in the early 1960s. The work channels a raw, mythological intensity, merging classical themes with modern abstraction. Created after Twombly’s move to Rome, this work reflects his deep engagement with the city’s timeless aura, as fragmented forms and tremulous lines evoke a charged dialogue between Eros and chaos. The painting’s erotic symbolism—marked by figures and visceral reds—embodies a blend of sensuality and destruction, capturing a complex vision of love and violence rooted in ancient mythology. Once part of collections of icons like Eric Clapton and Heiner Friedrich, Crimes of Passion I exemplifies Twombly’s singular exploration of antiquity through a contemporary lens, an approach that has solidified his legacy in the art world. 
 
A strong selection of Contemporary works also feature in the Evening Sale, including Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s Watcher and Derek Fordjour’s Twelve Tribes, coming on the heels of Phillips’ exceptional result for the artist’s Numbers in May, which more-than-doubled its low estimate. Li Hei Di’s Unfolding a flood marks the artist’s first time at auction. Recently becoming the youngest artist on Pace Gallery’s roster, Li has quickly established themselves as a compelling voice in Contemporary Art, known for exploring identity, desire, and transformation. Painted in 2022, Unfolding a flood powerfully demonstrates Li’s ability to merge personal experience with broader cultural narratives. The painting’s vibrant energy and emotional depth exemplify Li’s skill in navigating the space between abstraction and figuration, the intimate and the universally resonant.
 
Elizabeth Peyton’s Kurt (sunglasses) is also among the Contemporary highlights. Part of a series of portraits of Kurt Cobain, the famed frontman of Nirvana and a defining figure of the 1990s grunge movement, the work reflects Peyton’s enduring fascination with fame and vulnerability.  The work hails from the esteemed collection of Marcel Brient, which was previously announced in September.  
 

A wonderful selection of Modern works will also be featured in the sale, including Pablo Picasso’s Buste d'homme, executed in 1964. One of five paintings created by the artist on the 15 December 1964, the work is a vibrantly bold example of Picasso’s celebrated late period. In portraits such as the present example, Picasso pushes his visual language into newly expressive territory. Buste d'homme also contains references to Henri Matisse and his own 1906 self-portrait, with its Fauvist modelling in blocks of bright and non-naturalistic color. It was in 1906 that Picasso was first introduced to Matisse by the indomitable American art collector Gertrude Stein, and the two artists came to have profound admiration and respect for each other’s work. Buste d'homme offers a fitting tribute to the artist who helped shape Picasso’s own artistic journey and its inclusion in Phillips’ Evening Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art marks the first time in sixty years that it will be offered publicly. Also included in the Evening Sale is Joan Miró’s Peinture, 1950, a striking example from his Spontaneous Paintings series. 

 

Auction: 19 November 2024

Auction viewing: 9-19 November 2024

Location: 432 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022

Click here for more information: https://www.phillips.com/auctions/auction/NY010724

 

ABOUT PHILLIPS

Phillips: where the world’s curious and bold connect with the art, design, and luxury that inspires them. As a leading global platform for buying and selling 20th and 21st century works, Phillips offers dedicated expertise in the areas of Modern and Contemporary Art, Design, Photographs, Editions, Watches, and Jewels. Auctions and exhibitions are primarily held in New York, London, Geneva, and Hong Kong, with representative offices based throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia. Phillips offers a regular selection of live and online auctions, along with items available for immediate purchase. Phillips also offers a range of services and advice on all aspects of collecting, including private sales and assistance with appraisals, valuations, and financial planning. Visit phillips.com for further information.

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium; prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium.

 

PRESS CONTACT:  Jaime Israni, Head of PR and Corporate Communications, Americas     jisrani@phillips.com  

 

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