This Week in Art: July 27th, 2020
This was a relatively quiet week for the art market as the majority of the auction houses around the globe are coming off the heels of a scorching hot week of sales that saw several price records broken for artworks sold at auction by modern and contemporary artists.
Earlier this week Phillips concluded its “Editions and Works on Paper Sale,” bringing in $5.4 million in sales and placing 232 of the auctions 244 artworks with buyers, realizing a robust 95% sale-through rate. The sale was packed with works on paper by household name artists, with artworks ranging from modern masters such as Joan Miró and Wassily Kandinsky to an assortment of contemporary artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Wayne Thiebaud, and Gerhard Richter.
Pablo Picasso’s 1958 linoleum cut print, Portrait of a Young Woman, After Cranach the Younger, achieved the highest price among the sales lots, blowing past its pre-sale estimate of $300,000 to $500,000 and releasing a price of $728,000 with buyers fees included. The artwork is incredibly important as it is only the second time this work has come to the market, having been acquired by the present owner from the Galerie Michael in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.
The work draws heavily from the artistic tradition of the German Renaissance painter Lucas Cranach the Younger’s portrait paintings, and reflects Picasso’s synthesis of classical Western European aesthetics with modern philosophies on spatial theory and abstraction. Through the work’s intricate complexities, historical cognizance, and overall scheme, Picasso was able to produce an entirely unique work of art that continues to influence generations of artists today.
Phillips this week also launched its second edition of its online-only “HEATWAVE” sale which features a limited number of artworks by contemporary artists at accessible price points ranging from $250 to $65,000. After the success of last year’s sale which realized a total $483,000, the auction house decided to double down on the model, with this year’s auction featuring artworks by highly collectable artists such as Gerhard Richter, Amoako Boafo, and Imi Knoebel. As an avid Grateful Dead supporter, I couldn’t help but be partial to the inclusion of Wes Lang’s screenprint, Grateful Dead, which features several of the band’s classic art motifs. The sale which opened for bidding on July 22nd will close on July 30th.
Art fairs around the United States continue to suffer as shows have been forced to cancel amid the ongoing restrictions imposed by the coronavirus. The Seattle Art Fair which showcases modern and contemporary artworks through galleries and collectors around the Pacific Northwest cancelled its regularly scheduled events. The art fair was supposed to run from July 23rd to July 26th.
Intersect Aspen which ran from July 22nd to July 26th was one of the few art fairs around the country that has successfully converted its physical events onto an virtual platform. Intersect Aspen is one of three annual art fairs around the country under the Intersect Art and Design partnership. The other two art fairs that the organization sponsors are Intersect Chicago and Intersect Palm Springs. This year’s art fair hosted a total of 110 regional and global galleries and reported initial online traffic of over 100,000 page views within the first three days. The art fairs success testifies to the global engagement that comes with online art market platforms, a trend that has grown considerably in 2020.
