Bidders Go Bananas for Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’
Sotheby's auction bidding for Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian (2019). Courtesy Sotheby's.
Seven bidders sent the price of Maurizio Cattelan‘s Comedian (2019) soaring at Sotheby’s The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction in New York on Wednesday night.
The artwork—a real banana masking-taped to the wall, or rather the idea of taping the banana to the wall—is number two in an edition of three plus two artist’s proofs.
Comedian was acquired by Justin Sun, the founder of cryptocurrency TRON, who said, ‘This is not just an artwork; it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community.’
He added that he ‘will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience, honouring its place in both art history and popular culture.’
Among other high profile works in the auction, which realised a total of $112.3 million, Ed Ruscha‘s Georges’ Flag (1999) sold for $13.7 million, while Jeff Koons’ Woman in Tub (1988) failed to find a buyer.
The result adds to Sotheby’s tally from earlier in the week, with works from the collection of beauty magnate Sydell Miller (1937–2024) bringing in $216 million in a white glove sale led by Claude Monet‘s Nymphéas (ca. 1914–17) for $65.5 million.
The house’s Modern Evening Auction on Monday garnered another $92.9 million led by Leonora Carrington‘s sculpture Le Grande Dame (1951) for $11.4 million.
Over at Christie’s, works from the collection of Mica Ertegun (1926–2023)—a Romanian-American interior designer who married a co-founder of Atlantic Records—realised $184 Million on Tuesday night with a 100% sell through rate. Two thirds of the auction total came from just one work—Rene Magritte‘s L’empire des lumières (1954), which sold for $121.2 million.
The same night, Christie’s 20th Century Evening Sale achieved $302 million, selling 77% by lot and 88% by value. Ed Ruscha’s Standard Station, Ten-Cent Western Being Torn in Half (1964) sold for $68.3 Million, a record for the artist. —[O]
Main image: Sotheby's auction bidding for Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian (2019). Courtesy Sotheby's.
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