Sotheby’s Pegs New York Sale to U.S. Election

Ed Ruscha, George's Flag (1999). Courtesy Sotheby's.

By Sam Gaskin – 5 November 2024, New York

Sotheby’s has announced highlights of its marquee sales in New York this month, which take place in the weeks following the U.S. Presidential Election.

The Now and Contemporary auction on 20 November will feature thematic works including the Ed Ruscha painting Georges’ Flag (1999) (est. U.S. $8–12 million), and Roy Lichtenstein‘s Pop Art depiction of the Oval Office (est. $1–1.5 million).

Keith Haring, Untitled (Boombox Head) (1984). Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Thirty-one subway drawings created by Keith Haring from 1980 to 1985 will appear in an exhibition that replicates a 1980s New York City subway station—complete with turnstiles and benches—before going under the hammer. Their estimates range from $40,000 to $700,000 each.

A work by an Italian artist that caused a stir in America is also part of the auction. Maurizio Cattelan‘s Comedian (2019)—a banana duct-taped to the wall that showed at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019—is going under the hammer with an estimate of $1–1.5 million.

Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian (2019). Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Perrotin sold three editions of Comedian at the fair for prices ranging from $120,000 to $150,000.

The most lucrative of Sotheby’s sales this month is likely to be A Legacy of Beauty: The Collection of Sydell Miller. The auction house expects it to bring in sales ‘in the region of $200 million’ after live auctions on 18 and 19 November.

Yves Klein, Relief Éponge bleu sans titre (1961). Dry pigment and synthetic resin, natural sponges and pebbles on panel. 78.7 x 128 cm. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Eyelash and hair care mogul Sydell Miller, who died in February at the age of 86, collected works by giants of Modern and Postwar art including Monet’s Nymphéas (ca. 1914–17) and Picasso’s first depiction of a female artist (estimates on request), Kandinsky’s White Oval (1921) (est. $15–20 million), and Yves Klein‘s Relief Éponge bleu sans titre (1961) (est. $8–12 million).

Henri Matisse, Torse de jeune fille (1921–22). Oil on canvas. 60.5 x 50.5 cm. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Rounding out Sotheby’s marquee sales in New York this fall, the Modern Evening Auction on 18 November includes Pablo Picasso‘s Buste de femme (est. $9–12 million) (1949), Henri Matisse‘s Torse de jeune fille (1920–21) (est. $12–18 million), and Franz Marc‘s Das Lange Gelbe Pferd (1913) (est. $8–12 million).

Featured sculptures include Alberto Giacometti‘s Buste (Tête tranchante) (Diego) (1954) (est. $10–15 million) and Leonora Carrington‘s La Grande Dame (The Cat Woman) (1951) (est. $5–7 million). —[O]