White Cube Announces Representation of Lynne Drexler Archive
Largely overlooked for decades, Drexler's paintings have skyrocketed in value since 2022.
Lynne Drexler, Flowered Hundred (1962). Oil on canvas, 176.5 x 220 cm. © The Lynne Drexler Archive. Photo: © White Cube (David Westwood).
White Cube will present works by Lynne Mapp Drexler in Miami, London, and Hong Kong after announcing global representation of the artist's archive (outside the United States).
Drexler was born in Virginia in 1928. She moved to New York in the '50s where she studied under Robert Motherwell and developed an interest in Abstract Expressionism. By 1983, she was living year-round on Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine, a landscape that greatly influenced her paintings.
'Second only to her art, Lynne Drexler loved Monhegan Island.' explains two friends of Drexler. '''When I came here, I got to know the year-round people. I like the people out here,'' Lynne once said. She gave the islanders her ultimate accolade: ''They're not dull.'''
The artist remains represented in America by Berry Campbell Gallery, who co-hosted the first New York solo show for the artist in 38 years in collaboration with Mnuchin Gallery.
Interest in Drexler's work has blossomed in recent years. When her painting Flowered Hundred (1962) went to Christie's last year it had an estimate of U.S. $40,000 to $60,000. It sold for almost $1.2 million.
White Cube will present Drexler's 1968 painting Maui Melody at Art Basel Miami Beach (8–10 December). In November 2024, the gallery will mount solo exhibitions of Drexler's paintings at Mason's Yard in London and Hong Kong.
White Cube's Sukanya Rajaratnam—previously a partner Mnuchin Gallery, New York—said it was exciting to promote Drexler's legacy.
'The artist's early paintings from the '60s have already garnered much attention, however there are many subsequent bodies of work that are equally as innovative and have yet to be presented to global audiences in a thoughtful and rigorous way,' she said.
Michael Rancourt, Director of The Lynne Drexler Archive, said he felt privileged to work with Rajaratnam after successfully collaborating on previous projects.
'We look forward to working with White Cube to secure Drexler's position in the canon of 20th-century American art,' he added. —[O]