Sotheby's - Contemporary Art - May 14-15, 2008 On the evening of May 14th, 2008, Sotheby’s will offer a masterpiece of the 20th century, Francis Bacon’s Triptych, 1976
making the maximum statement with Minimal artwork, a feat that has been fully achieved by this tribute to the Minimalist school. Yet, the Conceptualist basis that underlies much of Minimalism and so resonated for the collectors continued to inform their acquisition of artists of the late 1970s and 1980s whose artistic instrument became the photograph. This legacy is fully alive in the post-Conceptual school of photography that continues to this day with the work of John Baldessari, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger and Hiroshi Sugimoto which also joined the collection. Anthony Grant, International Senior Specialist in Sotheby’s Contemporary Art department, said: “The art in this collection was always cutting edge; when you compare the date of acquisition with when the pieces were made, you can see that these acquisitions were truly contemporary.” Highlighting the collection are Brice Marden’s Glyphs, 1986 (pictured here, est. $2/3 million); Donald Judd’s Untitled work from 1982, comprised of multiple boxes (est. $1.25/1.75 million); Robert Mangold’s ½. V Series, 1968 (est. $600/800,000); John Baldessari’s Stairs Up (With Void), 1986 (est. $300/400,000); and Cindy Sherman’s Untitled #89, 1981 (est. $200/300,000).
Note to Editors: Sotheby’s set the record for a work by Francis Bacon at auction when Study for Innocent X, 1962, sold in New York for $52.7 million. Sotheby’s also holds five of the top six prices for Bacon: in addition to Study for Innocent X, significant prices were achieved for Second Version of Study for Bullfight No. 1, 1969 ($45.96 million at Sotheby’s New York); Self Portrait, 1978 ($42.6 million at Sotheby’s London); Study of Nude with Figure in a Mirror, 1969 ($39.8 million at Sotheby’s New York); and Nude with Figure in a Mirror (Study), 1969 ($38.8 million at Sotheby’s London).
*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium
**Details about the London offering will be provided later this season
