Another auction is coming up with some works that should fetch nice sums. It’s hard to say if the works are undervalued by a large amount or not. However, I would think they would be attractive to buyers.
Art Among Friends Is Up for Sale:
On Nov. 10 and 11, Christie’s will auction a painting by Jasper Johns and other presents to Merce Cunningham, the dancer and choreographer who died in July.
Guston gave Cunningham an abstract black-and-white ink drawing from 1953, which is also in the auction and is estimated at $150,000 to $200,000. “It has the full range of the markings he was using in his paintings, so it’s a very active, beautiful surface,” said Laura Paulson, international director of postwar and contemporary art at Christie’s.
[Rauschenberg’s drawing], which Christie’s estimates will sell for $100,000 to $150,000, was one of several works that Rauschenberg gave Cage and Cunningham over the years. Another, “No. 1,” is an example of Rauschenberg’s black paintings, which Christie’s expects to fetch $800,000 to $1.2 million. It has a particularly rich history in Cunningham’s circle.
Neither Cunningham nor Cage must have thought their art was particularly valuable, just a familiar part of their visual landscape. Ms. Kuhn, the trustee, said that around 1988 their accountant asked them about insurance. “And when he discovered they had none, he asked, ‘What would happen if there was a fire and it was all destroyed?’ ” Ms. Kuhn recalled. “And Merce replied, ‘Our friends would paint us new ones.’ ”
(Via NYT > Arts.)
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