The Tamesis
A Jackson Pollock painting that originally belonged to media giant SI Newhouse, once one of the world’s most formidable art collectors, sold at Christie’s on Monday night for $157 million, breaking the Abstract Expressionist artist’s auction record. With fees, the total comes to $181.2 million.
The work began with an $82 million bid, with more than 60 bids received from three experts and two bidders on site. After an intense 10-minute bidding war, in which auctioneer Adrien Meyer calculated bids in $1 million increments, the winning bid of $157 million was won by a buyer represented by Christie’s global president Alex Rotter.
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No. 7A“” is a large-scale drip painting created in 1948. It was estimated at $100 million when it was auctioned by request, far higher than the artist’s previous highest price. 2021, 1951 painting No. 17 of 1951 The painting sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $61 million, just under twice its high estimate. Christie’s works are much larger than No. 17,and No. 17of square dimensions, less than 5 feet. Both works are oils and enamels on canvas, characterized primarily by black pigments.
Pollock’s next three scores for $58 million No. 19achieved in 2013; $55.4 million Red stroke composition 2018; and $54 million No. 31 In 2022, it’s all done at Christie’s New York.
Christie’s claims this work is the largest drip painting currently in private hands, and despite its size, No. 7A Stands out for its unique provenance, coming from the collection of the late Newhouse and his wife Victoria, both of whom frequently appeared in art news List of top 200 collectors. They are said to have spent up to $700 million on their art collection. Newhouse died in 2017 and his family hired former Sotheby’s chief auctioneer Tobias Meyer to help decide his fate, according to the New York Times. new york times.
In a statement from Christie’s announcing the sale, Meyer praised Newhouse as a most discerning collector, saying he was “fearless in compiling his collection. He owned the most important paintings by the most important artists, sometimes selling them and buying them back from others, and through years of study and rigor he assembled an unparalleled collection,” Meyer said.
Prior to Newhouse, the painting was originally owned by the photographer Herb Matt, to whom the work was gifted by Pollock. It was subsequently acquired by collectors Kimiko and John Powers and eventually sold to Newhouse. The last time the public saw it was in 1977 at the Whitney Museum.
