Art Market: Tidbits From Spring Auctions 2025 @ Christie`s

(Drivebycuriosity) - It`s May again and the world`s largest auction houses have their annual Spring fall auctions in Manhattan. This post focuses on the auction galleries @ Christie`s ( christies). As usual quality & quantity of the displayed art works was overwhelming and admission is free. I display here just my favorites, a very subjective selection as usual.

 

I happy to spot Neo Rauch`s surreal triptych "Para". The artist, born in 1960, grew up in the communist Eastern Germany, influenced by the so-called socialist realism, a style of realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union, and studied figurative painting (artinamerica). Rauch mixes realism with fantasy and also plays surrealist games on canvas. According to Wikipedia his "paintings mine the intersection of his personal history with the politics of industrial alienation. His work reflects the influence of socialist realism, and owes a debt to Surrealists Giorgio de Chirico and René Magritte" (wikipedia).

 

Above follows Mark Tansey, another favorite of mine. The painting is called "Study for´TheEnunciation`". I admire how he mixes reality with fiction and plays surrealist games on canvas.

 

There were 2 works by Hernan Bas, who`s paintings I often see at the auction galleries. The images above are called "The Giant (Grooming)" & "The Hideout".

 

Georg Baselitz also belongs to the gallery & auction standards, above his "Strandbild #9".

 

                             Red Hot Sex

  

Cecily Brown likes to hide some red hot sex in her paintings, above her "Bedtime story". A while ago I saw a Cecily Brown show @ Paula Cooper gallery (driveby)

 

Above more stars of the female art scene: Marlene Dumas`"Miss January" & Jenny Saville`s "Componimento inculto".

 

Above "Flicker" by Sarah Sze; "Sad Vase" by Julian Schnabel; "A short walk" by Fairfield Porter & "Cascade" by Hans Hofmann.

 

Philip Pearlstein specialized in women who were not exactly fashion models. Above his "Model with Horn Chair". The artist was represented by Betty Cunningham gallery which is now sadly closed (here a Pearlstein show driveby).

 

Above some classics of modern art: Rothko´s "No 4 (Two Dominants) Orange, Plum, Black"; Warhol´s "Mao" & Christopher Wool`s "Untitled".

 

 

I believe I have seen Ives Klein`s "Venus d`Alexandrie (S 41)" already at other auction galleries. This work is number 51 from an edition of 300 plus. But anyway, isn´t she an eye cooking.

 

Wassily Kandinsky´s futurist "Ohne Titel (Dessin pour l`Almanach "Europa" 1925) looks like an algorithm for AI.

 

 I am fascinated by Rene Magritte´s "Le empire des lumières", painted 1949. The master created several variations of this 2 idea, two of them I spotted last November at Christie´s (driveby ).

 

Above another famous surrealist: Salvador Dali`s "Portrait of Mitzi Sigall".

 

One more Surrealist: Paul Devaux`s "Le jardin nocturne"

 

Franz von Stuck´s famous "Die Sünde" (The Sin).

 

There were of course plenty of impressionists, above Edouard Vuillard`s "Jean Laroche" & Henri Lebasque`s "Le gouter sur la terasse a Sainte-Maxime".

 

And last but not least 2 lovely ladies by Andre Lhote called "Femme nue en buste" & "La torse a`la chaise". 

 

To be continued