FRANCIS BACON’S ‘SCREAMING POPE’ AND
MARK ROTHKO’S 1960 CANVAS
LEAD SOTHEBY’S $341.9 MILLION
CONTEMPORARY ART EVENING AUCTION

AUCTION RECORDS ACHIEVED FOR:
Carl Andre | Charles Gaines | Barkley L Hendricks | Rashid Johnson
Lee Krasner | Kenneth Noland | Dana Schutz

FRANCIS BACON’S STUDY FOR A HEAD SELLS FOR $50.4 MILLION
One of the Most Important Paintings by the Artist Remaining in Private Hands,
On Offer from the Collection of Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis

MARK ROTHKO’S UNTITLED, 1960 SELLS FOR $50.1 MILLION
Offered on Behalf of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art,
Sold to Benefit the Institution’s Acquisitions Fund

PRESTIGIOUS PRIVATE COLLECTIONS ARE 100% SOLD
The Collection of Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis
The Gerald L. Lennard Foundation Collection
The Blema and H. Arnold Steinberg Collection
The Collection of David Teiger
The Levy Family Collection

Part One of
ARTISTS FOR THE HAMMER MUSEUM
Sets Auction Records for Charles Gaines & Rashid Johnson,
With 36 Works on Offer Tomorrow

NEW YORK, 16 May 2019 – Grégoire Billaut, Head of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Department in New York, said: “Tonight we saw a resounding response to a very fresh sale, with nearly 80% of the works on offer making their auction debut. It was an honor for us to be entrusted this season with collections that have been hidden away for decades, and bidders from around the globe were ready to compete for treasures like Francis Bacon’s ‘Screaming Pope’ – without question one of the best works I have ever handled in my 20 years at Sotheby’s. Its result tonight is a tremendous recognition of the painting’s quality, as well as the eye of Richard Lang and Jane Lang Davis, who presciently acquired Study for a Head nearly 45 years ago.”

David Galperin, Head of Sotheby’s Evening Auctions of Contemporary Art in New York, said: “Characterized by spirited bidding from around the world, and a palpable energy throughout the salesroom, it was incredibly gratifying to witness seven new world auction records on the night, including significant benchmarks for Lee Krasner, Kenneth Noland, Barkley L. Hendricks, Carl Andre, and Dana Schutz. Of the seven record works, six were brought to auction for the first time, and the enthusiasm for such a diverse range of artists is a very encouraging sign of the strength of our current market. It was a particular honor to present Mark Rothko’s engrossing Untitled, 1960 tonight on behalf of SFMOMA, benefiting the Acquisitions Fund of an incredible institution.”

Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction concluded in New York with a total of $341.9 million, with a strong sell-through rate of 88.9% by lot. Of the 63 lots offered this evening, more than three-quarters made their auction debut tonight.

AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS:

Francis Bacon’s Study for a Head achieved $50.4 million following a four-minute battle between five bidders – well-exceeding its $30 million high estimate. An outstanding example of Bacon’s most celebrated and recognizable iconography, the work powerfully captures the silent scream of his iconic Popes. On offer from the collection of Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis, Study for a Head from 1952 belongs to a series of six small paintings in the head-and-shoulders portrait format completed by Bacon that year, which advanced both his suited businessmen as well as the Papal imagery he began in the late-1940s.

Assembled in the 1970s and ‘80s, the Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis Collection now belongs to the Friday Foundation, a private charitable organization committed to working with its cultural partners to ensure that the great works remaining in the collection will be enjoyed by the public, while also supporting key arts initiatives that were important to the Langs with proceeds from the sales. Additional works from the collection will be on offer in our Contemporary Art Day auction tomorrow.

Competition among at least four bidders drove Mark Rothko’s Untitled, 1960 to sell for $50.1 million (estimate $35/50 million). The painting was offered on behalf of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), sold to benefit the institution’s Acquisitions Fund. An important work completed at the apex of Rothko’s artistic powers, Untitled, 1960 is one of just 19 paintings completed by the artist in 1960. That year marked a critical juncture in the iconic Abstract Expressionist’s career, following his defining commission of the Seagram Murals (1958-59) and his representation of the United States in the XXIX Venice Biennale (1958) – organized by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, which would subsequently hold Rothko’s first and only major lifetime retrospective in 1961.

PRESTIGIOUS PRIVATE COLLECTIONS:

7 works on offer from the Blema and H. Arnold Steinberg Collection together achieved $35.4 million, led by two spectacular paintings on paper by Mark Rothko from 1960.

6 masterworks on offer from The Gerald L. Lennard Foundation Collection totaled $45.1 million, led by Francis Bacon’s Study for Portrait – the last of the artist’s famed portraits of his lover and muse George Dyer – which sold for $14.5 million (estimate 12/18 million). Proceeds from the sale of the works will help to benefit the Foundation’s mission, including helping to promote programs involving visual and performing arts, healthcare, education and environmental sustainability  

10069 Contemporary Art Evening Auction