Art Houses Brawl This Week
It's been three years since Sotheby's has been able to match or beat Christie's sales totals. But this season, with all eyes fixed on Sotheby's as never before, the house comes out swinging with two major Francis Bacon canvases, a self-portrait and Second Version of Study for Bullfight No. 1. In the other corner, there's Christie's Andy Warhol's Liz, estimated at between $25 million and $35 million; Gerhard Richter's Dusenjager, estimated at between $10 million and $15 million; and Lucian Freud's Ib and Her Husband.
Each house has a monumental Jeff Koons sculpture from his celebration series. Sotheby's has "Hanging Heart," estimated at between $15 million and $20 million; Christie's has "Diamond (blue)," (estimate upon request). Both works are mammoth — too big to be displayed in anything less than a lobby.
Both houses have black-and-gray Rothkos. Sotheby's untitled picture is estimated at between $12 million and $18 million, while Christie's is selling one estimated at between $10 million and $15 million. Each house has additional Rothkos. Sotheby's has a smaller, untitled canvas that is blue-onblue and estimated at between $3.5 million and $4.5 million. Christie's has two more major works in "Untitled (Red, Blue, Orange)," estimated at between $25 million and $30 million, and "No. 7 (Dark Over Light)," estimated at between $20 million and $30 million, and a minor work, "Green, Blue, Green on Blue," estimated at between $3 million and $5 million.
You can watch this week's auctions live on the web here and here.
