Andy Warhol, Still-Life (Hammer & Sickle), 1977; graphite and wash on ivory wove paper; 35 × 48 ⅞ in.; Courtesy of the Mnuchin Gallery, New York; © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) will hold its biennial art auction on April 24, 2013, benefitting SFMOMA’s celebrated exhibitions and innovative education programs.
Organized by SFMOMA’s Modern Art Council, the museum’s premier fund-raising auxiliary, this signature event will feature more than 40 exceptional lots representing a range of work in all media by internationally distinguished artists, including John Baldessari, Vija Celmins, Chuck Close, Rineke Dijkstra, Mark di Suvero, Andreas Gursky, Jasper Johns, Marilyn Minter, Martin Puryear, Gerhard Richter, Cindy Sherman, Katharina Sieverding, Kiki Smith, Andy Warhol, Garry Winogrand, and Christopher Wool.
Led by auctioneer Patrick Meade from Bonhams Auctioneers & Appraisers, the evening will offer both live and silent auctions, as well as bountiful champagne, cocktails, gourmet food, and—new to the event this year—a live musical performance by Geographer, in addition to the opportunity for guests to utilize mobile bidding throughout the night. The event begins at 5 p.m. with a VIP preview reception; doors open for all ticket holders at 6 p.m.
“With many significant milestones ahead for SFMOMA—including a major expansion project beginning this summer—this year’s auction promises to be an especially celebratory occasion,” says Event Chair and SFMOMA Trustee Alka Agrawal. “The museum has carefully assembled works by both established and emerging artists who have been featured in major exhibitions at the museum or who have produced works that are cornerstones of SFMOMA’s collection. This should be exciting bidding for collectors at all levels.”
Featured artworks will be on display at the museum prior to the auction on Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21 from 11a.m. to 5 p.m in The Schwab Room. The auction preview is free and open to the public.
SFMOMA’s Art Auction 2013 is made possible through the generous support of presenting sponsor Northern California Porsche Dealers and supporting sponsors AT&T, Deloitte, and Webcor Builders. San Francisco magazine is the media sponsor and Bonhams Auctioneers & Appraisers is the auction house sponsor. In-kind sponsorship is provided by Blueprint Studios, Champagne Ruinart, Hafner Vineyard, The Painters Place Picture Framers, and Ship Art International.
ART AUCTION 2013 HIGHLIGHTS
Among many highlights of the live auction will be Andy Warhol’s Still-Life (Hammer & Sickle) (1977), a stunning work on paper estimated at $60,000 to $90,000. Warhol revolutionized the art world with a slick, colorful, commodified interpretation, manifested in some of the most iconic works of the Pop art movement. This particular work was an apolitical exploration of diluted symbolism that used photographs of the titular tools as the starting point, executed against the backdrop of the Cold War.
Another anticipated highlight is Gerhard Richter’s Untitled (21.5.07) (2007), an oil-on-color-photograph estimated at $75,000 to $85,000. An undisputed modern master with an oeuvre uniquely his own, Richter moves among painting styles with astounding ease, creating stunning examples of photorealism as well as minimalistic abstractions.
Jasper Johns’s Periscope (1981), a color aquatint print estimated at $20,000 to $25,000, evokes familiar symbols, text, and iconography in a lush, abstract composition. A fixture in the pantheon of great American artists, Johns enjoys a rich and long-standing relationship with the Bay Area. SFMOMA’s major survey of his work last fall highlighted the symbiosis between his pioneering spirit and local audiences.
Certain to mesmerize viewers will be Vija Celmins’s Web Ladder, Divided Night Sky, Reverse Galaxy, Falling Stars, and Dark Galaxy (2010), a suite of four mezzotints and one etching with drypoint, estimated at $22,000 to $28,000. In these works she has laboriously crafted photorealistic portrayals of fleeting phenomena—the waves of an ocean, the delicate frames of spiderwebs, and the unreachable brilliance of the night sky. Currently SFMOMA has 17 works by Celmins in the collection.
Photography collectors will be thrilled with lots featuring artists included in the museum’s renowned photography collection, including German artist Andreas Gursky’s Gasherd (Gas Cooker) (1980), estimated at $35,000 to $45,000, which was the artist’s first published picture and still stands as a brilliant example of Gursky’s ability to elevate mundane subject matter with hypnotic ease.
Cindy Sherman’s Untitled (2010/12), a chromogenic color print photograph estimated at $50,000 to $70,000, is expected to be a crowd favorite. The subject of a retrospective at SFMOMA last year, Sherman has wowed viewers with inventive and alluring self-portraits for nearly four decades. Playing the role of photographer, model, costumer, and set decorator, she casts herself in a range of characters to highlight the mutable nature of identity.
Another highlight is Garry Winogrand’s Central Park Zoo, New York (1967), estimated at $10,000 to $12,000. One of the most prolific photographers of the 20th century, Winogrand’s work is the subject of a comprehensive traveling retrospective currently on view at SFMOMA.
Rineke Dijkstra’s Sefton Park, Liverpool, June 10, 2006 B, (2006), estimated at $35,000 to $45,000, is an exceptional example of the artist’s Park Portrait series, which links decidedly contemporary depictions to art historical compositions. The subject of a 2012 traveling retrospective co-organized by SFMOMA, the Dutch artist captivates viewers with large-scale portraits that simultaneously showcase vulnerability and power.
Chuck Close’s Self-Portrait (Yellow Raincoat) (2013), a large-scale watercolor pigment print estimated at $75,000 to $95,000, beautifully captures the artist’s continuous exploration of both the portrait and self-portraiture. SFMOMA boasts a particularly rich concentration of Close’s works.
COMPLETE LIST OF PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Live Auction: Jim Campbell, Vija Celmins, Chuck Close, Rineke Dijkstra, Mark di Suvero, Jim Goldberg, Andreas Gursky, Jasper Johns, Gerhard Richter, Cindy Sherman, Katharina Sieverding, Snøhetta, Andy Warhol, James Welling, Garry Winogrand
Silent Auction: Richard Aldrich, Mauricio Ancalmo, John Baldessari, Taha Belal, Miriam Böhm, Gerard Byrne, Ingrid Calame, Tammy Rae Carland, David Claerbout, Filip Dujardin, Brad Eberhard, Liam Everett, Kota Ezawa, David Goldblatt, Mark Hagen, Byron Kim, Ken Kitano, An-My Lê, Sze Tsung Leong, Tony Marsh, Marilyn Minter, Sandeep Mukherjee, Nendo, Nicholas Nixon, Alessandro Pessoli, Martin Puryear, Walid Raad, Ry Rocklen, Conrad Ruiz, Analia Saban, Matt Saunders, Hugh Scott-Douglas, Toshio Shibata, Gary Simmons, Kiki Smith, Fred Tomaselli, Monique van Genderen, JoAnn Verburg, Christopher Wool
Art Auction 2013 Chair: Alka Agrawal
Modern Art Council (MAC) President: Joni Binder Shwarts
Committee Chairs: Nathalie Delrue-McGuire, Marilyn Hayes, Charlot Malin, Laura Nagle, and Bea Wood
Art Auction 2013 Advisors: Dolly Chammas, Ariane Maclean Trimuschat, and Annie Robinson Woods
Art Advisory Committee: Claudia Altman-Siegel, John and Gretchen Berggruen, Sabrina Buell, Anthony Meier,
Chris Pérez/Ratio 3, Mary Zlot
Honorary Committee: Robert Mailer Anderson and Nicola Miner, Jim Breyer, Carolyn and Preston Butcher, Jean-Pierre L. Conte, James and Jean Douglas, Douglas Durkin, Mark Edmunds, Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein, Concepción S. and Irwin Federman, Mrs. Donald Fisher, Patricia W. Fitzpatrick, Cynthia and Eliot Fried, Jonathan Gans and Abigail Turin, Marjory Graue and Martin Bloes, Mimi Haas, Scott Hafner and Bill Glenn, Adriane Iann, Janet Lamkin, Marissa Mayer and Zachary Bogue, Nion McEvoy, Ken McNeely, Lisa and John Miller, Diana Nelson and John Atwater, Jes Pederson, Gina and Stuart Peterson, Laura King Pfaff, Helen and Chuck Schwab, Lydia Shorenstein, Norah and Norman Stone, Christine Suppes, Roselyne Chroman Swig, Carlie Wilmans, Shannon and Dennis Wong, and Robin Wright.
Tickets
$7,500 Grand Benefactor Table (seats 6) SOLD OUT
$1,250 Grand Benefactor Individual SOLD OUT
$1,000 Benefactor
$400 Patron
Absentee bidding will be available. For more information please call 415.618.3263 or visit sfmoma.org/artauction.