Cohen’s Warhol ‘Liz’ Helps Phillips de Pury to $99 Million Sale
"Liz #5," a 1963 painting by Andy Warhol, fetched $26.9 million at Phillips de Pury & Co. on May 12. Source: Phillips de Pury & Company via Bloomberg
"Mao (Mao 10)"
Phillips de Pury & Company via Bloomberg
"Mao (Mao 10)," a 1973 painting by Andy Warhol was auctioned at Phillips de Pury & Co. on May 12.
"Mao (Mao 10)," a 1973 painting by Andy Warhol was auctioned at Phillips de Pury & Co. on May 12. Source: Phillips de Pury & Company via Bloomberg
Phillips de Pury & Co. scored its second-highest tally ever for a contemporary art sale in New York Thursday night, boosted by a hot property from hedge-fund manager Steven Cohen.
The founder and chairman of SAC Capital Advisors LP consigned Andy Warhol’s portrait of Elizabeth Taylor, and the late screen idol was the star of the evening’s 50-lot sale.
With two telephone bidders dueling for the work, the 40- inch-square 1963 canvas titled “Liz #5” fetched $26.9 million, falling within its target range of $20 million to $30 million.
The sale brought in $98.8 million, close to the low end of the forecast $84.5 million to $121.4 million, and 22 percent of the lots failed to sell. Still, the total was more than double the boutique auction house’s tally of a year ago.
“They are definitely the underdog and they are hanging in there. It’s remarkable,” said Wendy Cromwell, New York art adviser, comparing Phillips with much bigger players Sotheby’s (BID) and Christie’s International.
In “Liz #5,” the legendary actress, who died in March, is depicted with a clownlike red mouth and turquoise eye shadow that matches the background. The painting used to belong to the influential art dealer Ileana Sonnabend. Six months after her death in October 2007, her heirs sold the work to the Gagosian gallery along with other Warhols from her collection.
A Maurice de Vlaminck landscape from Cohen’s collection sold at Christie’s last week for $22.5 million. Together the two works brought in $49.4 million.
Another 1963 turquoise “Liz” appeared on the market in 2007. Consigned by actor Hugh Grant, it fetched $23.6 million at Christie’s in New York.
More Warhol
Warhol accounted for four of the top 10 lots; in addition, his collaboration with Jean-Michel Basquiat titled “Third Eye” was the third-priciest piece at $7 million, more than double its $3 million high estimate.
The Phillips sale began with a bang when an abstract silver painting by newly fashionable 27-year-old Jacob Kassay fetched $290,500, surging past the expected range of $60,000 to $80,000.
“It was shocking,” said art adviser Lowell Pettit. “We were guilty in participating in that madness.”
A year ago, Kassay’s canvases sold for about $10,000 to $20,000, depending on size, at Eleven Rivington, the Lower East Side gallery that represents him.
More established stars, whose estimates were deemed too aggressive, didn’t fare well. A dark painting of a veiled woman by Marlene Dumas, estimated at $900,000 to $1.2 million, didn’t find a buyer.
Hirst Butterflies
Phillips de Pury was the only auction house to include Damien Hirst in its evening lineup. A 2007 butterfly diptych called “Night Follows Day” was forecast at $1.2 million to $1.8 million and drew no bids. A 2008 butterfly canvas titled “Tranquility” matched its low estimate of $1.2 million.
“There’s more connoisseurship in the market,” said Cromwell. “No one wants to overpay even for the works of great quality. They want a real deal if they are spending millions of dollars.”
Phillips de Pury charges buyers 25 percent of the hammer price up to $50,000, plus 20 percent from $50,000 to $1 million, plus 12 percent above $1 million.
To contact the reporter of this story: Katya Kazakina in New York at kkazakina@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
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