Bonhams & Butterfields’ Made in California: Contemporary Art auction on November 18, 2008 did exceptionally well, signaling that the market for California art is still very strong. The auction brought more than $1.6-million, with roughly 80% of the lots sold by value. The sale was simulcast from Los Angeles to San Francisco, both B&B salesrooms filled to capacity. Despite the sale’s regional theme, telephone bidders from across the United States, Denmark, Israel, Great Britain, France and Lithuania competed for works by the California’s leading artists.
Two Wayne Thiebaud paintings of beach scenes from 1961 exceeded pre-sale estimates and sold for strong prices. Mexican Beach Boys brought $240,000 (est. $120/180,000), while The Players sold for $228,000 (est. $100/150,000). As Director Holly Sherratt notes, “Thiebaud paintings from this period are rare at auction. The blue shadows, peach sand and white underpaint mark the beginning of the artist’s signature palette, which would reemerge in his later Pop work.”
Edward Ruscha’s Blue Eyed Girl, 1959, was another strong seller. “This painting stunned the contemporary collecting community,” says Sherratt. “While much of Ruscha’s work is graphic and textual, this large, colorful abstract female has much in common with De Kooning’s women.” The painting sold to a private collector for $117,000.
The sale’s Bay Area Figurative section also showed healthy results. A new auction record was achieved for artist James Weeks’ San Francisco Studio Interior. The acrylic on canvas painting brought $48,000, more than doubling its estimate. After several rounds of competitive bidding, the catalog’s cover lot, Girl with Earring, by painter David Park, doubled the auction estimate to sell for $102,000.
A portrait of Flo Allen by artist Joan Brown sold above its high estimate, bringing $18,000 (est. $8/12,000). As Sherratt notes, “Actress/model Flo Allen posed for five decades of prominent West Coast artists — including Diego Rivera, Elmer Bischoff, Wayne Thiebaud, Nathan Oliveira and others.”
Bidders also competed for works in oil by John Altoon and ceramics by Robert Arneson and Peter Voulkos. Altoon’s painting from the “Sunset Series” sold over estimate for $36,000, while Arneson’s A Nuclear Warhead brought $32,400 (est. $12/18,000). A Voulkos’ wood-fired stoneware charger sold for $31,200 (est. $15/20,000).
According to specialists, the contemporary art market showed further signs of life when buyers beat past auction records for works by Mary Corse, Italo Scanga, Henrietta Berk and others. “I talked to many happy consignors today,” said Sherratt after the auction’s close, “Because the headlines have been so negative, they were bracing for the worst. It was nice to give them a bit of good news.”
Auction info http://www.bonhams.com/madeincalifornia
