Christie’s announce its inaugural First Impression sale in New York on July 16. In this fresh perspective, surprising juxtapositions of past and present printmakers exemplify the exciting and diverse field of printmaking. The sale encompasses a strong selection of Post-War & Contemporary and Modern works as well as examples from several important institutional collections, including the Brooklyn Museum, Cooper Union, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. With over 400 works and 100 artists represented, there is something for new collectors and for experienced connoisseurs.
From The Paris Review archives comes a selection of works by major Post-War artists, commissioned and published by the literary magazine. Their collection includes works by many of the twentieth century’s greatest artists such as Sol Lewitt’s All One, Two, Three and Four Part Combinations of Lines in Four Directions and Four Colors, Each Within a Square (estimate: $1,200 – $1,800), as well as prints by James Rosenquist, Keith Haring, and Alex Katz. The sale is highlighted by lots from prominent collections including: Celeste and Armand Bartos and Donald Young.
The sale features a comprehensive selection of work by twentieth century American printmakers. Benton Murdoch Spruance invokes his industrial design sensibilities for New York City and its famed buildings and subway system in Subway Shift: The Second Front (estimate: $2,000 – $3,000). Representing the West Coast aesthetic a strong selection of early prints by Richard Diebenkorn and Wayne Thiebaud’s Country City, which brings to life Thiebaud’s love of printmaking and his California surroundings.
In its inaugural year, First Impression features an array of today’s emerging artists including the Cuban collaborative Los Carpinteros, Russell Young, Marilyn Dintenfass, and Alejandro Diaz. Diaz makes his auction debut with his playfully ironic work Quality (estimate: $3000 – $5000).