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| Artnet Top Ten 4/4/03 The sale of Andy Warhol's 1964 Orange Marilyn for $17.3 million at Sotheby's New York in 1998 (reportedly to magazine magnate and art supercollector S.I. Newhouse) underlined something most art-world observers already knew -- the heroically nationalistic American Pop art movement had become similarly larger-than-life on the art market. Herewith, a survey of the auction records of classic Pop works from the 1960s (and late 1950s) by ten top Pop artists. The disparity in price levels is dramatic, evidence for the truism that a certain amount of unpredictability underlies collector enthusiasms. Record prices were set at various times: the height of the 1980s art boom (Dine, Johns), in the equally robust market of the late 1990s (Rosenquist, Warhol), in the uncertain but nevertheless vigorous market of the last few years (Indiana, Lichtenstein, Oldenburg, Ruscha) and at other periods (Rauschenberg). As always, the results are taken from Artnet's signature Fine Art Auctions Database; subscriptions begin at $29.95 (for more info, go to member services). |
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1. Andy Warhol Orange Marilyn 1964 silkscreen on canvas with synthetic polymer, 40 x 40 in. $17,327,500 at Sotheby's New York May 14, 1998 |
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2. Jasper Johns False Start 1959 oil on canvas, ca. 68 x 53 in. $17,050,000 at Sotheby's New York Nov. 10, 1988 |
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3. Robert Rauschenberg Rebus 1955 oil and collage on canvas, 96 x 131 in. $7,260,000 at Sotheby's New York Apr. 30, 1991 |
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4. Roy Lichtenstein Happy Tears 1964 magma on canvas, 38 x 38 in. $7,159,500 at Christie's New York Nov. 13, 2002 |
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5. Edward Ruscha Talk about Space 1963 oil on canvas, ca. 71 x 67 in. $3,529,500 at Christie's New York May 14, 2002 |
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6. Wayne Thiebaud Bakery Counter 1962 oil on canvas, ca. 55 x 72 in. $1,707,500 at Christie's New York May 7, 1997 NOTE: The auction record for a work by Thiebaud is $3,089,500, set at Sotheby's New York on Nov. 12, 2002, for the non-Pop-era painting Freeways (1975-79). |
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7. Tom Wesselmann Great American Nude #44 1963 acrylic on board with paper collage, radiator, telephone, coat, painting and door, ca. 81 x 106 in. $994,500 at Christie's New York May 14, 2002 |
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8. Claes Oldenburg Light Switches -- Hard Version 1964 painted wood with formica and metal, ca. 48 x 48 in. $691,500 at Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg New York Nov. 11, 2002 |
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9. Jim Dine Hearts 1969 acrylic on canvas, 8 x 6 in. $660,000 at Sotheby's New York Nov. 8, 1989 |
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10. Robert Indiana The American Sweetheart 1959 oil on board, 96 x 48 in. $614,500 at Christie's New York May 14, 2002 |
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| Other record prices for Pop artists include $467,500 for Larry Rivers, $464,500 for Richard Lindner, $440,000 for James Rosenquist, $187,000 for Mel Ramos, $176,000 for Ed Kienholz, $92,750 for Marisol and $19,800 for Allan D'Arcangelo. The auction record for Richard Artschwager, $990,000, was set in 1989 for a 1972 work; a 1964 acrylic, Sailors, sold for $343,500 in 1994. The record for a George Segal sculpture is $660,000 for a 1989 bronze (in an edition of six); his high price for a Pop era work is $528,000. |
