Shortlist 3 - Sotheby’s Contemporary (NYC)
Katherine Bernhardt (B. 1975)
Kate Moss Black Leather Straps (2006)
60 x 48 inches
Acrylic on canvas
Titled on reverse
Auction House Estimate: $8,000 to $12,000
My recommendation: Bid up to $14,000
Sold for: $16,100 (hammer)
Interested in Katherine Bernhardt?
Artist Profile
For the past 15 years, Bernhardt has developed a style that I call Sloppy-Pop (patent pending), in which she depicts models, commercial products, everyday items, Moroccan rugs, the Pink Panther, ET the Extra-Terrestrial, the Kool-Aid man, Garfield, and fetishized objects such as cigarettes, watermelons, palm trees, hamburgers, and many more. Bernhardt paintings are quickly executed and relay the joy of image and mark making. Many of her canvases have an all-over type composition with objects arranged in a seemingly playful, yet structured way that gives the work exceptional balance. Her art is playful, colorful, and relevant. In the above lot, the artist is commenting on our conception of beauty in fashion.
My Take
Bernhardt creates works quickly, is prolific, and sells at various galleries throughout the world. She is represented by leading contemporary galleries: Canada in NYC, Xavier Hufkens (Belgium), and Nanzuka (Japan) and has had shows at other prestigious galleries including Venus Over Manhattan, Salon 94, and Gavin Brown’s Enterprise. Bernhardt’s auction record is just north of $100,000 and her largest works sell for that price at galleries. These images of models and fashion types were her first main series, and haven’t achieved the recognition that her more recent works have, but they are an important part of her oeuvre. I expect the market for these to catch up over the next decade. A Hammer bid of $14,000 or less for this lot, will get you this colorful, fun painting for about $20,000 or less. A great deal for a painting of Kate Moss by one of this generation’s most recognized image makers.
Sotheby’s Lot Page
Artist Bio
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R. H. Quaytman (B. 1961)
Distracting Distance, Chapter 16 (2010)
33 x 52 inches
Oil, silkscreen and gesso on wood
Signed and dated on reverse
Estimate: $30,000 to $40,000
Recommendation: Bid up to $60,000
Result: $35,000 (hammer)
Interested in R.H. Quaytman?
Artist Profile
Conceptual painter, photographer, printmaker and sculptor, Boston-born R.H. Quaytman works in clearly defined series, that are always connected to the space in which they are exhibited. The above work comes from her 16th chapter which was made for the Whitney Biennial of 2010. In this series, the artist made 9 works inspired from Edward Hopper’s A Woman in the Sun, a masterpiece in the Whitney’s permanent collection and painted the year Quaytman was born, 1961. In this work, like the Hopper, Quaytman deals with space, light and perspective with the above lot creating kinetic and optical effects. R.H.Quaytman is the type of artist you will love to talk about with your friends.
Artist’s Market
The above painting is of the large variety for the artist, and would have sold for between $150,000 and $250,000 5 years ago, when she had a series of excellent auction results. Currently she is represented by Gladstone Gallery, a blue chip shop, and Miguel Abreu also in NYC, her longtime dealer with an excellent reputation and track record. She had a major US show at LA MOCA and is in many prestigious museum collections. In other words, she is here to stay. This work is a gorgeous example of the artist’s abstract practice, and is the perfect size to be the centerpiece of any room. Sotheby’s estimate is conservative and I expect the work to sell for more. To get it all in, for under $100,000, would be a great buy.
Sotheby’s Lot Page
Artist Bio
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