Agnes Gund Collection, Led By $8 Million Vija Celmins, Heads To Christie's

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Works from the collection of late philanthropist and collector Agnes Gund will be offered at Christie's November auctions in New York, with proceeds designated for the Gund Art Foundation. Leading the sale is Vija Celmins's 1990 painting,“Untitled (Ocean),” a photorealistic depiction of the ocean's surface, estimated to sell for between $6 million and $8 million.

“Untitled (Ocean)” will be featured in Christie's 21st Century Evening Sale on November 19. Other significant pieces include Alexander Calder's 1963 mobile,“The Eye in the Black,” with an estimate of $3 million to $5 million, and an untitled 1997 bronze sculpture by Cy Twombly, expected to achieve between $2 million and $3 million. The collection also features works by artists such as Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Cindy Sherman, Robert Ryman, Cecily Brown, Glenn Ligon, and Sarah Sze.

A 1961 painting by Robert Ryman carries an estimate of $1.5 million to $2 million, while Robert Rauschenberg's 1953 work,“Untitled (Gold Painting),” is projected to bring in $1 million to $1.5 million. These pieces will be distributed across the November 19 evening sale, the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale on November 20, and various online auctions.

Gund, a highly influential figure in American art philanthropy and collecting, served as president of the Museum of Modern Art from 1991 to 2002. She donated more than 800 works to MoMA and established Studio in a School in 1977, an initiative that places professional artists in public school classrooms. In 2017, she famously sold Roy Lichtenstein's“Masterpiece” to Steve Cohen for $165 million, using $100 million of the proceeds to establish the Art for Justice Fund, which supports criminal justice reform.

We previously reported:

A Wassily Kandinsky painting, Betonte Ecken (1922–23), with a $60 million to $80 million estimate, is set for auction at Christie's New York.

A 1946 Barbara Hepworth sculpture sold for $8.3 million at Christie's London, setting a new record for a unique work by the artist.

Christie's will auction Gustav Klimt's landscape Litzlbergkeller (1915–1916) with an estimated price of $60–80 million in New York this November.

Source: ARTnews

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