Holy smokes, the auction’s normal size, but the catalogue for Christie’s upcoming contemporary evening sale is huge. And some interesting stuff.
This late Rothko, Black on Gray (1969-70), for example. In his biography of the artist, Jimmy Breslin referred to this painting while saying that the series sometimes resembled “a stark lunar landscape.”
Frankly, it reminds me of a favorite, stark lunar landscape photo, an early Liz Deschenes work made in Death Valley in 1999: 280 Feet Below Sea Level. A copy of which happens to be coming up at auction soon after. With my luck, the underbidders on the Rothko are going to swoop in and bid the price way up.
Nov. 10, Lot 28: Mark Rothko, Black on Gray, est. $10 million – 15 million [christies.com]
Nov. 13, Lot 661: Liz Deschenes, 80 Feet Below Sea Level, est. $2500-3500 [ragoarts.com]
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the making of, by greg allen