Alexander Calder’s monumental Untitled from 1949 (estimate $10/15 million) - a magnificent early example of the artist’s iconic hanging mobiles. Spanning more than ten by fourteen feet, and characterized by a single red element amidst an all-black framework, Untitledis not only an immense technical achievement but also a remarkably exquisite aesthetic triumph.

Pierre Soulages’s Peinture 195 x 130 cm, 4 août 1961, from the apex of the artist’s most highly-sought-after period of production in the late 1950s and early 1960s (estimate $8/12 million). Acquired in 1989, the work has remained in the same esteemed private French collection for over three decades and is among the finest examples by the artist to appear at auction in recent years. This painting is one of fewer than 10 truly red masterworks executed during the peak of the artist’s career, only three of which are of a comparable scale — marking this work as exceptionally rare.

Lee Krasner’s Vigil from 1960 is a masterwork from Krasner’s pivotal Umber paintings – the artist’s most widely celebrated body of work (estimate $4.5/6.5 million). Of the approximately twenty-four Umber paintings, eight reside in major institutional collections. Executed between 1959 and 1962, the Umbers represent the intense period of creative production Krasner experienced in coping with the death of her husband, Jackson Pollock. Suffering from insomnia, Krasner created many of the Umbers at night. The title of this work is particularly evocative of this experience, suggesting contemplative wakefulness during hours typically spent asleep.
CONTEMPORARY EVENING AUCTION
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1982 Made in Japan II (estimate $12/18 million) has an exceptional provenance, having resided in important private collections, including those of Kenzō Takada and Enrico Navarra - the artist’s gallerist and editor of the celebrated monograph on Basquiat. The work speaks to Basquiat’s deep admiration of Japan, and the influence the country had on him. Remarkable for its large size, electrifying color, and compositional complexity, the haunting skull-like head as seen in this work represents a pivotal moment within Basquiat’s developing practice, with the motif prevailing as a key element within Basquiat’s oeuvre and appearing in the majority of his best-known masterworks.

Roy Lichtenstein’s Two Paintings…Craig (estimate $12/18 million) will be offered alongside works by Cecily Brown, Ellsworth Kelly and more, from the collection of acclaimed producer and collector Douglas S. Cramer.

Additional works from esteemed private collections further highlight the sale:
Paintings from the remarkable collection of designer, taste-making architect and an aesthetic adviser Bill Katz, including Robert Indiana’s Love (estimate $150/250,000), 5 (estimate $250/350,000), and Agnes Martin’s Innocent Love (estimate $300/400,000), which were all gifted to Katz directly from the artists in the year they were created.
Works from the Estate of Gabriele and Robert Lee, led by Philip Guston’s Ominous Land, a brilliant fusion of politically charged imagery and satirical self-portraiture for an incredibly relevant and powerful social commentary (estimate $6/8 million), and Alighiero Boetti’s Mappa from 1984, one of the most exquisite examples from the artist’s acclaimed series (estimate $1.5/2 million)
Two exceptional Romare Bearden collages from the estate of esteemed collector David Lebenbom: The Street (estimate $500/700,000) and The Cardplayers (estimate $400/600,000).

THE NOW EVENING AUCTION
Yoshitomo Nara’s 1996 Nice to See You Again, a rare, large-scale early work will appear on the market for the first time in more than 15 years (estimate $8/12 million). Nara is one of the leading artists of our time, and his depictions of seemingly-innocent but menacing little girls are his best-known subject. A similar work, Knife Behind Back, was sold for a record-breaking $25m in 2019, since when Nara has remained one of the most in-demand artists working today.

Banksy’s Trolley Hunters– a typically powerful, witty and prophetic critique of society’s often irrational predilection for processed and packaged products and a prescient work that preempts the disruption to the global supply chain that has today exposed the fragility of our fast-paced consumerist eco-system, will make its auction debut this November (estimate $5/7 million, separate release available)

Mark Bradford’s Method Man from 2004 is a standout example of the artist’s acclaimed abstract practice, - acquired in the year it was executed and held in the same private collection ever since (estimate $5/7 million)

Thomas Schütte’s monumental outdoor sculpture Großer Geist Nr. 1 - a remarkable example of one of the artist’s most revered bodies of work, and one of only three sculptures from the series in polished bronze, the other two of which are in institutional collections. (estimate $4.5/6.5 million).

Works by young, next generation artists round out the sale, including Toyin Ojih Odutola, Adam Pendleton, Flora Yukhnovich, Lisa Brice, María Berrío (making her world auction debut), Christina Quarles, and Jordan Casteel.

PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SAMSUNG