Latest news with #MissJanuary
Irish Examiner
02-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Nine foot beauty queen portrait sets auction record for a living female artist
The global art market is not immune to the trade winds of change blowing us all over the place right now. Even though they brought in $1 billion, the slimmed-down May sales in New York failed to reach their targets. On the minus side, a bust by Alberto Giacometti of his brother Diego, estimated at around $70 million (€61.57 million), failed to find a buyer at Sotheby's. On the plus side, the collection of Barnes & Noble founder Leonard Riggio and his wife Louise made $272 million (€239.46 million) at Christie's, the only collection to realise this total in the last 18 months. It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good. Marlene Dumas, South African-born born Netherlands-based 71-year-old old set a new auction record for a living female artist with Miss January, 1997. 'Miss January' by Marlene Dumas. She has explored portraiture for 40 years, and this monumental nine feet tall work of a beauty queen nude from the waist down, apart from a pink sock, sold for $13.6 million (€11.96 million) at Christie's. There were records too for previously overlooked 20th century women artists like Grace Hartigan, Dorothea Tanning, Remedios Vara and Kiki Kogelnik. Christie's global president, Alex Rotter, said that what we are seeing is an emphasis on individual taste among collectors. 'Leaves of a Plant' by Georgia O'Keeffe made $12.9 million (€11.35 million) at Sotheby's. "The market is no longer about following the crowd. It is about individual taste and passions. What art makes you feel. That is a very interesting and exciting development for the market". The global downturn is influenced by factors like a decline in the number of Asian buyers and the absence of Russian wealth. These do not affect the market for Irish art. Underlying global uncertainty does play into the Irish market, but not at a level where the highs are stratospheric and the lows catastrophic. Our very conservative market is characterised by slow, steady growth. It operates in a relatively low-value segment, which shows up in all current statistics as being most immune to all that is going on. One segment that has proved to be not at all immune is the market for young contemporaries. Entirely absent from the sales this month were prices in the millions for young artists that few people had ever heard of. One possible explanation is that buyers of mid-career artists can afford to wait, as this work will continue to be available in the future, especially at a time of uncertainty. 'Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue' . The top lot of the week was Mondrian's Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue from the Riggio collection. It made $47.6 million (€41.87 million). Magritte's L'Empire des Lumieres from the same collection made $35 million (€30.79 million). There was a record at Christie's for Monet when his Peupliers au bord de l'Epte, crepuscule, sold for $43 million (€37.82 million) and set a new record for his celebrated Poplars series. 'Homme Assis' by Picasso. At Sotheby's, Picasso's Homme Assis from 1969 made $15.1 million (€13.28 million) and Georgia O'Keeffe's Leaves of a Plant made $12.9 million (€11.35 million). Roy Lichtenstein's Reflections: Art made $5.4 million (€4.75 million), one of nine Lichtensteins which collectively made $29 million (€25.51 million). There was a new world record for Mainie Jellett at Whyte's on Monday evening when Achill Horses, featured here last week, made a hammer price of €210,000. The previous record was €110,000 set at Whyte's in 2019 for Than Land Eire from 1940. This painting is included in the current Mainie Jellett Evie Hone exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland. Read More Works by leading Irish and international artists at outdoor exhibition in Cork
The Citizen
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
SA-born Marlene Dumas breaks global record with R245 million painting sale
Warning: Artistic Nudity — This article includes artwork containing nudity. Viewer discretion is advised. South African-born artist Marlene Dumas has shattered a global auction record after her 1997 painting Miss January sold for a jaw-dropping $13.6 million — more than R245 million. The sale took place at a Christie's auction held at the Rockefeller Centre in New York, with the event also streamed live on Instagram and YouTube. Dumas' painting currently holds the record for the most expensive painting ever sold by a living woman artist. She surpassed the previous record held by British painter Jenny Saville, whose 1992 work Propped sold for £9.5 million (R228 million) at Sotheby's in London in 2018. However, while Miss January sets a new benchmark for living female artists, Dumas still trails behind top-selling male artists like Jeff Koons, whose sculpture Rabbit (1986) sold for a staggering $91.07 million (R1.65 billion) in 2019. ALSO READ: April art auction: Expressions of labour, form Marlene Dumas' 'magnum opus' Christie's Deputy Chairman of Post-War and Contemporary Art, Sara Friedlander, described Miss January as Dumas' 'magnum opus'. 'In this painting, Dumas triumphantly demonstrates a formal mastery of the woman's body while simultaneously freeing it from a tradition of subjection, upending normalised concepts of the female nude through the lens of a male-centric history,' Friedlander said in a post-auction statement. Born in Cape Town in 1953, Dumas has lived in Amsterdam since 1976 and continues to exhibit her work at the Galleria Paul Andriesse, where she debuted in 1977. She represented the Netherlands at the 1995 Venice Biennale and was featured in the central exhibition space of the Biennale again in 2015. Her long list of accolades includes the Düsseldorf Art Prize (2007), the Rolf Schock Prize in Visual Arts (2011), the Johannes Vermeer Award (2012), and the Hans Theo Richter Prize for Drawing and Graphic Art (2017). NOW READ: Here's why investing in rare whisky can be profitable
SowetanLIVE
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- SowetanLIVE
SA-born artist Marlene Dumas breaks record with R246m sale
A 1997 art piece painted by South African-born artist Marlene Dumas has sold for more than R230m at Christie's New York, setting a new benchmark for female artists in the 21st century art market. Dumas' provocative 2.74m-tall oil painting Miss January sold for a staggering $13.635m (R246.7m) on Wednesday, setting a new world record for a living female artist. The monumental portrait, a striking image of a blonde woman nude from the waist down, captivated collectors during the 21st Century Evening Sale held via Instagram Live and YouTube. Auctioneer Yü-Ge Wang, associate director and senior client adviser at Christie's, led the sale which saw fierce bidding and ultimately achieved a total of $96.5m (R1.75bn). An impressive 92% of lots were sold by number and 97% by value, with four artists breaking auction records: Louis Fratino, Simone Leigh, Emma McIntyre and Dumas. Dumas' record surpasses the previous benchmark held by British painter Jenny Saville, whose work Propped (1992) sold for £9.5m (R228m) at Sotheby's London in 2018. Despite this groundbreaking achievement, Dumas' sale still trails the record for a living male artist Jeff Koons' Rabbit (1986), which sold for $91.07m (R1.65bn) in 2019. Christie's reflected on Dumas' evolution as an artist, stating: 'Dumas started exploring and scrutinising the female form at age 10, with a drawing called Miss World' which depicted idolised glamour models. More than 30 years later, she returned to the subject with Miss January, a portrait that threads the line between revealing and concealing, and serves as perhaps the best example of her influential female portraiture.' Born in Cape Town in 1953, Dumas is based in the Netherlands, where she represented the country at the 1995 Venice Biennale and was later featured in the central pavilion in 2015.
The Herald
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald
SA-born artist Marlene Dumas breaks record with R246m sale
A 1997 art piece painted by South African-born artist Marlene Dumas has sold for more than R230m at Christie's New York, setting a new benchmark for female artists in the 21st century art market. Dumas' provocative 2.74m-tall oil painting Miss January sold for a staggering $13.635m (R246.7m) on Wednesday, setting a new world record for a living female artist. The monumental portrait, a striking image of a blonde woman nude from the waist down, captivated collectors during the 21st Century Evening Sale held via Instagram Live and YouTube. Auctioneer Yü-Ge Wang, associate director and senior client adviser at Christie's, led the sale which saw fierce bidding and ultimately achieved a total of $96.5m (R1.75bn). An impressive 92% of lots were sold by number and 97% by value, with four artists breaking auction records: Louis Fratino, Simone Leigh, Emma McIntyre and Dumas. Dumas' record surpasses the previous benchmark held by British painter Jenny Saville, whose work Propped (1992) sold for £9.5m (R228m) at Sotheby's London in 2018. Despite this groundbreaking achievement, Dumas' sale still trails the record for a living male artist Jeff Koons' Rabbit (1986), which sold for $91.07m (R1.65bn) in 2019. Christie's reflected on Dumas' evolution as an artist, stating: 'Dumas started exploring and scrutinising the female form at age 10, with a drawing called Miss World ' which depicted idolised glamour models. More than 30 years later, she returned to the subject with Miss January , a portrait that threads the line between revealing and concealing, and serves as perhaps the best example of her influential female portraiture.' Born in Cape Town in 1953, Dumas is based in the Netherlands, where she represented the country at the 1995 Venice Biennale and was later featured in the central pavilion in 2015.
TimesLIVE
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
SA-born artist Marlene Dumas breaks record with R246m sale
A 1997 art piece painted by South African-born artist Marlene Dumas has sold for more than R230m at Christie's New York, setting a new benchmark for female artists in the 21st century art market. Dumas' provocative 2.74m-tall oil painting Miss January sold for a staggering $13.635m (R246.7m) on Wednesday, setting a new world record for a living female artist. The monumental portrait, a striking image of a blonde woman nude from the waist down, captivated collectors during the 21st Century Evening Sale held via Instagram Live and YouTube. Auctioneer Yü-Ge Wang, associate director and senior client adviser at Christie's, led the sale which saw fierce bidding and ultimately achieved a total of $96.5m (R1.75bn). An impressive 92% of lots were sold by number and 97% by value, with four artists breaking auction records: Louis Fratino, Simone Leigh, Emma McIntyre and Dumas. Dumas' record surpasses the previous benchmark held by British painter Jenny Saville, whose work Propped (1992) sold for £9.5m (R228m) at Sotheby's London in 2018. Despite this groundbreaking achievement, Dumas' sale still trails the record for a living male artist Jeff Koons' Rabbit (1986), which sold for $91.07m (R1.65bn) in 2019. Christie's reflected on Dumas' evolution as an artist, stating: 'Dumas started exploring and scrutinising the female form at age 10, with a drawing called Miss World ' which depicted idolised glamour models. More than 30 years later, she returned to the subject with Miss January, a portrait that threads the line between revealing and concealing, and serves as perhaps the best example of her influential female portraiture.' Born in Cape Town in 1953, Dumas is based in the Netherlands, where she represented the country at the 1995 Venice Biennale and was later featured in the central pavilion in 2015.
