Phillips’ Inaugural Editions Auction at 432 Park Avenue is the Largest in Company History

New York Sale on 19-21 October to Feature Works from Jasper Johns, Yoshitomo Nara, Jean Dubuffet, Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Miro, Andy Warhol, and Others

Phillips is pleased to announce a tour de force three-day Editions and Works on Paper sale from 19-21 October hosted at 432 Park Avenue. The largest Editions sale to date, totaling 470 lots,  contains a multitude of significant works from Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Yoshitomo Nara, Yayoi Kusama, Helen Frankenthaler, Roy Lichtenstein, Jonas Wood and others. The Evening sale opens with five popular, large-scale aquatints by Joan Miro from the late 1960s and early 1970s, followed by a selection of classic Modern prints and multiples by Dubuffet, Picasso, Chagall, Foujita, Chadwick and a lyrical work on paper by Hans Hartung. 

Beginning at 4pm on 19 October, the Evening Sale represents some of the most prized editions on the market today. Over three sessions, spanning 20-21 October, the Day sale presents an impressive and extensive collection of nearly 350 lots representing over 180 emerging and established artists. This inaugural Editions sale at 432 Park Avenue is truly a grand exposition of works for print enthusiasts of any level.

Kelly Troester and Cary Leibowitz, Worldwide Co-Heads of Editions, said, “Following a record-breaking Spring season for our department, the momentum continues with strong interest in rare editions and works on paper. This monumental presentation of over 450 significant editions and works on paper showcases many highlights from a breadth of notable artists. Iconic works from Toulouse-Lautrec to El Anatsui, along with many other artists spanning the decades of the 20th and 21st centuries, the sale contains works that will pique interest throughout all levels of collectors.”

The evening sale features an impressive selection of Andy Warhol prints, led by the complete Cowboys and Indians portfolio of ten screenprints from 1986. Warhol’s final major portfolio Cowboys and Indians showcases the artist’s fascination with pop culture, his appreciation of Indigenous art, and his insight into the depths of American imagery. With vivid color and thought-provoking juxtaposed images of U.S. Americana and Indigenous peoples’ culture, Warhol offers a new view of the Western frontier—one of centering performances, public opinion, and difficult historical exchanges. Upon publication of the edition in 1986, a complete set of Cowboys and Indians was donated to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. In addition to this set, our Evening sale includes two Marilyn screenprints (F.&S. 24 and F.&S. 31), as well as Bald Eagle, African Elephant and Pine Barrens Tree Frog from Warhol’s Endangered Species series.

Included in the prestigious collections of MoMA, MFA Boston, and The National Gallery of Art, the 1974 Target (illustrated page one) is widely regarded as an exceptional work amongst Jasper Johns’ expansive print oeuvre. First embracing the image of the target in 1955, Johns famously remarked that he was interested in depicting “things the mind already knows” or “things which are seen and not looked at”: targets qua targets, flags qua flags, and numbers qua numbers, and so on. Printed and published in 1974 with Simca Print Artists Inc., Target, 1974 would become the crown jewel of Johns’ time there and one of the artist’s most important prints.

Printed by master printer Yasu Shibata at the Pace Editions Workshop, Yoshitomo Nara’s complete set of ten Untitled ukiyo-e woodcuts effortlessly presents Nara’s signature imagery through a labor-intensive printmaking process rooted in Japanese heritage. Referencing his nimble drawings, these woodcuts embody the same immediacy, but more refined. Rendered with attitude, somewhere between melancholy and punk, Yoshitomo Nara’s famous ‘femme fatales’ draw us in. His figures evoke forgotten memories or feelings of childhood, sparked anew by their childlike features. 

Published in the 1960s, the 11 Pop Artists portfolios were edgy compilations of fresh prints from then-emerging artists, like Roy Lichtenstein, which launched new dialogues as artists engaged printmaking as a way to broadcast novel ideas more broadly. From 11 Pop Artists Volume II and III respectively, Reverie, lot 51, and Sweet Dreams Baby!, lot 53, signaled the meteoric rise of Lichtenstein and endured as two of most iconic prints of the Pop era. These works, and his offset lithograph of two years earlier, Crying Girl, lot 52, all still retain strong colors and demonstrate his early ingenious printmaking.

From the collection of Robin Quist Gates, La Vénus d'Alexandrie (Vénus bleue) brings Yves Klein’s concept of a “blue revolution” to life by transforming the Greek sculpture, Venus de Milo, in the artist’s iconic International Yves Klein blue pigment.  Dedicated to upholding the integrity of Klein’s artistic vision, the estate of the artist worked tirelessly to replicate Klein’s techniques and utilize the same materials used in the original pieces and have become iconic collecting pieces. Produced in an edition of 300, La Vénus d'Alexandrie (Vénus bleue) was unveiled in 1982 as the second edition created after Klein’s death. 

Offered by The Museum of Modern Art to benefit the Acquisitions Fund, H. C. Westermann’s 1968 See America First series will be sold in the Evening Sale on 19 October.  The phrase was emblazoned seemingly everywhere; See America First featured prominently in advertisements for railways, national parks and bus lines — as well as in America’s collective consciousness during the 1960s. Westermann’s expansive and tightly choreographed portfolio was both a love letter to America as well as a warning about protecting the environment of the country that he held dear. See America First revealed Westermann’s protective perspective and humor was the life raft that he lobbed to his viewers, which made otherwise alarming images agreeable.  

Auction: 19-21 October 2021

EVENING SALE - 19 October, 4pm | Lots 1-107

DAY SALE - 20 October, 10am | Lot 108-211 (Modern) AND 2pm | Lots 212-330 (Post-War)

DAY SALE - 21 October, 10am | Lots 331-470 (Contemporary)

Auction viewing: 19 - 21 October

Location: 432 Park Avenue, New York

Click here for more information: https://www.phillips.com/auctions/auction/NY030221

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Phillips is a leading global platform for buying and selling 20th and 21st century art and design. With dedicated expertise in the areas of 20th Century and Contemporary Art, Design, Photographs, Editions, Watches, and Jewelry, Phillips offers professional services and advice on all aspects of collecting. Auctions and exhibitions are held at salerooms in New York, London, Geneva, and Hong Kong, while clients are further served through representative offices based throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. Phillips also offers an online auction platform accessible anywhere in the world.  In addition to providing selling and buying opportunities through auction, Phillips brokers private sales and offers assistance with appraisals, valuations, and other financial services.

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*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium; prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium.

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