Tracey Emin's My Bed Heads to Tate on Lengthy Loan
- July 29, 2014 22:48
The unmade bed that became a key work of the 1990s Young British Artists (YBA) movement will go on loan to London's Tate.
Artist Tracey Emin said she was in a depressed state in 1998 when her messy bed was conceived, complete with cigarette butts, vodka bottles and condoms. The piece sold for $4.3 million at Christie's earlier this month.(It was originally purchased by dealer Charles Saatchi for just over $250,000 in 2000.)
Count Christian Duerckheim, the German industrialist who bought the piece, will loan the work "for a period of at least 10 years", said Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota.
Duerckheim said the piece is a "metaphor for life, where troubles begin and logic dies."
"We look forward to displaying the work [and] creating an opportunity for visitors to see a work that now has iconic status," said Serota.
![Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.](/images/c/e2/2e/Jan20_Rape_of_Europa100x100_c.jpg "Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.")
