Christie’s two-day sale of Prints & Multiples includes nearly 200 lots spanning the 20th to 21st centuries and features modern works by Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, and Pablo Picasso—and Post-War and Contemporary editions by Keith Haring, David Hockney, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, among others.
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- He Disappeared into Complete Silence, Plate 9
- 1947
- engraving in black on wove paper
- plate: 22.54 x 10 cm (8 7/8 x 3 15/16 in.)
- sheet: 25.4 x 17.78 cm (10 x 7 in.)
- Wye/Smith 1994, 37, VI/VI
- Purchased as the Gift of Dian Woodner
- 2010.132.9
The auction is led by an extremely rare complete illustrated book of nine signed engravings by Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010), He Disappeared Into Complete Silence, Gemor Press, New York, 1947 (estimate: $400,000-600,000). Published by the artist herself, the project was a declaration of her own prowess in the printing studio and importance as an artist, a legacy that endures to the present day. Created in the late 1940s, the images are closely tied to Bourgeois’ sculptural practice during this period. Complete examples of this portfolio are extremely rare and only a very small number have been to public auction in the last twenty-five years.
Highlighting the sale is a comprehensive selection of prints by Andy Warhol (1928-1987), led by three unique variations of
The Scream (After Munch) (ranging from 200,000-300,000 to $300,000-$500,000). Warhol first encountered works by Munch during a visit to Oslo in 1971, where he professed to being more impressed by his prints than his paintings.
The sale also features highlights from every decade of Warhol’s career including the complete set of eighteen offset hand-colored lithographs of
A La Recherche du Shoe Perdu, circa 1955 (estimate: $200,000-300,000);
highlights from the Marilyn series (ranging from $100,000 – 150,000 to $150,000 to $250,000)
and a complete Moonwalk set (estimate: $200,000-300,000).
Other Post-war and Contemporary editions include
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), Bull Profile Series, 1973 (estimate $80,000-120,000);
Jasper Johns (B. 1930), Target, 1974 from the collection of Senator Jacob K. Javits and Marian B. Javits (estimate: $150,000-250,000);
and Wayne Thiebaud (B. 1920), Untitled (Cake Window), 1991 (estimate: $120,000-180,000).
The Modern session is anchored by an extremely rare lithograph by
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), The Potato Eaters, 1885 from the Francey and Dr. Martin L. Gecht Collection (estimate: $150,000-250,000);
Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940), Paysages et Intérieurs, 1899 from the Estate of William Kelly Simpson (estimate: $70,000-100,000);
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Portrait de Jacqueline de Face II, 1962 (estimate: $80,000-120,000);
and the complete set of twenty signed lithographs in colors by Joan Miro (1893-1983), L'Enfance d'Ubu, Tériade, Paris, 1975 (estimate: $60,000-80,000).
