An important work by Wassily Kandinsky will lead Heritage Auctions’ forthcoming Spring Modern and Contemporary Art sale.
The auction, which takes place on May 2, moves from Dallas to the East Coast following the success of Heritage’s inaugural New York art sale in November 2015.
"New York welcomed Heritage with open arms and last season’s $7.3 million Modern & Contemporary auction set a record," said Frank Hettig, Director of Modern & Contemporary Art at Heritage. "We are answering our clients’ call to return this spring and our selection is ready to impress bidders once again."
Leading the sale will be an important watercolour by Wassily Kandinsky, Untitled (Composition Lyrique), which comes with a pre-sale estimate of $400,000-$600,000.
Dating from 1922, Untitled (Composition Lyrique) marks a significant turning point in Kandinsky’s career, as he shifted from his Russian period (1915-21) to his Bauhaus period (1922-1933) with the development of his own abstract pictorial language.
It’s just one of a number of important works by European artists up for grabs in New York, including Le peintre à la palette, a late work by Marc Chagall completed in 1983 just two years before his death, estimated at $200,000-$300,000; Fernand Léger’s 1925 work Composition, estimated at $150,000-$250,000, and two surrealist works by Salvador Dalí i- Portrait, 1958, and View of Toledo, 1957 – each valued at $70,000-$90,000.
Notable works by American artists will include ‘USA-1’ by Keith Haring; ‘Avanti’, a 1962 work on paper by Andy Warhol; Robert Motherwell’s 1943 abstract work ‘Pierrot’s Hat’; the Wayne Thiebaud sketch ‘Silver Landscape (Study #1)’; and Alexander Calder 1973 work on paper ‘Car, Lion, Horse, and Bicycle’.
The auction also features prominent works by the likes of Helen Frankenthaler, Vik Muniz, Robert Bechtle, Robert Rauschenberg, Milton Avery and Larry Rivers.
