Art World
artnet Auctions: A Glitzy Warhol, and 5 Other Artworks to Buy This Month
Plus, Robert Mapplethorpe, Donald Judd, and more.
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The team of specialists at artnet Auctions has assembled some amazing photographs and prints from our latest offerings this month. Browse this curated selection of artworks from some of the most renowned contemporary artists, each of which is available now through artnet’s online auctions.
Contemporary Editions: Live now through November 16, 2017
Woodcut in cadmium red on cartridge paper
Estimate: $30,000–$50,000
Donald Judd Untitled (1961-1969). Photo: artnet Auctions.
Created in the heyday of the Minimalist art movement in the 1960s, this extraordinary woodcut exemplifies Judd’s acumen as a printer.  Executed in a vivid cadmium red, a color that frequently appears throughout Judd’s oeuvre, especially in his famous sculptural work. Printed in a very small edition of only 10, this beautiful and rare artwork is a great opportunity to collect the Minimalist master’s work at a more affordable price.
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Drypoint in colors on Somerset paper
Estimate: $7,000–$10,000
Wayne Thiebaud Breakfast (1995). Photo: artnet Auctions.
This print epitomizes Wayne Thiebaud’s practice of colorfully elevating everyday objects to art. In this case, he presents a contemporary, Pop-art infused take on the traditional still life, a genre that has rich art historical implications stretching back to Old Masters painting. This particular work is the first in the edition of 50 and was directly acquired by the present owner from the publisher, Crown Point Press. Only two examples of this print have made it to the auction block in the last 10 years, so make sure to snap up this work right now.
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Screenprint in colors with diamond dust on Arches paper
Estimate: $100,000–$150,000
Andy Warhol Shoes (1989). Photo: artnet Auctions.
This work is indicative of Andy Warhol’s infatuation with capitalism, decadence, and consumerism while also harking back to his early years as a designer for a shoe manufacturer in the 1950s. This sought-after print depicts expensive women’s designer footwear rendered in Warhol’s über-recognizable screenprint technique and embellished with a layer of diamond dust. It is one of Warhol’s largest screenprints ever produced, measuring five feet in length, and is among the artist’s smallest editions. The work in question is in excellent condition and is fresh to the market, having been held in the same private collection for over 20 years.
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Select Photographs: Live now through November 15, 2017
Mermaid 18, Spring Hill, Florida, 2007
Gelatin silver print
Estimate: $25,000–$35,000
Michael Dweck Mermaid 18, Spring Hill, Florida (2007). Photo: artnet Auctions.
Mysterious and alluring, Michael Dweck’s Mermaid series features women known as “waterbabies” living in the Florida islands. Completely at home in the ocean, Dweck’s subjects display a natural elegance and ease in and out of the water, which the artist captures in striking, otherworldly. Turned away from the viewer, “Mermaid 18” swims out into the ocean’s void, her lithe limbs speckled by light refracting through the ocean surface.
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Vintage gelatin silver print
Estimate: $12,000–$16,000
Robert Mapplethorpe Frank Diaz (1979). Photo: artnet Auctions.
Displaying Robert Mapplethorpe’s affinity for Classical sculpture, this photograph embodies the artist’s mastery of aesthetic harmony in sexually charged imagery. Frank Diaz was a highly desired figure in New York’s queer scene in the 1970s and 80s, and this portrait celebrates his undeniable appeal. Diaz’s hyper-masculine attributes and accessories—muscular arms, tattoo, full beard, and a dagger—exemplify the photographer’s use of symbolic elements that signify character and project desire. Published in a small edition of 10, this vintage print is in excellent condition – a rare pristine work from one of Mapplethorpe’s most productive periods.
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Self-Portrait with Whip (from the X Portfolio), 1977
Vintage selenium-toned gelatin silver print, mounted on pure rag board
Estimate: $15,000–$20,000
Robert Mapplethorpe Self-Portrait with Whip (from the X Portfolio) (1977). Photo: artnet Auctions.
One of the most iconic self-portraits in Post-war photography, this work caused massive outrage when it was first printed in 1977. The work from Robert Mapplethorpe’s X Portfolio explores S&M and gay culture in New York at the time. The image offers a candid glimpse into the subculture and functions as Mapplethorpe’s defiant and unabashed coming-out as a participant in the scene.
