Christie’s uses Carol Vogel’s New York Times column to announce a huge get for the May sales in New York. The author Michael Crichton’s estate is selling four of his works:

Top among them is Jasper Johns’s seminal image “Flag,” 1960-66. The painting, which Crichton bought directly from Mr. Johns in 1974, was last seen in public 18 years ago when it was included in a Pop Art survey organized by the Royal Academy of Arts in London. […] His flag paintings rarely come up for sale. Brett Gorvy, deputy chairman of Christie’s America, said he was waiting to see the results of next week’s auctions before putting estimates on any of the works. […] In addition to “Flag” the May sale will include “Studio Painting,” 1960-61, one of Rauschenberg’s Combines, a term he coined for works in which he incorporated castoff objects like rubber tires, flatware or furniture; a Picasso painting, “Femme et Fillettes” (“Woman and Children”) from 1961; and Lichtenstein’s “Girl in Water,” a collage and ink cartoon image from 1965.

O Say, You Can Bid on a Johns (New York Times)