Bonham & Butterfield’s California sale, held in Los Angeles, made $2.3m of which $1,072.400 went to Wayne Thiebaud’s Milkshake and Sandwich.
The sale also included important works that are rarely seen at auction, including a large abstract oil by Jay DeFeo titled Trial by Fire, 1983. Estimated to bring $80,000-120,000, the painting sold for $218,000 and established a new world auction record for the artist.
Other sale highlights included Green Chair, 1976, by John Register (est. $35,000-45,000, sold for $54,900); River Trees, 1999, by Gregory Kondos (est. $15,000-20,000, sold for $51,240); Bouquet, 1957, by Karl Stanley Benjamin (est. $8,000-12,000, sold for $42,700) and Untitled, c. 1958-59, by John Altoon (est. $10,000-15,000, sold for $30,500).
