Christie’s has just too many major works to sell this November, the PR department is doling the announcements out all around the media. Today was Kelly Crow’s turn:
Christie’s Nov. 12 sale of contemporary art will also include another recent market outlier, Martin Kippenberger. The house aims to ask between $15 million and $20 million for his untitled 1988 self-portrait that nods to a famous 1957 photograph by David Douglas Duncan that shows Pablo Picasso standing proud, wearing nothing but white underpants.
Kippenberger (1953-1997), a German punk painter who dazzled his contemporaries with his eclectic paintings and installations, depicts himself in the role of Picasso only bearded. He is paunchy and stands in similar attire against a watery blue background. Kippenberger’s market isn’t as deep as Picasso’s—he has fewer American buyers, at least—so this work will represent a test of his market. Another work from the same series sold in May for a record $18.6 million.
