Melanie Gerlis’s column in the Financial Times has the announcement that Mark Bradford’s massive Helter Skelter I from 2007 will come to market in London next month:
The auction house has won a massive consignment from tennis legend John McEnroe in the form of Mark Bradford’s “Helter Skelter I” (2007), to be offered in London on March 8 (est £6m-£8m, third-party guaranteed). The price could more than double the Los Angeles artist’s record, though a work of this size (10 metres wide) has never come to auction before.
McEnroe worked with Josh Baer to buy the work four years ago just before the Bradford market saw substantial upward price movement. In 2014, Bradford’s top price was $2.6m. A year later, four works had traded publicly at higher prices all the way up to $5.8m which stands at the record price for the artist.
Since that time, Bradford’s stature and visibility has only risen. Bradford represented the US at the Venice Biennale recently and the showing at the Hirshhorn in Washington, DC of the massive Pickett’s Charge.
Over at Christie’s, there will be a cheaper work, Bear Running from the Shotgun from 2014 which was last seen at Art Basel in Miami Beach in December of the same year. It’s estimated at £2.2-2.8m.
