18/09/2001
by Federico Ruberti

Though not as famous as the likes of Andy Warhol or Roy Lichenstein, Italian Pop artists increasingly feature in auction and can today count on the attention of collectors both in Italy and across the world.

Among Italian Pop artists, Mimmo Rotella is a name that crops up constantly at international auctions. Recognisable by his ripped poster "décollages", his biggest success was on October the 25^th, 2000, when his torn and shredded Marilyn (a work dating from 1963, measuring 190 x 132 cm) was sold at Sotheby's, London for $ 102,200 (€ 110,200). On June the 28^th, 2001, Cleopatra, another of his works dating from 1963 but slightly smaller than Marilyn, went for $ 71,780 (€ 77,360) at Sotheby’s, London, against a conservative estimate of $ 17,650-22,000 (€ 19,000-23,780). In recent years, Mimmo Rotella's ascent as a Pop art star has been more and more apparent. Collectors however, tend to focus on the work he did in the early 1960’s. Works done after 1975, on the other hand, have sold for less, as witnessed by two recent auctions: the first at the Italian auction house, Farsetti in Prato, Tuscany on May the 25^th, 2001, when a 1986 work, Painter (139 x 99 cm), went for $ 8,150 (€ 8,780); the second at Finarte in Rome on May the 13^th, 2000, when Dawn, from 1990 (115 x 58 cm), sold for $ 7,180 (€ 7,750).

Franco Angeli has used popular consumer imagery: editing and reworking US dollar bills or Italian symbols such as the Roman wolf nursing Romulus and Remus. He has less international market appeal than Rotella has however, with his work rarely traded outside Italy. A quick check of auction records shows that Angeli’s market was stronger in the late 1980’s, than it is today. His highest price reached at auction was his mixed-media Half dollar rosso, blu (130 x 195 cm), painted in the 1960’s and sold at Finarte, Milan for the then equivalent of $ 26,260 (€ 28,450) on March the 20^th, 1989. In the following year Stelle (195 x 130 cm) was auctioned at Brerarte auctioneers, Milan for a contemporary figure of $ 22,180 (€ 24,030). By 1992 similar works were typically estimated at $ 11,700-13,450, signalling a dip in Angeli’s market. Yet signs of an upturn came with the recent sale of Souvenir de Paris, (210 x 200 cm), which hammered for $ 12,400 (€ 13,400) on the 30^th of May, 2001 at Sotheby's, Milan.

Another Italian Pop artist of note is Tano Festa, whose work is inspired by the Italian Renaissance. Auctions of his work in recent years point to a market trend common to many Italian Pop artists: the last couple of years have seen a reawakening of interest matching the high sellers of the late 1980’s. Festa's "art historic" work mainly dates from the 1960’s with the most successful being Particolare della Cappella Sistina, an oil and collage on wood (194 x 130 cm), which sold at Finarte, Milan on the 13^th of June, 1990, at the then equivalent of $ 62,250 (€ 67,450). To find a price that comes anywhere near this, we have to wait until 1998 when, on December the 15^th, Via Veneto n.1 (measuring 150 x 200 cm and dating from 1961) was sold at Finarte, Milan for $ 24,270 (€ 26,340). The next year, on November the 17^th an acrylic on panel from 1961, Nero e Rosso (130 x 150 cm), was sold at Christie’s, Milan for $ 27,600 (€ 29,960).

Mario Schifano is a special case however. Despite a loyal following and strong prices, the market was taken aback by his surprise death in 1998 at the age of 64. Furthermore a Schifano forgery network was detected earlier this year. Yet the work he did between 1960 and 1965, reinterpreting famous trade marks such as Coca Cola and Esso, have fetched prices ranging from $ 72,300 to 90,340 (€ 66,560-98,130) depending on the format, both in Italy and abroad. On December the 6^th, 2000, Christie’s, London hammered a mixed media work, from 1965 Paesaggio anemico III (200 x 200 cm) for $ 87,795 (€ 95,600) while more recently, Christie’s, Milan sold Indication (140 x 160 cm) for $ 66,500 (€ 72,300). Then on April the 12^th this year, Finarte Rome sold the 1964 work Omaggio a Balla (252 x 126 cm) for $ 63,340 (€ 69,200). Up until the end of the 1980’s such works typically struggled to make the then equivalent of $ 40,000 (€ 43,340).