21/11/2001

Larry Gagosian followed up his purchase of Jeff Koon’s New Hoover Convertibles at Phillips on the 12th of November for a mid-estimate $ 376,500 (€ 428,163) with three purchases at Sotheby’s contemporary on the 14th of November. He snapped up works from the Douglas S. Cramer collection for just over $ 7,000,000 (€ 7,923,746). The first work was Montez Singing, a 1989 abstract view of the Caribbean Sea by Jasper Johns. He bought it for $ 3,700,000 (€ 4,188,265) just above low estimate while another work by Johns, an untitled drawing with an estimate of $ 1,000,000-1,500,000 (€ 1,131,963-1,698,068), fetched $ 2,500,000 (€ 2,830,114). Roy Lichtenstein’s work figured prominently in the Cramer collection. Mirror no. 1 from 1969 carried the presale estimate of $ 1,000,000-1,500,000 (€ 1,131,963-1,698,068). Again there were serious contenders and again Gagosian was victorious paying $ 2,100,000 (€ 2,377,542) in the end. The evening totalled $ 44,800,000 (€ 50,720,899) with only 7 out of 60 lots failing to sell. (James Goulder)