Jeff Koons sculpture sells for $91m in new record
‘Rabbit’ sale knocks David Hockney from the top spot for living artists
A Jeff Koons sculpture, titled “Rabbit”, sold for $91.1m at Christie’s in New York on Wednesday evening, setting a new record for a work sold at auction by a living artist.
The record was previously held by David Hockney for a painting sold in November for $90.2m. Both works sold for the same hammer price at auction, $80m, but the higher premium for the Koons sculpture gave it the record. Koons, who turned 64 this year, held the record previously to Hockney.
The sculpture took 10 minutes and 40 seconds to sell for the record amount. The buyer was the Mnuchin Gallery, owned by Robert Mnuchin, the art dealer and former banker who is the father of US Treasury secretary Steven. He was acting as an agent on behalf of a client.
Produced in 1986, the sculpture stands at 3 feet tall. Its appearance resembles an inflatable balloon, but it is made from stainless steel. The faceless rabbit holds a carrot to its mouth.
“Rabbit” is one of three productions by the artist and is the last edition left in private hands. This version of “Rabbit” has not been displayed in public since 1988. It’s likeness appeared as a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon in 2007.
Other notable sales of the evening included Robert Rauschenberg’s “Buffalo II” which sold for $88.8m and Andy Warhol’s “Double Elvis” which went for $53m with premium. “Spider”, a painting by Louise Bourgeois, sold for $32m, the second-highest amount for a female artist. Georgia O’Keefe holds the record.
“Rabbit” was one of six works sold on Wednesday’s postwar and contemporary art evening auction from the collection of Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr. Among the other of Mr Newhouse’s works at auction were Andy Warhol’s “Little Electric Chair” and Roy Lichtenstein’s “Landscape with Boats”.
Mr Newhouse, who died in 2017, was an heir to the media conglomerate that includes Condé Nast. The Newhouse collection brought in a total of $216m.
In total, the auction house set seven records on Wednesday. Six of the lots had been at auction in the past 20 years. Christie’s brought in $538m for the evening sale.
A record was also set for Jonas Wood, who’s painting “Japanese Garden 3” was donated by the artist with instructions that the proceeds go toward rainforest preservation in Colombia. It sold for $4.9m and will be matched four times over.