Willem de Kooning's Untitled XII sells for $3.5m at 2018 Art Basel HK
Within the first hours of the VIP preview, Lévy Gorvy Gallery sold Willem de Kooning’s abstract painting Untitled XII, 1975, for $3.5 million to a private collector.
The original owner was Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft alongside Bill Gates. And the buyer still keeps secret, even the gallery wouldn't disclose where the person was from. According to the gallery, they had been in discussions with the buyer for some time, but he came to Art Basel Hong Kong to confirm his interest and the sale was finalized.
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. He was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and moved to the United States when he was 22. In the years after World War II, Willem de Kooning painted in a style that came to be referred to as Abstract expressionism. The style emphasized free will, and artists used thick lines to express his inner feelings. According to the gallery, Untitled XII was painted in artist’s crucial period, showing more maturity in his artworks.
The most expensive Willem de Kooning art pieces sold at auctions as follows. Top 1, Untitled XXV, 1977. It was sold for $66,327,500, at Christie’s New York, in 2016. Top 2, Untitled VIII, 1977. The piece was sold for $32,085,000, at Christie’s New York, in 2013. Top 3, Clamdigger, 1972. The piece was sold for $ 29,285,000, at Christie’s New York, in 2014.
Figure 1: Willem de Kooning, Untitled XII, 1975, Oil on canvas, 202.6 x 177.2 cm. at Lévy Gorvy’s booth. COURTESY ART BASEL
Figure 2 left top: Willem de Kooning, Untitled XXV, 1977, Oil on canvas, 195.7 x 223.5 cm, Price realised USD 66,327,500, the current record price. © CHRISTIE'S
Figure 2 left bottom: Willem de Kooning, Untitled VIII, 1977, Oil on canvas, 177.8 x 203.2 cm, Price realised USD 32,085,000. © CHRISTIE'S
Figure 2 right: Willem de Kooning, Clamdigger, 1972, Bronze, 151.1 x 75.2 x 60.3 cm, Price realised USD 29,285,000. © CHRISTIE'S
