Andy Warhol’s magnificent Liz #1 (Early Coloured Liz) from 1963
DOHA: Sotheby’s will open a four-day exhibition on Friday featuring 15 artworks from the forthcoming Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York next month. The expo will be held at Katara Art Center Building 5 and the exhibits are valued at $60m to $90m.
The works on view include outstanding examples by leading American post-war artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Cy Twombly and John Chamberlain from the high-points of their careers.
Following the exhibition in Doha, the works will be offered as part of the Contemporary Art Evening Auction on November 13 in New York.
Alexander Rotter, Sotheby’s Head of Contemporary Art in New York, said: “Following Sotheby’s record-setting $15m Doha sale in April, we are delighted to once again showcase a superb selection of contemporary art here.
“Doha is an ideal audience for these artworks as it is home to the outstanding collection of contemporary art housed in Mathaf.
“For this exhibition we have chosen a range of works that is representative of the major sale that will follow in New York in November, and we have chosen pieces that are not only global in their appeal, but also reflect the international nature of Doha’s important arts scene and culture,” Rotter said.
The highlight of the contemporary art on view is Andy Warhol’s magnificent Liz #1 (Early Coloured Liz) from 1963 (estimated at $20-30m).
This work is one of a rare series of 13 paintings of Elizabeth Taylor that Warhol made on coloured backgrounds.
As with his images of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s depictions of Taylor display not so much his ambition to record the prose of physical likeness, but more his love affair with the drama and glamour of the celebrity.
Further Warhol highlights include an outstanding work from the Death and Disaster series — 5 Deaths on Turquoise (Turquoise Disaster) (estimated at $7-9m).
The 1963 work depicts the harrowing and intensely violent aftermath of a brutal car crash from the viewpoint of the innocent, uninvolved bystander.
The exhibition also features works from The Dia Art Foundation To Establish a Fund for Acquisitions.
Works by Robert Ryman, Robert Rauschenberg and Roy Lichtenstein will also be displayed at the expo.
The Peninsula
