US$119,922,500: Now that's something to scream about
Source: Agencies |
May 4, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IT'S a scream that's still reverberating around the world.
One of the most iconic images in art history - Edvard Munch's "The Scream" - has become the most expensive artwork sold at auction.
During an intense 12 minutes, the 1895 artwork - a modern symbol of human anxiety - was sold at Sotheby's in New York City for a record US$119,922,500. Neither the buyer's name nor any details about the buyer was released.
The previous record for an artwork sold at auction was US$106.5 million for Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust," sold by Christie's in 2010.
Munch's image of a man holding his head and screaming under a streaked, blood-red sky is one of four versions by the Norwegian expressionist painter. The work auctioned at Sotheby's is the only one left in private hands.
The image has become part of pop culture, "used by everyone from Warhol to Hollywood to cartoons to teacups and T-shirts," said Michael Frahm of the London-based art advisory service firm Frahm Ltd. "Together with the Mona Lisa, it's the most famous and recognized image in art history."
Patricia Berman, chair of the art department at Wellesley College and a director of the Edvard Munch Research Institute in Oslo, said: "As popular culture, it provides an analogy for both individual and collective experiences of, variously, loss, pain, grief, modernity, nature gone awry, the body out of control, and existential struggle."
A buzz swept through the room on Wednesday when the artwork was presented for auction as two guards stood watch on either side. Bidding started at US$40 million with seven buyers in competition.
The battle eventually boiled down to two phone bidders as the historic hammer price was finally achieved after more than 12 minutes. The record price includes the auction house's fee.
Sotheby's said the pastel-on-board version of "The Scream" is the most colorful and vibrant of the four and the only version whose frame was hand-painted by the artist to include his poem, detailing the work's inspiration. Munch described himself "shivering with anxiety" and said he felt "the great scream in nature."
Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend of the artist, said he sold the piece because he felt "the moment has come to offer the rest of the world the chance to own and appreciate this remarkable work."
Olsen said: "I have lived with this work all my life, and its power and energy have only increased with time."
Proceeds from the sale will go toward the establishment of a new museum, art center and hotel in Hvitsten, Norway, where Olsen's father and Munch were neighbors.
Besides "The Scream" and Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust," only two other works have sold for more than US$100 million at auction. Those are Picasso's "Boy With a Pipe (The Young Apprentice)" for US$104.1 million in 2004 and Alberto Giacometti's "Walking Man I" for US$104.3 million in 2010.
One of the most iconic images in art history - Edvard Munch's "The Scream" - has become the most expensive artwork sold at auction.
During an intense 12 minutes, the 1895 artwork - a modern symbol of human anxiety - was sold at Sotheby's in New York City for a record US$119,922,500. Neither the buyer's name nor any details about the buyer was released.
The previous record for an artwork sold at auction was US$106.5 million for Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust," sold by Christie's in 2010.
Munch's image of a man holding his head and screaming under a streaked, blood-red sky is one of four versions by the Norwegian expressionist painter. The work auctioned at Sotheby's is the only one left in private hands.
The image has become part of pop culture, "used by everyone from Warhol to Hollywood to cartoons to teacups and T-shirts," said Michael Frahm of the London-based art advisory service firm Frahm Ltd. "Together with the Mona Lisa, it's the most famous and recognized image in art history."
Patricia Berman, chair of the art department at Wellesley College and a director of the Edvard Munch Research Institute in Oslo, said: "As popular culture, it provides an analogy for both individual and collective experiences of, variously, loss, pain, grief, modernity, nature gone awry, the body out of control, and existential struggle."
A buzz swept through the room on Wednesday when the artwork was presented for auction as two guards stood watch on either side. Bidding started at US$40 million with seven buyers in competition.
The battle eventually boiled down to two phone bidders as the historic hammer price was finally achieved after more than 12 minutes. The record price includes the auction house's fee.
Sotheby's said the pastel-on-board version of "The Scream" is the most colorful and vibrant of the four and the only version whose frame was hand-painted by the artist to include his poem, detailing the work's inspiration. Munch described himself "shivering with anxiety" and said he felt "the great scream in nature."
Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend of the artist, said he sold the piece because he felt "the moment has come to offer the rest of the world the chance to own and appreciate this remarkable work."
Olsen said: "I have lived with this work all my life, and its power and energy have only increased with time."
Proceeds from the sale will go toward the establishment of a new museum, art center and hotel in Hvitsten, Norway, where Olsen's father and Munch were neighbors.
Besides "The Scream" and Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust," only two other works have sold for more than US$100 million at auction. Those are Picasso's "Boy With a Pipe (The Young Apprentice)" for US$104.1 million in 2004 and Alberto Giacometti's "Walking Man I" for US$104.3 million in 2010.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
