By Intelligent Collector Staff | December 11, 2024
Andy Warhol’s Mao realized $3.65 million at Heritage Auctions on Dec. 10, leading its Modern & Contemporary Art sale. Together with the Prints & Multiples auction that followed, Heritage’s fine-art sales for the day totaled $8,909,376.
Created in 1973 in acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen, the painting belongs to Warhol’s series depicting Mao Tse-tung. The work had notable provenance, including ownership by designer and longtime Warhol associate Jed Johnson, followed by Johnson’s brother Jay Johnson and his partner Tom Cashin. It later passed through the Ammann collection before reaching the consignor.
Other artists also exceeded expectations. Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita’s Bouquet de roses dans un vase blanc et bleu brought $218,750. Robert Indiana’s steel sculpture Prem (Hindi Love) realized $187,500, while Leonardo Drew’s large-scale Untitled reached $162,500 against a $40,000–$60,000 estimate.
The range of results shows how provenance, scale, rarity and changing collector interest can affect the market for postwar and contemporary works.
For owners considering bringing an important painting or sculpture to market, Heritage Auctions can be the best place to sell fine art. Specialist research can position a work within an artist’s broader career and market, giving collectors a clearer understanding of what distinguishes it.
Source: Heritage Auctions press release (December 11, 2024).