A masterpiece by Jackson Pollock, featuring his renowned painted loops, swirls, drips, and splashes, set a remarkable sales record at an auction in New York on Monday, reaching $181.2 million in the US. Known as “Number 7A, 1948,” this iconic drip painting by the American abstract expressionist nearly tripled his previous auction record, as reported by Christie’s Auction House.
The focal point of the auction, “Number 7A, 1948,” is a mesmerizing oil and enamel artwork on raw canvas, measuring over a meter in height and more than three meters in width. Within just seven minutes of intense bidding, the piece was sold for $181,185,000 to an undisclosed buyer. This sale followed a 10-day public exhibition at Christie’s Rockefeller Center, attracting nearly 20,000 visitors eager to view the Pollock and other artworks.
Pollock created “Number 7A, 1948” at the age of 36, a decade before his passing, inside a barn at his Long Island residence near East Hampton. While most of his drip paintings found homes in museums, this piece, the largest of its kind in private ownership, remained with its owner. The auction also featured 16 modern artworks from the collection of the late S.I. Newhouse, including pieces by renowned artists like Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, and Andy Warhol.
Among the artworks sold, “Danaïde,” a sculpture by Constantin Brancusi, achieved a price of $107.6 million, surpassing the $100 million mark. The auction of 20th-century art from the Newhouse collection, which included works by various artists such as Joan Miro and Jasper Johns, amassed a total of $631 million, inclusive of auction fees. Christie’s co-head of the 20th Century Evening Sale, Paige Kestenman, expressed satisfaction with the enthusiastic response and active bidding throughout the event.
