LOS ANGELES, CA.- Los Angeles Modern Auctions held another record-breaking auction of Modern Art & Design on Sunday, February 16, 2020 at their Van Nuys showroom. Among the many significant lots sold, several original and editioned works far surpassed previous records and expectations. Notably high-selling lots reflected LAMA's specialization in the West Coast-driven markets, with remarkable prices fetched for works by Los Angeles-anchored artists Charles Arnoldi, Lorser Feitelson, Frederick Hammersley, Ed Ruscha, and Betye Saar.

Leading the record-breakers was LAMA Lot 62, Egyptian, a 1944 canvas by German-American abstractionist Oskar Fischinger that sold for $31,250. This price not only surpassed the work's estimated value of $8,000-$12,000, but broke LAMA's world auction record of $22,500 for a Fischinger painting. Lot 7, Vija Celmins's celestial print Night Sky, doubled the previously held auction record for this edition, finishing at $25,000 — far beyond an expected range of $6,000-$8,000. Lot 94, Kelly's Blue/Black/Red/Green, set a new auction record for this edition when it closed at $46,875 in contrast to its pre-auction estimate of $15,000-$20,000.

In sculpture, Lot 74, Henry Moore's bronze Maquette for Seated Woman established a new auction record for the edition, garnering $45,000 to exceed its pre-auction estimate of $20,000-$30,000.

In keeping with her growing recognition in recent years, two works by the LA-based Betye Saar received much attention: Lot 82, a untitled small assemblage, sold for $17,500 skyrocketing beyond a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. Similarly Lot 83, a mixed-media collage by Saar, went for $25,000 — more than quadrupling the pre-auction estimate of $4,000-$6,000.

The auction record for a work on paper by important Southern California artist Charles Arnoldi was tied when Lot 32, an untitled 2005 gouache composition, was purchased for $15,000, compared to a pre-auction estimate of $6,000-$8,000. Lot 102, Magical Space Forms by LA-based Lorser Feitelson, also approached the current record when it closed at $65,625, exceeding the pre-auction estimate of $35,000-$45,000. LAMA mainstay Ed Ruscha's Double Standard closed at an impressive $262,500, surpassing the estimated $150,000-$200,000, and Lot 96, Again is a gain by Frederick Hammersley, was purchased for $125,000 — a notably higher result than its expected value of $60,000-$80,000.

“As always, we achieved strong prices for California artists," noted LAMA Senior Fine Art Specialist Clo Pazera, "representing a broad range of artistic styles and influences from different eras.”