NEW YORK, NY.- On 10 March 2023, Christie’s will present Post-War to Present, an auction featuring top-quality artwork from the finest names in post-war and contemporary art taking place live in Rockefeller Center. Sale highlights include work from a cross-section of icons from the post-war era including Josef Albers, Lynne Drexler, and Ed Clark alongside outstanding examples from the most coveted names in the contemporary market including Nicolas Party, Loie Hollowell, Yayoi Kusama, Anna Weyant, Rashid Johnson, and many more. Leading the sale is Ada in front of 4PM, a 1977 example by Alex Katz (estimate: $1,200,000-1,800,000). In total, the sale is expected to realize in the region of $17,000,000.

Among the many sale highlights is a select group of artworks: Artists for Poets: Works Sold to Benefit The Poetry Project. This distinguished group of contemporary works features prominent artists, including Cecily Brown, Alex Katz, Katherine Bradford, Suzan Frecon, and Ugo Rondinone. All the works have been generously donated by the artists and their respective supporting galleries to benefit The Poetry Project, a cultural center located in the East Village that has served as a lynchpin in New York’s avant-garde & experimental art scene for more than sixty years.

Julian Ehrlich, Head of Post-War to Present, comments, “It is an honor and a joy to assemble the Post-War to Present sale each Spring and Fall at Christie’s. This season has been particularly meaningful, as I have had the distinct pleasure of collaborating with Kyle and the team at The Poetry Project. I am humbled to showcase this group in the sale, representing works from the most brilliant living artists, all of whom have generously come together in support of one of New York's foremost cultural organizations that has led the charge in cultural exchange, poetry and performance since the 1960s.”

Kyle Dacuyan, Executive Director of The Poetry Project comments, "The Poetry Project's story is radiant with so many generations of friendship, collaboration, and mutual regard between artists and poets. We are delighted and profoundly moved that the upcoming Post-War to Present auction highlights this deep listening and exchange, which have so vitally shaped language and visual culture across time."

Since 1966, The Poetry Project has expanded access to literature, education, and opportunities for sharing one's creative work in a counter-hierarchical, radically open space and community. Premised on the vision that cultural action at the local level can inspire broader shifts in public consciousness, The Project is committed to developing and collaborating on replicable program models that challenge persistent social narratives, especially through the verbal reframing made possible in poetry. We do this work through a combination of live readings, performances, lectures, events, and workshops, in addition to literary and critical publications and emerging writers and curatorial fellowship programs.

The sale is also highlighted by Spider by Paula Crown (estimate: $10,000-15,000). This cast plaster and enamel sculpture is a part of the artist’s SOLO TOGETHER series, a body of work that examines the many imprints we make in the world, often unconsciously. The work will be sold with proceeds benefitting God’s Love We Deliver, a non-profit organization that cooks and home-delivers nutritious, medically tailored meals for people too sick to shop or cook for themselves.