NEW YORK, NY.- Bonhams is excited to announce the successful sale of 1919 (1980) by Robert Colescott (1925-2009) for $3.5 million, achieved today (Sept 8) in New York. The announcement in early summer that Colescott’s masterpiece was coming fresh to market, straight from the family, to Bonhams for a single lot sale garnered national attention, and right at the beginning of Armory Week in New York the painting radiated through a fervent atmosphere. Collectors and enthusiasts from around the world bid in the room and over the phone, signalling an exceptional start to the fall auction season. Bidding in the room was Alia Dahl from Jeffrey Deitch, who won the painting for a leading American private collection.
“This magnificent work will join one of the most robust collections in the nation, with a number of institutional-level works. The collector is beyond thrilled,” commented Alia Dahl, Managing Director of Jeffrey Deitch.
“We are truly honored to have provided a platform for the sale of such an important painting,” commented Ralph Taylor, Bonhams Global Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art. “Addressing the raw truths of history, Colescott’s 1919 is an undeniable masterpiece, and we have been blown away by its world-wide transcendence. We are thrilled to continue to celebrate the genius of Robert Colescott.
1919 first went on view as a featured artwork in the retrospective Art and Race Matters: The Career of Robert Colescott, which was organized by the Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati in 2019, before embarking on a nationwide tour, enthralling viewership in Portland, Sarasota, Chicago, and culminating at the New Museum in New York in 2022.
Colescott’s sons Alex and Cooper Colescott, who manage their father’s estate and were present at today’s auction, commented: “Our father was devoted to his art and would be thrilled with the global recognition he’s receiving today. He admired the artists whose masterpieces graced the walls of renowned museums, and he would be honored knowing he is recognized as one of the great masters of his time. Despite all hurdles and adversities, he achieved greatness in his lifetime and his legacy lives on.”
The sales follows the $4.5 million sale of Colescott’s Miss Liberty (1980) in February, which was acquired by the Art Bridges Foundation. Coinciding with the single-lot sale of 1919, Bonhams presented the special exhibition Spirit of Mine: Art, Identity and Postmodernism. Closing this week, the exhibition championed artists whose work has been historically overlooked because of their gender, race and sexuality, including those for whom identity is a core theme of their practice. Along with 1919, the exhibition featured additional rare works by Colescott on view directly from the family, as well as outstanding artworks by Wifredo Lam, Grace Hartigan, Winfred Rembert, Martin Wong, Chris Ofili, Perle Fine, Richard Mayhew, Mercedes Matter, and Norman Lewis, alongside global highlights of Bonhams’ fall season, including Ernie Barnes, Elaine De Kooning and Salman Toor.
