LOS ANGELES, CA.- Los Angeles Modern Auctions achieved top prices for works by local, national, and international artists and designers at auction on May 22, 2016. LAMA set world record prices for Sheila Hicks, a work on paper by Ken Price, and a painting by Jules Olitski from his late period, proving that geography is not a limitation for this boutique auction house, which continues to secure first-rate consignments. The top lot of the auction, a rare Isamu Noguchi Chess Table rose to $137,500, spurred by competitive floor and phone bidding. LAMA’s total auction sales for the Modern Art & Design Auction realized $2 million, selling 112% of the 326 lots by value.
“LAMA is quickly becoming the most efficient and effective gateway into the global marketplace,” states Peter Loughrey, director of LAMA. “The advantage of selling at LAMA is simple: artworks bring the top prices and sellers get the best value.”
Fine Art highlights include a monumental fiber art commission from 1975 by Sheila Hicks, which doubled its high estimate and set an auction record for the artist, realizing $125,000. A Jules Olitski painting from 1989 far exceeded pre-sale expectations and realized $102,500, a record for any work created after 1970 by the artist. A work on paper by Ken Price, L.A. Riot (1994), realized $58,750, a world record for a work on paper by the artist. Tom Wesselmann’s Stockinged Nude, Edition #2 realized $71,875, John Register’s Motel: Route 66 brought $50,000, and a trio of Harry Bertoia Sonambient sculptures together brought $123,750.
Prints and multiples by blue-chip veterans which soared past estimates include works by Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, Roy Lichtenstein, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, Cy Twombly, Robert Motherwell, Frank Stella, and Ellsworth Kelly.
Design and decorative arts highlights include a Gio Ponti planter, which brought $20,000, a Philip and Kelvin LaVerne coffee table, which realized $13,750, a mural of 148 vintage tiles by Doyle Lane, which realized $12,500, and a pair of Arthur Espenet Carpenter wood benches, which realized $11,875.
