This week has seen the arrival of two new American artists, Michael Summers and Romero Britto, to the gallery. American art is becoming a lot more collectable in art circles. Last year the US saw an all time high in average sales prices of works auctioned of living American artists, with Christie's in New York taking $1.8 billion in the last 10 years. This has earned them the top spot on the list of auction houses with the New York branches of Sotheby's and Phillips following closely behind. Things are on the up over the other side of the pond and we've taken a look at the top 5 American artists at auction.
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Jeff Koons
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Jeff Koons
Probably the most internationally known artist on this list especially after his critically acclaimed 2014 retrospective in New York. Koon’s kitschy pop art sculptures adorn many capital cities around the globe. His Sculpture ‘Balloon Dog (Orange)’ (above) sold for a staggering $58.4 million (£37.2 million) at Christie’s in 2013.
An American painter and printmaker, John’s all-American style is popular with collectors. His well know flag paintings (which he painted after having a dream about the American flag) are most popular at auction with paintings such as ‘Flag’ (1983) fetching $36 million (£23 million) in November last year at a Sotheby’s, New York.
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Ed Ruscha
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Ed Ruscha
Another American artist associated with the Pop Art movement, Ruscha works on a mixed media platform of print and film making, drawing, photography and painting. The sale of his text painting ‘Smash' (1963) at Christie’s in November last year for $30 million (£19.3 million) proves that Pop Art is still in-demand.
New York based painter Wool is best known for his black stencilled letters on white canvas, and works made between the late 1980’s and early 2000’s are the most popular. ‘Untitled (Riot)’ (1990) passed its valuation of $18 million and sold for $29.9 million (£19 million) at Sotheby’s in May. Another piece ‘Apocalypse Now’ (1998) sold for $26.5 million (£16.8 million) in 2013.
A minimalist painter who is best known for his ‘white paintings’ is a popular painter at auction piece such as the 1980 painting ‘Bridge’ sold for $20.6 million (£13.1 million) at Christie’s in May. Other works such as ‘Untitled’ (1961) sold for roughly $15 million (£9 million) in November last year and ‘Link’ (2002) for about $11.4 million (£7.2 million) in the same month.
