The History of 20th-Century Art, As Told Through Remarkable Prints

Turn of the Century
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s

The History of 20th-Century Art, As Told Through Remarkable Prints

By Halina Loft | Oct 17, 2019

Chapters

Turn of the Century
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s

O n the 24th and 26th of October, Sotheby's New York will present two sessions of the Important Prints & Multiples auction, a monumental affair featuring a remarkable selection of works from some of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Seen chronologically, these prints offer an intriguing opportunity to chart the evolution of individual artists, movements and theories from decade to decade. Discover how these famous prints tell salient stories on the last century of art – and be sure to bid in the upcoming evening and day auctions.

Turn of the Century

Expressionism Sets the Stage for Modernism

TWO HUMAN BEINGS. THE LONELY ONES (SCHIEFLER 133; WOLL 157)

$700,000 – 900,000

VAMPIRE II (SCH. 34; W. 41)

$700,000 – 900,000

MOONLIGHT I (SCH. 81A; W. 90)

$700,000 – 1,000,000

THE KISS IV (SCH. 102; W. 204)

$400,000 – 500,000

AFTER THE BATH (LARGE VERSION) (D. 64; ADH. 68; R. & S. 66)

$20,000 – 30,000

SINGER AT A CAFÉ-CONCERT (DELTEIL 53; ADHÉMAR 33; REED & SHAPIRO 26)

$30,000 – 40,000

MOONLIGHT II (SCH. 81B; W. 202)

$200,000 – 300,000

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

FANNY LEYLAND (KENNEDY 108; GLASGOW 135)

$15,000 – 25,000

LA PETITE BLANCHISSEUSE (BOUVET 40)

$10,000 – 15,000

LES PAUVRES (BLOCH 3; BAER 4)

$4,000 – 6,000

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

IRISH AND AMERICAN BAR, RUE ROYALE - THE CHAP BOOK (D. 362; ADR. 139; W. P18)

$20,000 – 30,000

1910s

The Beginnings of Cubism and Futurism

FOX (VALLIER 6)

$15,000 – 20,000

NATURE MORTE II (V. 10)

$15,000 – 20,000

Lyonel Feininger

Lyonel Feininger

DIE GRÜNE BRÜCKE (THE GREEN BRIDGE) (PRASSE E22)

$6,000 – 8,000

Kazimir Malevich

Kazimir Malevich

SIMULTANER TOD EINES MANNES IM FLUGZEUG UND IN DER EISENBAHN (KARSHAN 5)

$2,500 – 3,500

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

MUSSIGE HETAREN (WIETEK 76)

$14,000 – 18,000

1920s

The Lingering Influence of Die Brücke and German Expressionism

MÜHLE AM WASSER (SCH. L 82)

$100,000 – 125,000

MÜHLE AM WASSER (SCHIEFLER L 82)

$125,000 – 150,000

SELBSTBILDNIS (H. 226)

$12,000 – 15,000

TOTENHAUS (H. 252)

$30,000 – 40,000

GOTT MIT UNS (DÜCKERS M III)

$12,000 – 18,000

1930s

Bauhaus and Surrealism Put Totality to the Test

SÉRIE NOIRE ET ROUGE: ONE PLATE (D. 36)

$30,000 – 50,000

Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky

ERSTE RADIERUNG FÜR DIE EDITIONS "CAHIERS D'ART" (ROETHEL 194)

$3,000 – 5,000

TÊTE DE FEMME III: PORTRAIT DE DORA MAAR (B. 1339; BA. 651)

$40,000 – 60,000

LES TROIS SOEURS (D. 25)

$30,000 – 50,000

SÉRIE NOIRE ET ROUGE: ONE PLATE (D. 33)

$60,000 - 80,000

LA BAIGNEUSE (D. 23)

$30,000 – 40,000

L'AIGLE ET LA FEMME LA NUIT (D. 22)

$15,000 – 25,000

LA GÉANTE (D. 27)

$30,000 – 50,000

FEMME ET VOLCAN (D. 28)

$18,000 – 25,000

SÉRIE NOIRE ET ROUGE: ONE PLATE (D. 32)

$6,000 – 8,000

SÉRIE NOIRE ET ROUGE: ONE PLATE (D. 33)

$20,000 – 30,000

SÉRIE NOIRE ET ROUGE: ONE PLATE (D. 34)

$20,000 – 30,000

SÉRIE NOIRE ET ROUGE: ONE PLATE (D. 35)

$25,000 – 35,000

MARIE-THÉRÈSE EN FEMME TORERO (B. 220; BA. 426)

$20,000 – 30,000

MINOTAURE AVEUGLE GUIDÉ PAR UNE PETITE FILLE AU PIGEON (B. 224; BA. 436)

$20,000 – 30,000

SCULPTURE. TÊTE DE MARIE-THÉRÈSE (B. 250; BA. 288)

$20,000 – 30,000

FEMME ET CHIEN DEVANT LA LUNE (DUPIN 18)

$15,000 – 20,000

1940s

Explorations in Bold Colors, Abstraction and Collage

Blanche Lazzell

Blanche Lazzell

THE FATIO HOUSE II AND BLOCK 120

$100,000 – 150,000

JAZZ (DUTHUIT BOOKS 22)

$400,000 – 600,000

FOUR TALES FROM ARABIAN NIGHTS: THREE PRINTS (MOURLOT 37, 39 & 47; CRAMER BOOKS 18)

$5,000 – 7,000

VIEW (SCHWARZ 283B & 508)

$15,000 – 20,000

ENTERREMENT DE PIERROT (SEE DUTHUIT BKS. 22 BIS )

$15,000 – 20,000

COMPOSITION AU VASE DE FLEURS (B. 426; M. 74)

$8,000 – 12,000

1950s

Picasso Experiments with Cubism, Warhol Gets Whimsical with Shoes

COUPLE ET FLÛTISTES AU BORD D'UN LAC (BACCHANALE) (BLOCH 930; BAER 1259)

$60,000 – 80,000

À LA RECHERCHE DU SHOE PERDU; AND SHOE AND LEG (SEE F. & S. IV.69A-85)

$200,000 – 300,000

PORTRAIT DE JEUNE FILLE, D'APRÈS CRANACH LE JEUNE. II (B. 859; BA. 1053)

$250,000 – 350,000

PORTRAIT DE JACQUELINE AU FAUTEUIL (BA. 1054)

$150,000 – 250,000

PUDDLE (BOOL/KIST/LOCHER/WEIRDA 378)

$15,000 – 25,000

A GOLD BOOK (F. & S. IV.106-124)

$10,000 – 15,000

1960s

Pop Art Pops Off, and Old Symbols Come Under New Scrutiny

Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein

REVERIE (CORLETT 38)

$100,000 – 150,000

FLAG I, FLAG II AND FLAG III: FOUR PRINTS

$1,800,000 – 2,400,000

LIZ (FELDMAN & SCHELLMANN II.7)

$50,000 – 70,000

PORTRAIT DE JACQUELINE AU CHAPEAU DE PAILLE (B. 1067; BA. 1279)

$200,000 – 250,000

$1,500,000 – 2,000,000

MOCHA STANDARD (ENGBERG 30)

$80,000 – 120,000

Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein

SWEET DREAMS, BABY! (C. 39)

$80,000 – 120,000

JASPER JOHNS | NUMBERS (ULAE 33)

Estimate: 50,000 – 70,000 USD

Important Prints and Multiples Evening Sale

24 October 2019 | 7:00 PM EDT | New York

Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein

SHIPBOARD GIRL (C. II.6)

$30,000 – 50,000

ÉQUINOXE (D. 428)

$50,000 – 70,000

Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein

BRUSHSTROKE (C. II.5)

$10,000 – 15,000

JACQUELINE AU CHAPEAU NOIR (B. 1028; BA. 1311)

$60,000 – 80,000

SEASCAPE (FOOT)

$8,000 – 12,000

ANDY WARHOL | MARILYN MONROE (MARILYN) (F. & S. II.21)

Estimate: 25,000 – 35,000 USD

Estimate: 25,000 – 35,000 USD

Important Prints and Multiples Day Sale

26 October 2019 | 10:00 AM EDT | New York

WATCH: Jasper Johns Finds Meaning Through Repetition

F or the better part of the last century, Jasper Johns has sought to challenge the way we interpret the world. In this episode of Expert Voices, Sotheby’s specialist Chanler Rutherfurd illustrates how Johns reexamines the familiar through his exceptional prints.

1970s

Color Fields, Flowers, Minimalism and Abstraction

Ellsworth Kelly

Ellsworth Kelly

FOUR PANELS (AXSOM 72)

$7,000 – 10,000

Helen Frankenthaler

Helen Frankenthaler

LOT'S WIFE (H. 32)

$50,000 – 70,000

FLOWERS (F. & S. II.64-73)

$1,000,000 – 1,500,000

SKULLS (F. & S. II.157-160)

$100,000 – 150,000

THE HIPPIES (MICHLER & LÖPSINGER 377-387; FIELD 69-13)

$25,000 – 35,000

À L’HEURE DE L’OBSERVATOIRE - LES AMOREAUX (ANSELMINO 15)

$30,000 – 50,000

FORMULATION: ARTICULATION (DANILOWITZ APPENDIX C)

$8,000 – 12,000

1980s

Minimalism and Abstract Expressionism Clash with Pop, Excess and Street Art

UNTITLED (SCHELLMANN 177-186)

$250,000 – 350,000

$100,000 – 150,000

SUPERMAN (F. & S. II.260)

$150,000 – 250,000

After Jean-Michel Basquiat

After Jean-Michel Basquiat

UNTITLED (HEAD; PER CAPITA; ERNOK; AND RINSO)

$400,000 – 500,000

Richard Diebenkorn

Richard Diebenkorn

LARGE BRIGHT BLUE

$100,000 – 150,000

STATUE OF LIBERTY (LITTMANN P. 63)

$30,000 – 50,000

Robert Motherwell

Robert Motherwell

BLUE ELEGY (WALKER ART CENTER 379)

$150,000 – 250,000

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (JAMES DEAN) (F. & S. II.355)

$80,000 – 120,000

UNTITLED (SFM84-129)

$20,000 – 30,000

$30,000 – 50,000

CONVERSATION IN THE STUDIO (M.C.A.T. 260)

$12,000 – 18,000

1990s

Modernism Reaches a Logical End Point, and Provocation Becomes Imperative

NUDE AND MIRROR

$10,000 – 15,000

NIGHT SKY WOODCUT

$10,000 – 15,000

$20,000 - 30,000

Michelangelo Pistoletto

Michelangelo Pistoletto

$4,000 – 6,000

Dichard Diebenkorn

Dichard Diebenkorn

HIGH GREEN, VERSION I

$150,000 – 200,000

$15,000 – 25,000

Arnaldo Pomodoro

Arnaldo Pomodoro

STELE I; AND STELE III

$7,000 – 10,000

BIG BLONDE WITH CHOKER

$15,000 – 20,000

2000s

Art of the Spectacle and Neo-Expressionism

MONKEY TRAIN (ORANGE)

$20,000 – 30,000

DONUTS STRAWBERRY

$20,000 – 30,000

$80,000 – 120,000

CIRCLING THE SMALL ADS (AFTER MILLER)

$5,000 – 7,000

$8,000 – 12,000

$40,000 – 60,000

$70,000 – 100,000

GIRL WITH BALLOON

$50,000 – 70,000

$12,000 – 18,000

Important Prints and Multiples Evening Sale

24 October 2019 | 7:00 PM EDT | New York

Important Prints and Multiples Day Sale

26 October 2019 | 10:00 AM EDT | New York

Prints September/October 2019

About the Author

Halina Loft

Halina is an associate editor on Sotheby's editorial team in New York.

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