The artwork of Joan Mitchell has long been one of the standouts within the American abstract expressionist movement. Active throughout the 20th century, Joan stands as one of the few female artists to break out and gain praise and acclaim. Her work has continued to attract retrospective exhibits at museums and fetch high prices on the auction floor.
Christie's is offering this upcoming Joan Mitchell piece for their Avant-Garde(s) Including Thinking Italian sale in Paris on 18 October. The piece, Untitled, has never before been seen on the market, and its provenance, coming from the collection of the famous French art dealer Jacques Dubourg, has only added to the lot’s significance.
The painting is estimated between €3.2 million and 5 million (around US$3.58 million to 5.59 million), one of the more expensive Mitchell pieces sold in Europe. Additionally, Christie's holds 10 of the 12 records set by Joan Mitchell's works at auction.
Joan Mitchell (1925-1992)⏐Untitled, Oil on canvas
Painted circa 1960
95 x 90.6 cm
Provenance:
- Acquired directly from the artist by the art dealer Jacques Dubourg
Estimate: €3,200,000 - 5,000,000 (US$3.58 - 5.59 million)
Auction House: Christie’s Paris
Sale: Avant-Garde(s) Including Thinking Italian
Date: 18 October 2024, 18:00 local time
Born in Chicago in 1925, Joan Mitchell would go on to become one of the most accomplished female painters of her era. Early in her career, Mitchel was based in New York City, becoming associated with the New York School. The School was a group of artists, poets, dancers, and other creatives who were inspired by contemporary art such as the avant-garde movement, jazz, and surrealism. Mitchell was incredibly interested in this movement, especially regarding American abstract expressionism.
Mitchell would often frequent New York City's Cedar Tavern where she would drink and debate with America's leading figures in abstract art such as Willam de Kooning and Franz Kline. Additionally, she would attend weekly meetings at the exclusive NYC art institution The Club, a meeting hall of sorts for like-minded artists to discuss various topics related to their work.
In 1950, Joan Mitchell painted the last human figure to ever grace her paintings in Figure and the City. On the subject, Mitchell stated, "I knew that it would be my last figure,” and from there, her work would become far more abstract in its depictions.
During the 50s and later into her career, Mitchell would find herself spending more and more time in France, moving there full-time in 1959, just before the lot on sale was painted. What makes Untitled even more interesting is that not only does it come from a transitionary period between Mitchell’s lives in America and France, but also as the nature of her art evolved.
Joan Mitchell in 1962 with her paintings, most likely in her Paris studio on the rue Fremicourt in the 15th arrondissement
Before the early 1960s, Mitchell’s art was filled with wild and unbound brushstrokes combined with brighter colors. Her canvases were often oversized, and her bold brushstrokes were tangible translations of the emotions Mitchell felt. This can best be seen in her 1956 work Hemlock, whose bright and bold vertical lines evoke a kind of forest landscape, inspired by the emotions Mitchell felt when reading Wallace Steven’s 1916 poem Domination of Black.
Between 1960 and 1964, Mitchell went through a change in her art. Referred to by Mitchell as her “Black paintings” or her “very violent and angry” period. It was caused by the declining health of both her parents and her tumultuous relationship with French Canadian abstract artist Jean-Paul Riopelle.
Her once bright works became more somber. Her vivid and bold brushstrokes were replaced by central masses of color. Her brushes, in some cases, were replaced by her hands smearing paint on manually. There was an inherent physicality to Mitchell’s works during this period that was meant to represent something primordial or in opposition to Mitchell’s prior paintings.
Untitled came right in the middle of this period of change for Mitchell, and as such, it is hard to pin down where it fits. Aspects such as its bright colors, especially in the center and upper right of the painting, along with its vivid brushstrokes, make it seem like a work from before her darker period. However, the central dark mass of blue with darker colors scattered around the painting says otherwise.
Joan Mitchell⏐Untitled (1959), 247.7 x 219.7cm⏐Sold: around US$29.1 million, Christie’s New York, 2023⏐The most expensive work by the artist ever sold at auction
Joan Mitchell⏐San Titre (1958), 170.7 x 144cm⏐Sold: around €5.80 million US$6.40 million, Christie’s Paris, 2023⏐The most expensive work by the artist ever sold in a European auction
The sale of this Joan Mitchell work marks the first time this painting has debuted on the market having been in the private collection of French art dealer Jacque Dubourg, who himself acquired the work from Mitchell. Dubourg himself is a renowned art dealer and gallery owner whose efforts helped see several careers launched. Joan Mitchell herself was exhibited several times in Dubourg’s gallery. Mithcell was also the first American woman to be exhibited in the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris.
Joan Mitchell's works have also had a history of incredibly strong sales, with Christie's holding 10 out of the 12 records relating to her work. This includes the 2023 sale of Untitled (1959), which went for around US$29.1 million, making it the most expensive Mitchell ever sold. Additionally, Christie’s in 2018 sold the previous record-holding painting Blueberry (1969) for around US$16.6 million, as well as San Titre (1958), the most expensive Mitchell piece sold in Europe, at around US$6.40 million, sold in 2023.