Jeff Koons’ stainless steel sculpture Rabbit (1986) sold at Christie’s New York for US$91.07m after premium, smashing the auction world for a work by a living artist. The successful bidder was American art dealer Robert Mnuchin, who was in the sales room and said he made the winning bid on a client’s behalf.
Jeff Koons’ Rabbit becomes the most expensive work by a living artist
Jeff Koons’ Rabbit
Jeff Koons
In November 2013, Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog (Orange) was sold at Christie’s New York for US$58.4m, breaking the auction record for the world's most expensive work by a living artist until the record was later replaced by David Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool With Two Figures) that sold for US$90.3m in November last year. After merely 6 months, Jeff Koons regained the title of the world’s most expensive living artist with his US$91.07m Rabbit, which was inspired by inflatable toys.
Jeff Koons' Balloon Dog (Orange)
David Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool With Two Figures) was the previous record holder
S.I. Newhouse was an American media mogul who owned many leading publications such as The New Yorker, Vogue, Vanity Fair
Estimated at US$50m-70m, Jeff Koons’ Rabbit was offered at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York. It came from the collection of S.I. Newhouse (1927-2017), an American media mogul who owned many leading publications such as The New Yorker, Vogue and Vanity Fair. Two masterpieces from his collection, Cézanne’s Bouilloire et fruits and Van Gogh’s Arbres dans le jardin de l’asile, accounted for nearly US$100m at Christie’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May 2019. Unlike the Cézanne and Van Gogh paintings, Koons’ Rabbit did not have a third-party guarantee before the sale, which means the artwork could end up being bought-in if it failed to attract buyers’ interest.
The auctioneer started the bidding at US$40m and drew bids from a gentleman in the room and three telephone bidders, respectively represented by Adrien Meyer (Co-Chairman of Impressionist & Modern Art), Xin Li-Cohen (Deputy Chairman, Christie’s Asia), Alex Rotter (Chairman, Post-War & Contemporary Art).
Xin Li-Cohen (second from the left), Adrien Meyer (third from the left) and Alex Rotter (first from the right)
The bidding later turned into a duel between Alex Rotter and the gentleman in the room. The latter gained victory with a winning hammer price of US$80m, followed by a round of applause in the room. Rabbit was sold for US$91.07m after premium, setting the auction record for a work by a living artist.
The previous record holder, David Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool With Two Figures), was also hammered down at US$80m last year. As Christie’s increased its buyer’s premium early this year, even with the same hammer price, Koons’ Rabbit took over the title of the expensive work by a living artist after selling for US$91.07m, which is US$762,500 higher than the Hockney’s record.
Robert Mnuchin
The gentleman in the room was revealed to be Robert Mnuchin, who said he made the bid on behalf of his client. Robert Mnuchin, the father of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, is an American art dealer and former banker. He had worked for Goldman Sachs for 33 years and retired in 1990. Upon retiring from the financial sector, he opened his gallery -Mnuchin Gallery, in a historic five-story townhouse on New York’s Upper East Side.
Top three lots
Jeff Koons. Rabbit.
Lot no.: 15B
Size: 104.1 x 48.3 x 30.5cm
Executed in: 1986
This work is number two from an edition of three plus one artist's proof and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.
Provenance:
- Sonnabend Gallery, New York
- Private collection, New York
- Gagosian Gallery, New York
- Acquired from the above by the present owner, 1992
- Collection of S.I. Newhouse
Estimate: US$50,000,000 - 70,000,000
Hammer price: US$80,000,000
Price realised: US$91,075,000
Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008). (Buffalo II).
Lot no.: 5B
Size: 243.8 x 183.8cm
Created in: 1964
Provenance:
- Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
- Acquired from the above by the present owner, 1965
Estimate: US$50,000,000 - 70,000,000
Hammer price: US$78,000,000
Price realised: US$88,805,000
Andy Warhol (1928-1987). Double Elvis [Ferus Type]
Lot no.: 23B
Size: 208 x 134cm
Created in: 1963
Provenance:
- Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Zürich
- Galleria Gian Enzo Sperone, Rome
- Private collection, Turin
- Private collection, Switzerland
- Dominique Lévy Gallery, Geneva
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: US$50,000,000 - 70,000,000
Hammer price: US$48,000,000
Price realised: US$53,000,000
Auction summary
Auction house: Christie’s New York
Sale: Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale
Sale date: 15 September 2019
Lots offered: 58
Sold: 51
Unsold: 7
Sold by lots: 88%
Sale total: US$538,971,750