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Donald Judd Works Capture Record Sales

The funds will be used for an endowment for the Judd Foundation.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 5/12/2006 12:00:00 AM

A May 9th auction of post-war and contemporary art at New York auction house Christie’s included sales of 25 works by artist Donald Judd, renowned for his minimalist sculptures. Sales for the pieces, totaling $24,468,800, will be applied to an endowment for the Judd Foundation.

"The results of the auction will enable the Judd Foundation to preserve and maintain the installed spaces in New York and Marfa, Texas, while allowing us to implement important programs to fulfill our mission," says Barbara Hunt McLanahan, executive director of the Judd Foundation. To display the artist's wares, Christie's carved an exhibition space out of Rockefeller Center--the exhibit drew over 6,000 visitors. Three Judd pieces fetched $2,704,000, the second highest price ever achieved by the artist at auction.

The evening also included the sale of Andy Warhol's Small Torn Campbell Soup Can (Pepper Pot), 1962, which captured $11,776,000 and set a world auction record for a painting from the Campbell Soup Can series. The piece was from the collection of Irving Blum, the visionary director of the Ferus Gallery, who gave Andy Warhol his first show.

Overall, auction sales totaled $143,187,200, the second highest total for a sale in the field. In addition, 12 new world auction records were set, for works from the likes of David Hockney, Damien Hirst, and Richard Prince, among others.

“There was sustained interest and enthusiasm throughout tonight’s exciting sale from the excellent results of the Judd Collection right through to the end,” says Christopher Burge, the auctioneer of the sale. “The audience for Warhol continues to be strong, as well as for Abstract Expressionism, with the works on paper in the sale also realizing new levels.”