event July 2026John Baldessari (American, 1931-2020) | Tree, from 2623 Third Street, Santa Monica (Coplan Hurowitz 112) |Lithograph with screenprint in colours, 2000, on Somerset Velvet wove paper, signed, dated and numbered 35/61 verso , co-published by Brooke Alexander Editions, New York, and Sabine Knust Maximilian Verlag, Munich, the full sheet, unframed|Sheet 686 x 686mm (27 x 27in)
Two Cars (One Red) in Different Environments
UncategorizedAcrylic1990
Sold For
$381,000
event May 2026JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Two Cars (One Red) in Different Environments | acrylic and vinyl on photographs, in two parts| 69 x 87 in. (175.3 x 221 cm.)| Executed in 1990.|
Three Active Persons (With Standing Person)
PaintingPhotograph1990
Sold For
$1,016,000
event May 2026JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Three Active Persons (With Standing Person) | acrylic and photograph collage on board| 92 x 58 in. (233.7 x 147.3 cm.)| Executed in 1990.|
Junction Series: Seascape, Landscape, Cranes, Person in Water
UncategorizedAcrylic2002
Sold For
$190,500
event November 2025JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Junction Series: Seascape, Landscape, Cranes, Person in Water | acrylic and digital photographic prints mounted on foam PVC board, in artist's frames, in eight parts| overall: 84 x 80 in. (215.3 x 203.8 cm.)| Executed in 2002.|
Commissioned Painting: A Painting by Edgar Transue
PaintingOil1969
Sold For
$1,651,000
event November 2025JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Commissioned Painting: A Painting by Edgar Transue | oil and acrylic on canvas| 59 ¼ x 45 in. (150.5 x 114.3 cm.)| Painted in 1969.|
I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art
UncategorizedLithograph1931
Sold For
$63,500
event October 2025JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art| lithograph, on ivory Arches paper, 1971, signed and dated in pencil, numbered 12⁄50, published by The Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Canada, the full sheet, in very good condition, framed| Sheet: 22 ½ x 30 in. (567 x 760 mm.)|
PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$5,080
event October 2025John Baldessari 1931–2020 A Suite of Five Lithographs for Tristram Shandy 1988 lithograph in colors on T.H. Saunders Waterford sheet (largest): 22¼ h × 27½ w in (57 × 70 cm) sheet (smallest): 16½ h × 29½ w in (42 × 75 cm)
PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$19,050
event October 2025John Baldessari 1931–2020 Three Moments 1999 offset lithograph and screenprint in colors on irregular shaped Coventry Smooth image: 36 h × 24 w in (91 × 61 cm) sheet: 20 h × 28 w in (51 × 71 cm)
Hitch-hiker (Splattered Blue) (Maquette)
UncategorizedPhotograph1995
Sold For
$50,800
event September 2025JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Hitch-hiker (Splattered Blue) (Maquette) | acrylic on color photograph mounted on board, laid down on board| 16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm.)| Executed in 1995.|
Hot & Cold Series: GILLIS You trying to be funny? / PERFECTLY STILL
UncategorizedAcrylic2018
Sold For
$114,300
event September 2025JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Hot & Cold Series: GILLIS You trying to be funny? / PERFECTLY STILL | acrylic and inkjet print on joined canvases, in two parts| installation dimensions variable |left: 57 1⁄8 x 45 (145.1 x 114.3 cm.)|right: 55 ½ x 44 7⁄8 in. (141 x 114 cm.)| Executed in 2018.|
Tentative Wall for My New Home
UncategorizedOil1962
Sold For
$0
event September 2025JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Tentative Wall for My New Home | signed and dated 'BALDESSARI 62' (lower right); signed again, titled and dated again 'BALDESSARI 62 TENTATIVE WALL FOR MY NEW HOME' (on the reverse)| acrylic, oil, charcoal, printed paper collage, cardboard collage and stenciled letter collage on canvas| 67 ¾ x 56 7⁄8 in. (172 x 144.5 cm.)| Executed in 1962.|
Studio
UncategorizedLithograph1931
Sold For
$22,680
event April 2025JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Studio| lithograph and screenprint in colors, on Somerset paper, 1988, signed in pencil, numbered 106⁄150 (there were also twenty artist's proofs), co-published by ART/LA 88 and Cirrus Editions, Los Angeles, with the Cirrus blindstamp, with full margins, in very good condition, framed| Image: 25 5⁄8 x 33 7⁄8 in. (651 x 860 mm.)|Sheet: 30 ¼ x 38 3⁄8 in. (768 x 975 mm.)|
Giacometti with Barrel
UncategorizedMixed Media2018
Sold For
$126,000
event February 2025JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Giacometti with Barrel | bronze, resin, stainless steel and mixed media| 186 x 26 x 25 in. (472.4 x 66 x 63.5 cm.)|Executed in 2018. This work is artist's proof number two from an edition of three plus two artist's proofs.|
Elephant
UncategorizedOil1987
Sold For
$0
event February 2025JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Elephant | black-and-white photograph with oil tint, in artist's frames, in two parts| overall: 69 x 69 ½ in. (175.3 x 176.5 cm.)| Executed in 1987.|
Object (with Flaw)
UncategorizedLithograph1931
Sold For
$6,930
event October 2024JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Object (with Flaw)| lithograph in colors, on three sheets of Somerset and Arches paper and one irregularly shaped sheet of Plexiglas, 1988, signed and dated in pencil, numbered 26⁄35 (there were also fifteen artist's proofs), co-published by Cirrus Editions and Multiples Inc., Los Angeles and New York, with Cirrus' ink stamp on the reverse, in the artist's recommended frames| Largest Sheet: 43 x 37 1⁄8 in. (1092 x 941 mm.)|
Arms & legs (Specif. Elbows & Knees), Etc. (Part One): Elbow, Leg (with Swing)
PaintingAcrylic2007
Sold For
€151,200
event October 2024John Baldessari (1931-2020)| Arms & legs (Specif. Elbows & Knees), Etc. (Part One): Elbow, Leg (with Swing) | impression jet d'encre 3D et acrylique sur panneau| 182.8 x 151.7 x 8.9 cm. |Réalisé en 2007.| |3D inkjet and acrylic on panel|72 x 596⁄8 x 34⁄8 in.|Executed in 2007.|
Hot & Cold Series: GILLIS You trying to be funny?.. PERFECTLY STILL
UncategorizedAcrylic2018
Sold For
$193
event October 2024JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Hot & Cold Series: GILLIS You trying to be funny?.. PERFECTLY STILL | acrylic and varnished inkjet prints on canvas, in two parts| overall: 57 1⁄8 x 89 7⁄8 in. (145.1 x 228.3 cm.)|left element: 57 1⁄8 x 45 (145.1 x 114.3 cm.)|right element: 55 ½ x 44 7⁄8 in. (141 x 114 cm.)| Executed in 2018.|
Two Men and Telephones (With Animals)
UncategorizedOil1988
Sold For
$193
event October 2024JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Two Men and Telephones (With Animals) | oil tint and vinyl paint on photographs, in two parts| overall: 52 1⁄8 x 60 5⁄8 in. (132.4 x 154 cm.)| Executed in 1988.|
Double Bill (Part 2):...and Sander
UncategorizedLithograph1931
Sold For
$2,816
event May 2024John Baldessari (1931-2020) | Double Bill (Part 2):...and Sander , 2012|Lithograph on wove paper, signed in pencil, dated and numbered 28/34, with the inkstamp of the publisher on the reverse El Nopal Press, Los Angeles, the full sheet.| sheet 23 1/2 x 18in (59.7 x 45.7cm)
Tree, from 2623 Third Street, Santa Monica
UncategorizedLithograph1931
Sold For
£0
event May 2024John Baldessari (American, 1931-2020) | Tree, from 2623 Third Street, Santa Monica (Coplan Hurowitz 112) |Lithograph with screenprint in colours, 2000, on Somerset Velvet wove paper, signed, dated and numbered 35/61 on the reverse, co-published by Brooke Alexander Editions, New York and Sabine Knust Maximilian Verlag, Munich, the full sheet|Sheet 686 x 686mm (27 x 27in)
Studio
UncategorizedLithograph1931
Sold For
$25,200
event March 2024JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Studio| lithograph and screenprint in colors, on Somerset paper, 1988, signed in pencil, numbered 125⁄150 (there were also twenty artist's proofs), published by Cirrus Editions, Los Angeles, with their blindstamp, with full margins, in generally good condition| Image: 25 5⁄8 x 33 7⁄8 in. (650 x 860 mm.)| Sheet: 30 ¼ x 38 3⁄8 in. (766 x 975 mm.)|
Life's Balance (With Perspective)
UncategorizedOil1987
Sold For
$100,800
event March 2024JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Baldessari, J.| Life's Balance (With Perspective) | oil tint on black-and-white photographs (upper two elements and lower left and right elements in artist's frames, lower middle element flush-mounted on aluminum), in five parts| 23 ¾ x 107 ½ in. (60.3 x 273.1 cm.)| Executed in 1987.|
Noses & Ears, Etc. (Part Two): (Violet) Face and (Blue) Face with (Pink) Noses and Ears and Pistol
UncategorizedAcrylic2006
Sold For
£94,500
event March 2024JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Noses & Ears, Etc. (Part Two): (Violet) Face and (Blue) Face with (Pink) Noses and Ears and Pistol | digital photographic print and acrylic on three-dimensional foam PVC board, in artist's frame| 71 ¼ x 95 7⁄8 x 4in. (181 x 243.4 x 10.2cm.)| Executed in 2006|
Source
UncategorizedPhotograph1987
Sold For
$1,079,500
event November 2023John Baldessari|Source|1931 - 2020|vinyl paint on black and white photograph|60 ¼ by 48 in. 153 by 121.9 cm.|Executed in 1987.
I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art
PaintingLithograph1931
Sold For
$37,800
event October 2023JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art| lithograph, on ivory Arches paper, 1971, signed and dated in pencil, numbered 21⁄50, published by the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Canada, the full sheet, in generally good condition, framed| Sheet: 22 ½ x 30 1⁄8 in. (572 x 765 mm.)|
Sediment: Hat Rack (with Shadow), Arm and Apron (Portion) and Shadow (Person)
PaintingAcrylic2010
Sold For
$25,200
event November 2022JOHN BALDESSARI (1930-2020)| Sediment: Hat Rack (with Shadow), Arm and Apron (Portion) and Shadow (Person) | acrylic and inkjet print on canvas| 54 x 70 in. (137.2 x 177.8 cm.)| Executed in 2010.|
Music
UncategorizedOil1987
Sold For
$315,000
event November 2022JOHN BALDESSARI (1930-2020)| Music | oil tint and vinyl paint on two joined photographs, in two parts| 90 x 36 1/2 in. (228.6 x 92.7 cm.)| Executed in 1987.|
Two Crowds: Trouble (Excluded); Watching (Included)
PaintingMixed Media1986
Sold For
$170,100
event March 2022John Baldessari|Two Crowds: Trouble (Excluded); Watching (Included)|b. 1931|black and white photographs and mixed media on board|64¾ by 47 in.|164.5 by 119.4 cm.|Executed in 1986.
Nose & Ears, Etc. (Part Three)
PaintingAcrylic2007
Sold For
$125,000
event November 2021JOHN BALDESSARI (1931-2020)| Nose & Ears, Etc. (Part Three)| three-dimensional archival inkjet print with acrylic paint| 43 1⁄2 x 119 1⁄2 x 4 in. (110.5 x 303.5 x 10.2 cm.)| Executed in 2007.|
YELLOW SKY, CLOUD, BLUE HORSEMAN
UncategorizedPhotograph1990
Sold For
$375,000
event June 2020JOHN BALDESSARI|YELLOW SKY, CLOUD, BLUE HORSEMAN|The Ginny Williams Collection|1931 - 2020|vinyl paint on black and white photograph on two joined boards|95½ by 71½ in. 242.6 by 181.6 cm.|framed: 98 by 74 1/8 in. 248.9 by 188.3 cm.|Executed in 1990.
NEARBY FATE (WITH HINGE)
UncategorizedOil1987
Sold For
$400,000
event June 2020JOHN BALDESSARI|NEARBY FATE (WITH HINGE)|Important West Coast Private Collection|1931 - 2020|vinyl paint and oil tint on three black and white photographs, in artist's chosen frame|34 by 91 in. 86.4 by 231.1 cm.|Executed in 1987.
Object (With Observer)
PaintingOil1988
Sold For
$125,000
event March 2020John Baldessari (1931-2020)| Object (With Observer)| black-and-white photograph with oil tint and vinyl paint, in two parts| overall: 50 x 59 ½ in. (127 x 151.1 cm.)| Executed in 1988.|
Blue Masterstroke over Red Diagram and Two Cowboys
PaintingLithograph
Sold For
£2,750
event December 2015John Baldessari (B. 1931)| Blue Masterstroke over Red Diagram and Two Cowboys| lithograph and screenprint in colours, 1989, on Arches paper, signed in pencil, numbered 40/60 (there were also six artist's proofs), published by Printed Matter, Inc., New York, the full sheet, in good condition, framed| Image: 800 x 830 mm.|
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PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$3,125
event October 2015John Baldessari (born 1931) Double Motorcyclists and Landscape (Icelandic 2003), from The Overlap Series (H. 115), 2001-03 Lithograph in colors on Somerset paper, signed in pencil, dated ´2003´ and
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PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$4,750
event October 2015John Baldessari (born 1931) Man, Dog (Blue), Canoe/Shark Fins (One Yellow), Capsized Boat (H. 129), 2002 Lithograph in colors on Somerset paper, signed in pencil, dated ´02´ and numbered 47/60 (there
Two Chests (Heart and Soul)
PaintingAcrylic
Sold For
$175,000
event September 2015John Baldessari (1931) | Two Chests (Heart and Soul) | oil and acrylic on black and white photographs, in 2 parts | Overall: 80 by 60 in. 203.2 by 152.4 cm. | “We put a priority in vision, on looking at a person’s face when we see figures. Some of the faces of the figures I had didn’t interest me. It was their stance or the ambience and so on that did. I said, ‘Well, if that’s not necessary, why do I have to use it?’” John Baldessari
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Christmas
PaintingAcrylic
Sold For
£92,500
event September 2015John Baldessari (B. 1931)| Christmas| acrylic on two black and white photographs| overall: 37 x 20 ¼in. (94 x 51.5cm.)| Executed in 1986|
Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (Best of Thirty-Six Attempts)
PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$3,000
event July 2015JOHN BALDESSARI (B. 1931)| Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (Best of Thirty-Six Attempts) | the complete set of thirteen offset lithographs in colors on coated stock paper, 1973, from the edition of 2,000, co-published by Edizioni Giampolo Prearo and Halleria Toselli, Milan, loose (as issued), in very good condition, with title page, colophon, and original blue letter-press paper slipcase| Overall: 10 ¾ x 12 7/8 in. (273 x 327 mm.)| (13)
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PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$2,250
event May 2015John Baldessari (born 1931) Double Bill (Part 2): ...and Sander, 2012 Lithograph on wove paper, signed in pencil, dated ´12´ and annotated ´AP 6´ (an artist´s proof aside from the edition of 34), with
Prima Facie (Third State): From Afire to Zealous
PaintingAcrylic
Sold For
$125,000
event March 2015John Baldessari (1931) | Prima Facie (Third State): From Afire to Zealous | digital photographic impression and acrylic on canvas, in 2 parts | Overall: 66 3/4 by 106 1/2 in. 169.5 by 270.5 cm. | Condition: This work is in excellent condition overall. The works is comprised of 2 separate framed elements. Left: The print exhibits no visible surface scratches under raking light. This work was not inspected out of its frame. Framed under Plexiglas. Right: This canvas is unlined. There is one very minor, pinpoint spot accretion noted in the center roughly 12 inches from the left edge. Framed.In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Noses & Ears, Etc. (Part Three: Altered Person (Violet) With Three Views/Altered Person (Yellow) With Three Viewers
PaintingAcrylic
Sold For
$209,000
event November 2014John Baldessari (B. 1931)| Noses & Ears, Etc. (Part Three: Altered Person (Violet) With Three Views/Altered Person (Yellow) With Three Viewers| acrylic on inkjet prints| 43 3/4 x 119 1/4 x 4 in. (111.1 x 302.9 x 10.2 cm.)| Executed in 2007.|
Two Relationships Early (Warm) / Late (Cool) with One Risky
PaintingAcrylic
Sold For
$125,000
event November 2014John Baldessari (B. 1931)| Two Relationships Early (Warm) / Late (Cool) with One Risky| Black and white photographs with acrylic paint on board| 46 3/8 x 23 7/8 in. (117.8 x 60.6 cm.)| Executed in 1984.|
Noses and Ears, Etc: Earring and Head (With Nose And Ear)
PaintingAcrylic
Sold For
$93,750
event November 2014John Baldessari (B. 1931)| Noses and Ears, Etc: Earring and Head (With Nose And Ear)| three dimensional archival digital photographic prints, with acrylic paint| 45 3/8 x 43 3/8 in. (115.3 x 110.2 cm.)| Executed in 2006.|
PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$12,500
event October 2014John Baldessari A Suite of Five Lithographs from Tristram Shandy , 1988 The complete set of five lithographs in colors, on T.H. Saunders paper, with full margins, 31 x 23 1/2 in. (78.7 x 59.7 cm) all
PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$3,750
event October 2014John Baldessari Juggler´s Hand (with Diver) , 1988 Lithograph and screenprint in colors, on irregularly shaped Arches 88 paper, with full margins, I. 49 1/8 x 22 3/8 in. (124.8 x 56.8 cm) S. 54 1/4 x
Elbow Series: EMU
PaintingAcrylic
Sold For
£74,500
event September 2014John Baldessari (B. 1931)| Elbow Series: EMU| inkjet on canvas, Folio D process on vinyl, hand lettering and acrylic, in three parts| overall: 84¼ x 84¼in. (214 x 214cm.)| Executed in 1999|
Man with Snake
PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$813
event July 2014JOHN BALDESSARI (b. 1931) | Man with Snake | lithograph in colors, 1990, on Arches 88 paper, signed in pencil, numbered 77/170, published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, with their blindstamps and inkstmp on the reverse, pale scattered foxing throughout, otherwise in good condition| Image: 4 7/8 x 6¾ in. (124 x 172 mm.)| Sheet: 18 x 13 7/8 in. (457 x 352 mm.) |
PaintingOil
Sold For
$221,000
event May 2014John Baldessari Untitled , 1964 oil on canvas 36 1/2 x 24 in. (92.7 x 61 cm.) Signed and dated “Baldessari 64” in pencil along the lower edge.
Two Figures in Bath (One with Extended Leg)
PaintingAcrylic
Sold For
$461,000
event May 2014John Baldessari (1931) | Two Figures in Bath (One with Extended Leg) | black and white photograph, color photograph and acrylic paint | 56 by 40 in. 142.2 by 101.6 cm. | Condition: This work is in very good condition overall. There is a minor surface abrasion, measuring a ½ inch, in the top left corner. The bottom edge of the upper photograph and the top edge of the lower photograph show evidence of light wear, which is inherent to the working method of the artist. Framed under Plexiglas.In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Prima Facie (Second State): Kind
PaintingAcrylic
Sold For
$395,000
event May 2014John Baldessari (1931) | Prima Facie (Second State): Kind | archival digital print on canvas with UV varnish coating and acrylic on canvas, in 2 parts | Overall: 66 3/4 by 109 in. 169.5 by 276.9 cm. | Condition: This work is in very good condition overall. There is scattered hairline craquelure along the edges of the left panel, which has resulted in some very minor losses, only noticeable when inspected closely. Framed. When viewed under ultraviolet light there is no evidence of restoration.In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Commissioned Painting: A Painting by Edgar Transue
PaintingOil
Sold For
$2,517,000
event May 2014John Baldessari (1931) | Commissioned Painting: A Painting by Edgar Transue | oil and acrylic on canvas | 59 1/4 x 45 in. 150.5 x 114.3 cm. | Aesthetically reductive and piercingly intelligent, John Baldessari’s Commissioned Painting: A Painting by Edgar Transue from 1969 is a seminal benchmark for the evolution of conceptual and appropriation art that has defined our artistic landscape for the past half-century. The present work is an extremely early and particularly witty model of the razor-sharp Baldessari’s perennial questioning and radical re-evaluation of accepted notions of authorship, originality and aesthetic judgment. Included in two of the artist’s major travelling retrospectives, A Painting by Edgar Transue represents the apogee of Baldessari’s series of paintings collectively entitled Commissioned Paintings, considered a foundationally important corpus within the artist’s oeuvre. Inspiring a tectonic shift in the course of art history, the present work perfectly embodies Baldessari’s emphatic statement, “The purpose of art is to keep us perpetually off balance.” The genesis of Baldessari’s idea for his series of Commissioned Paintings sprung from the hard-edge painter Al Held’s alleged pronouncement, “All conceptual art is just pointing at things." Drily parodying Held’s criticism through its literal manifestation, Baldessari took photographs of his friend George Nicolaidis pointing out random, mundane objects that caught the pair’s attention as they strolled through town. After recording these documentary encounters with everyday minutiae, Baldessari brought a selection of the resulting 35mm slides to various local sign painters. Baldessari paid his professional hires—whose skilled technique rivaled many of the conceptual photorealist painters gaining momentum at the time—a fee to copy the images as faithfully as possible. A limited project, the entire series of Commissioned Paintings consists of only 14 canvases, each executed by different painters whose names are each prominently identified on the canvas and in the work’s titles. The complete set of 14 pictures was exhibited in 1970 at Eugenia Butler Gallery in Los Angeles and Richard Feigen Gallery in New York. Thirteen, including the present work, were exhibited in the 1990-1992 travelling retrospective that opened at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Realized near the beginning of Baldessari’s career in a finite series, never to be revisited or later re-executed, the present work is an exceedingly rare reflection of a seminal moment; namely, the legendary artist’s inception of the conceptual wordplay and pictorial tomfoolery that would come to exemplify his prolific body of work. Lampooning the very notion of “high” art, Baldessari’s cutting-edge output topples the institutional structures narrowly governing the production of art, throwing the definition of art-making open to broad and exciting new interpretation. A Painting by Edgar Transue epitomizes his desire to undermine art’s overwhelmingly didactic impulse, critiquing the hegemonic rhetoric permeating the art world: the gesture of pointing at a banal group of prescription pills set against a stark white background, accompanied by a self-reflexive caption that describes the work, pokes fun at pedagogy. Baldessari is interested more in the function, communication and reception of art, rather than its form. In the present work, he deconstructs our desire to constantly label and designate artworks; when exhibited together, the sameness and repetition of the Commissioned Paintings comically brings to light our own proclivity for judging a work based exclusively on the renown of its author. Baldessari’s Commissioned Paintings draw compelling parallels to Martin Kippenberger’s landmark early body of paintings Lieber Maler, Male Mir (Dear Painter, Paint for Me) that saw Kippenberger employ a painter of film-posters, known as Werner, to execute billboard-size paintings based on the artist’s instructions. Both artists investigate implicit hierarchies of painterly veracity, each explicitly naming the painters they hire—Kippenberger attributes his paintings to the nom de plume “Werner Kippenberger”, an amalgamation of their names, whereas Baldessari prominently places each painter’s name in bold letters on the canvas. The painting characterizes Baldessari’s ardor for linguistic gymnastics and acerbic one-liners, aligning him within the illustrious tradition of conceptual punsters Marcel Duchamp and Joseph Kosuth. Teaching at the renowned California Institute of the Arts in the 1970s alongside experimental titans such as John Cage and Nam June Paik significantly influenced Baldessari’s artistic development and allowed him to shape the following generation of conceptual image-makers; students of his included David Salle, Jack Goldstein and Troy Brauntuch. The rise of Pop and Conceptual art practices of the 1960s led to the pre-emptive pronouncement of painting’s death, a reproach that inspired Baldessari—in a spell of artistic dissatisfaction—to bring most of his paintings executed between 1953 and 1966 to a mortuary to be burned, displaying the ashes as 1970’s Cremation Project. Having literally decimated any evidence of his painterly hand, Baldessari fixed his concentration on the gestures of conception, delegation and examination. Unambiguously distanced from any evident authorship by the works' declarative attributions to the hired painters, the Commissioned Paintings were the most cogent and instantaneous expression of this thought. Proceeding from Frank Stella’s famous 1964 credo that “What you see is what you see,” Baldessari sardonically lays out the mechanics of the image’s making and exposes the economic transaction that underlies its creation, marvelously encapsulating the artist’s savvy for cultural subversion. Baldessari eschews the traditional impenetrability associated with Conceptual art for astonishing clarity, peppering his complex commentary on twentieth-century artistic production with his signature wry humor. Commissioned Painting: A Painting by Edgar Transue marks the inauguration of the genre of text paintings that Baldessari is most renowned for: semiotic wordplays that combine text and image to an elegantly bracing effect. At once poetically parading Baldessari’s intellectual rigor and aesthetic economy, the present work is a stunningly original abnegation of originality. Peter Schjeldahl notes, “On the one hand, there is great art, which fills the ambitious soul with longing. On the other hand, there is one's tatty, funky self. Like a hobo Cynic in the agora, dissecting people's comfortable self-deceptions, Baldessari won't let either horn of the permanent dilemma recede from sight for a second. Paying attention to his work won't make you better or happier, but it will remind you what truth tastes like.” (Peter Schjeldahl, “Wonderful Cynicism: John Baldessari,” Village Voice, February 10, 1998)
Grimm's Fairy Tales: The Frog King
PaintingAcrylic
Sold For
$485,000
event May 2014John Baldessari (B. 1931) | Grimm's Fairy Tales: The Frog King | thirteen elements--eleven black and white photographs, one color photograh, one text panel (acrylic on board)| overall: 84 x 72 in. (213.3 x 182.8 cm.) | Executed in 1982. (13)|
Helicopter and Insects (One Red), Version 1
PaintingAcrylic
Sold For
$485,000
event November 2013JOHN BALDESSARI (B. 1931)| Helicopter and Insects (One Red), Version 1| two elements--vinyl paint and acrylic on color coupler print| each: 48¼ x 64¾ in. (122.5 x 164.4 cm.)| overall: 96½ x 64¾ in. (245.1 x 164.4 cm.)| (2)Executed in 1990.|
PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$18,750
event October 2013John Baldessari A Suite of Five Lithographs for Tristam Shandy , 1988 The complete set of five lithographs in colors, on T.H. Saunders paper, with full margins, 31 x 23 1/2 in. (78.7 x 59.7 cm) all
Goya Series: It Couldn't Be Helped
PaintingAcrylic1997
Sold For
$153,750
event September 2013John Baldessari (b. 1931) | Goya Series: It Couldn't Be Helped | acrylic and inkjet print on canvas | 75 x 60 in. (190.5 x 152.4 cm.) | Painted in 1997. |
Studio
PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$11,250
event July 2013JOHN BALDESSARI (B. 1931) | Studio| lithograph and screenprint in colors, 1988, on Somerset paper, signed in pencil, numbered 117/150, published by Cirrus Editions, Los Angeles, with their blindstamp, apparently in very good condition, not examined out of the frame| Image: 25 x 34 in. (635 x 864 mm.)| Sheet: 30¼ x 38 3/8 in. (769 x 975 mm.)|
Blue Cigarette (Hope)
PaintingAcrylic
Sold For
$125,000
event May 2013John Baldessari (1931) | Blue Cigarette (Hope) | inkjet and acrylic on canvas | 48 by 48 in. 121.9 by 121.9 cm. | Condition: This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of very light wear and handling along the lateral sides. There are no signs of restoration under ultraviolet light inspection. Unframed.In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$4,375
event January 2013John Baldessari Man, Dog, (Blue) Canoe, Shark Fins (One Yellow) Capsized Boat , 2002 Lithograph in colors, on Somerset paper, with full margins, I. 24 x 32 1/4 in (61 x 81.9 cm) S. 29 1/2 x 37 3/8 in
PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$2,750
event January 2013John Baldessari Two Nude Women Perched on a Rock (The promontory of Noses); and accompanying novel, critical essay and artist´s book, from A Suite of Five Lithographs for Tristram Shandy , 1988
PaintingLithograph
Sold For
$2,500
event January 2013John Baldessari Man Collapsed on Sofa; Man Tied to Chair (a fix´d inflexible sorrow), from A Suite of Five Lithographs for Tristram Shandy , 1988 Lithograph in colors, on T.H. Saunders Waterford
