The bronze spider, slightly higher than three meters, set a new auction record for a sculpture by an artist, announced the auction house “Sotheby’s”.
The 1996 “Spider” by Louise Bourgeois, over three meters high and more than five meters wide, sold for $32.8 million, including royalties, at an auction in New York.
The sale also set a new auction record for a work by this artist.
There are only four spider works by this French-American artist that have appeared at auction. In May 2019, one sculpture sold for $32.1 million at a Christie’s auction, also in New York.
The record for any work by an artist at auction is still held by Georgia O’Keefe – Jimson Weed, which was purchased by Walmart heiress Alice Walton’s Crystal Bridges Museum in 2014 for $44.4 million.
The sculpture sold on Thursday was previously owned by the Brazilian foundation Itau.
Bourgeois, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 98, started making spider-shaped sculptures only in her eighties, and they have become her most famous works.
Giant Louise Bourgeois spider sculpture sells for record $32.8 million at auctionhttps://t.co/KH7OPQ0phB
— Edward Cowling (@gnilwoce)May 19, 2023
Sculptures from that series have been featured in many of the world‘s leading museums, including the Guggenheim Museum, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Tate Modern in London…
Kelsey Lenard said, in front of the Sotheby’s auction house, that it was a truly special moment to see how the sculpture, in addition to reaching a record price for Louise Bourgeois, also became the most valuable sculpture made by a female artist.
“Louise Bourgeois’ spiders are undoubtedly a true masterpiece of 20th century art. “They are beloved around the world, powerful yet gentle sculptures, yet they have a dominating presence in the space, especially when displayed in our galleries,” added Leonard.
(RTS/MONDO)