The old adage may seem old-fashioned, but its validity is underscored by the current global art market situation. The past two years have been a challenging time for the art market, with the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn affecting numerous industries. However, as the art world has consistently shown, true masterpieces have a way of bringing out serious bidders, even in the most difficult economic conditions. One of the most highly anticipated sales in the upcoming months is the auction of Warhol’s Big Electric Chair (1967-68) by Christie’s. The sale is set to take place on 12 May at Rockefeller Center in New York, and the auction house is emphasizing the potential of this piece to attract serious bidders.
“The availability of true masterpieces will bring out serious bidders, even in the most challenging economic conditions,”
is a phrase that has been repeated frequently during the lockdowns and downturns. Christie’s is betting on this truism by offering the pink-hued acrylic-and-silkscreen Big Electric Chair from the collection of Belgian arts patrons Roger Matthys and Hilda Colle. Who are the people behind this highly anticipated sale?
The Belgian arts patrons were “among the most influential personalities in the Belgian contemporary art world,” according to Peter van der Graaf, an international specialist of post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s. “With a personal collection reflecting important art movements of the contemporary era for the past 50 years, they have left their mark by lending many of their works to artist’s retrospectives and exhibitions as well as a long-term loan to the SMAK, including works by other icons of the 21st century.”
The couple began collecting in the 1950s and counted among their holdings stand-out works by Sol LeWitt, Roy Lichtenstein, Bruce Nauman, Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist and others. Warhol’s Big Electric Chair is one of the works from the couple’s collection that had been on long-term loan to SMAK. Why is this particular work significant?
Warhol’s electric chair canvases of the 1960s are among his most indelible works, and he made 14 of them in all. The example from the Matthys-Colle collection is the only one in the series that features an electric chair rendered in black against a monochrome ground. If it achieves its estimate or even comes within $10m, it will set a new secondary-market record for the series, besting another Big Electric Chair (1967-68) executed on a trichromatic blue, green and pink ground, which sold for $20.4m (with fees) at a Sotheby’s sale in New York in 2014.
| Warhol’s Big Electric Chair (1967-68) | Estimated Value (without fees) | Sotheby’s Sale (2014) |
|---|---|---|
| Trichromatic blue, green and pink ground | $18m to $25m | $20.4m (with fees) |
| Monochrome ground (black) | $30m to $40m | Under estimated |
What are the implications of this sale for the art market?
Other series and images dominate the highest end of Warhol’s market, with Shot Sage Blue Marilyn (1964) setting his all-time auction record when it sold for $195m (with fees) at Christie’s in New York in May 2022. Other top results for the Pop artist’s work include examples from his Car Crash series, images of Elvis Presley, Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor, and repeated renderings of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper and Mona Lisa, among others.
| Warhol’s Masterpieces | Estimated Value (without fees) | Notable Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Shot Sage Blue Marilyn (1964) | $80m to $120m | $195m (with fees) at Christie’s in May 2022 |
| Car Crash series | $20m to $40m | Examples sold for top prices at auction |
The sale of Warhol’s Big Electric Chair (1967-68) is set to be a significant test for the art market, which is still reeling from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. However, as the old adage suggests, true masterpieces have a way of bringing out serious bidders, even in the most challenging economic conditions.