Michael Crichton's Jasper Johns Flag Painting Sells for Record $28.6 Million

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
May 12th 2010 at 11:30AM

Following the record-breaking $106 million Picasso sale we reported on last week, another world record has been set with the sale of late author Michael Crichton's seminal Jasper Johns Flag painting last night for $28.6 million. Both works were sold by Christie's in New York, fulfilling our prediction in The Classicist last month that the auction house's May art sales would bring in "megabucks". The 1966 flag painting, which had been estimated at up to $15 million, was sold to to New York art adviser Michael Altman before a crowd of VIPs and art collectors including hedge-fund manager Steve Cohen, Hollywood mogul Michael Ovitz, billionaire Eli Broad, author Salman Rushdie and designer Marc Jacobs. The sale's other big cash cow was Andy Warhol, whose 1965 Elizabeth Taylor diptych, "Silver Liz," sold for $18.3 million to New York art dealer Dominique Levy. The Crichton estate's 31 pieces alone sold for $93.3 million, against a $69.6 million high estimate. The sale broke at least five world records for artists including Johns, as predicted by Luxist's Tom Johansmeyer.

All in all Christie's auctioned $232 million of post-war and contemporary art on Tuesday, with around 74% of the offerings going to American buyers. "Within five minutes of opening the rooms for the stunning pre-sale exhibition of the Crichton Collection, we were packed," said Brett Gorvy, International Co-Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie's. "There was a sense of anticipation. The sale [Tuesday] reaffirms the continued confidence in the art market." Amy Cappellazzo, Christie's International Co-Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, notes that "This is the most significant Post-War & Contemporary Art collection ever sold at auction. It was a quintessential American sale. We were delighted with the results across the board and also to see the works by Warhol sell well. Warhol is a bellwether for the market. It sends a strong signal across the board."

Gallery: Megabucks May 2010 Art Auctions

Tags: Andy Warhol, art, auction, auction record, contemporary art, flag, Jasper Johns, Michael Crichton, New York, painting, Picasso, world record

Filed under: Auctions, Art

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

dan May 12th 2010 2:07PM

nice to know that someone can spend 28million on a painting and 100million while the por are struggling to buy food

mike hylton May 12th 2010 5:25PM

Aw the poor starving people,,lol, get freaking real you idiot,, i dont have that kind of money but im retired and doing just fine, except for the wifes church tithe, i dont give a penney to anyone, your kids are hungry ?tough crap you shouldnt have had them, you need money for food ?come cut my grass, the continual handout by people in this country is getting old,,lol and yea i know im a sob, lol aint america great

gary May 12th 2010 9:48PM

Who are the por?

never heard of them.

PeanutDash May 12th 2010 2:21PM

What bugs me is that I, or someone that I know can paint a flag exactly like this one and it is worth less than the cost of the paint and canvas! What makes this one so special - I know: the painter had some tie to old money...

naltino May 12th 2010 8:06PM

Peanut Dash, I couldn't agree with you more. What the hell makes this Sh#$% worth so much money? I see paintings that looks much better from vendors that cost $20. I just don't understand this......worst of all.....someone actually bought it! People put too much value on nonsense.

Carolyn May 12th 2010 8:14PM

Right on it's not what you know it's who you know at least in this country. Aint america great. : (

Rick May 12th 2010 2:26PM

just dont show this painting o cinco de mayo....its a very offensive painting to many many illegal americans lmao

ManicD May 12th 2010 3:15PM

OH NO RICK, YOU'RE WRONG........THE PROPER TERM IS UNDOCUMENTED WORKER. YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO INSULT THOSE NICE "LATINOS. WHO, IF WE KEEP UP THIS "NASTY ATTITUDE" ARE GOING TO TAKE UP THEIR(actually their ours) RAKES, HOES, WEED WACKERS, TOILET PLUNGERS(for the people who wish to remain pc., it "plummers helper") AND USE THEM AGAINST US. PS. I ALWAYS COME TO A TOILET PLUNGER FIGHT, WITH A GUN. FYI

rdudinack123 May 12th 2010 3:31PM

AN ABSOLUTE TRAVESTY!!! THINK ABOUT THE REAL GOOD THAT COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH THAT KIND OF MONEY!
YOU WANT SOMETHING TO HANG ON YOUR WALL AND LOOK AT? TAKE A PICTURE OF YOUR KIDS.

jdo52tex May 12th 2010 3:41PM

The only problem is, they're all Obammao supporters. And that make them tax exempt. Or, they could be buying the stuff with our stofromus money, that Obammao gave to all his friends.

ManicD May 12th 2010 3:51PM

Seriously Folks, are these people OUT OF THEIR MINDS? Or are we being lied to. On one hand we are being told that the World Economy is on the brink of disaster, every country is almost broke, our currency is about to become worthless. Yet the people who are the richest and stand to lose the most, and therefore should know better than anyone, are out spending LARGE FORTUNES on paintings, that frankly, look no better then what any grade school kid could produce................the thing isn't even an antique. It was painted in 1968, and when I finish this post I'm going straight to my basement and see what those drawings that hung from my refrigerator door are looking like. Who knows, my kid may have found something he can do after all. Right now? He's EATING ME OUT OF HOUSE AND HOME......

ManicD May 12th 2010 4:23PM

You're right JDO52TEX, but I have a feeling that his supporters are growing fewer in number every day. Of course there are the ones that voted purely along racial lines and they will follow him anywhere at anytime. But they were not the ones who won it for him. The ones who I'm referring to are the Inde's who were so sick of Bush's spending policies, they would have voted for ANYONE. They know now, how badly they bargained. Its a shame that OBAMA had to be the first Black President. It should have been someone better. Someone more Patriotic, not someone Anti-American. That would have been a truly great thing. If we HAD to have an apologetic president, it SHOULD NOT have been the first Black Pres. JMO

brooklyn May 12th 2010 6:48PM

You know who would be a great black president? That would have been Condi Liza Rice...... She is articulated, well educated, Very Patriotic, of Moral background, and not sympathic to the islamic terrorist that want to kill Americans.
I would VOTE for CONDI RICE anytime, anywhere, for anything she ran for......

Tabitha May 12th 2010 9:37PM

SORRY ! OBAMA ....regardless of what our 'African-Americans', are 'touting'. OBAMA IS NEITHER BLACK NOR WHITE! HE IS MIXED RACE ! You're pretty much right on the other information for the most part.

I'd be willing to bet those who were tired of 'status quo' and voted for the idiot/puppet haven't gotten the 'CHANGE' they were hoping.

Just goes to show you......people don't pay attention...don't listen with an open mind....and on the other hand....sometimes they are just plain STUPID/DUMB/BLIND or CAPABLE OF BEING LED/MESMERIZED and the bottom line is what we have currently.

REMEMBER all this next election. AND PLEASE...DON'T WAIT FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. START AT YOUR LOCAL/TOWN/CITY/COUNTRY/STATE LEVEL AND PAY ATTENTION.

It's time for the American people to take back our government. Check into what THE PATRIOT'S ACT, HOMELAND SECURITY have been REALLY trying to do. DISARM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN THE NAME OF NATIONAL SECURITY.

People, it's as simple as doing your homework BEFORE you mark that ballot. In front of you there is ONE piece of equipment where you can find a wealth of information, but don't rely on ONE SOURCE !

IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE CURRENT CONDITIONS IN AMERICA (AND I AM NOT)....STAND UP AND BE COUNTED ! WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. WHEN OUR GOVERNMENT IS NO LONGER WORKING/DOING WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE WHOLE (MAJORITY) IT IS TIME TO MAKE CHANGES. OUR CONSTITUTIONS AND THE AMENDMENTS GIVE US THIS RIGHT. READ....GO GET AN OLD ENCYCLOPEDIA AND READ THE CONSTITUTION AND THE AMENDMENTS ! EDUCATE YOURSELF AND LET'S START THE RETURN OF THE GREAT LAND OF THE UNITED STATES.

When the people fear the government....there is tyranny.
When the government fears the people....there will be democracy.

We have become, not only people afraid of our government, but we have become a nation of uninformed, complacent people who seem to have the phrase "Someone else will take care of it." or "I can't change anything so why bother." as part of their daily thought process ! WAKE UP !!!!!!

WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES !!!!

edwinart May 12th 2010 5:05PM

Most aren't going to pick up on it, but notice the word SEMINAL before JASPER JOHN FLAG. That word means that the painter "got his rocks off" and used that as part of the painting medium! Thats the REAL TRAVESTY! It tells you he didnt really care for the US Flag even though he's famous for painting them. Jasper Johns was no Patriot!
And that it would bring so much money, gives you a mindset of these Rich and Famous bidders! Godless worshipers of Mammon!

ManicD May 12th 2010 7:04PM

BOY DO I FEEL STUPID, EDWIN. I THOUGHT SEMILAL MEANT FIRST OR BEGINNING. WHO KNEW HE WAS MULTI-TASKING. IN THAT CASE I GUESS HE'S TO BE COMMENDED FOR BEING AMBIDEXTEROUS (sp?) NOT TO MENTION, KEEPING HIS LINES SO STRAIGHT. MAYBE IT'S WORTH 28 MILLION AFTER ALL.

ManicD May 12th 2010 7:47PM

Seriously Edwin, I think I'm with you. I mean I love this Country and appreciate the sacrifice my forebarers made to keep it free. I only hope our children and grandchildren will be able to say the same about us. I have my doubts. We are "taking on water", but WE AREN'T SUNK YET. I DON'T OVERSTATE the case when I say that NEXT NOVEMBER will be a VERY SIGNIFICANT ELECTION DAY in OUR COUNTRIES HISTORY not to mention OUR FUTURE. If we come out on the other side (of the election) and our CONGRESS is STILL so SLANTED, The USA. will start to take on a very different shape. NO LONGER BEING THE #1 Economic power in the World AND many countries will suffer along with us. We not only feed our people, but many others count on us for their economic welfare. Obama has ALREADY STATED that THE USA WILL NEVER SEE A STANDARD OF LIVING LIKE WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST. ARE YOU ALL IN FAVOR OF A STANDARD OF LIVING WORSE THAN YOU HAVE HAD IN THE PAST?? I FOR ONE AM NOT. THIS MAN IS NOT AN IDIOT AND INEXPERIENCE IS NOT HIS PROBLEM (AS THE GOP IS FOND OF SAYING) HE HAS A PLAN. IT RESEMBLES SOCIALIST RUSSIA 1975. NOT CAPITALIST USA 1985. THIS IS A DANGEROUS PATH AND I FOR ONE AM WORRIED.
THAT IS NOT ANYWHERE NEAR WHERE I WAS GOING WHEN I STARTED THIS POST. BUT I OCCUPIES MY MIND OFTEN THESE DAYS. WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY WAS...............WHO IS MAMMON??

leoganz May 12th 2010 5:07PM

A 10 dollar Chinese made US flag at Wallmart looks better than this painting......

al schrader May 12th 2010 6:17PM

Yeah, but that's not a real US flag, that's a Chinese flag. What makes this $28 million flag so valuable is, it was made by an American, and is genuine. If you go to Wal Mart and offer the clerk $28 million for a real made in America USA flag, you will come out empty handed. Someone told John Adams that if we tried to gain our independence from England, very likely all of us would perish and John Adams said "So be it". This hoopla about states seceding from the union is nonsense. Too many of us died to form this nation. This talk is why we are in the mess we have. No time could be more important than now for us to pull together & work together as a nation...God Bless America....Alfred-

CBC May 12th 2010 5:35PM

To all commenters: Yesterday,one person owned a painting and a second person owned $28.6 million. Today, the first person (actually, his estate) owns the $28.6 million and the second person owns the painting. Net impact on your life: ZERO. Net impact on the "poor": ZERO.

Yesterday, person #2 could have given the $28.6 million to the "poor". Today, person #1 can give the $28.6 million to the "poor". Either event is as likely as the other. Net effect of this transaction: ZERO.

Edwinart, invest in a dictionary. Seminal: "highly original and influencing the development of future events"

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