EdRuscha

Ruscha Print Sets New Record for Artist

Celebrate if you own an Ed Ruscha print. At a Bohnams and Butterfield's auction last week, excited bidders pushed Standard Station (E.5) past its high estimate of $40,000 ... all the way to $170,000 and a new record for Ed Ruscha's work. The previous top spot for Ruscha was $133,000 for Hollywood, which was attained during the art boom in 2007.

The record-setting piece features a red gas station, an image now associated with Ruscha, and is #33 in an edition of 50 (a pretty large run). The strong auction performance follows an enormous retrospective held for the artist at London's Hayward Gallery and recognition by Americans for the Arts with its Artistic Excellence Award.

But, there's no prize so grand as an outstanding performance at auction.

Tags: art, art auction, art auctions, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, artist, artmarket, artwork, bonhams, bonhams butterfields, bonhamsauction, BonhamsButterfields, breaking, breakingnews, ed ruscha, EdRuscha, hayward, haywardgallery, london, london england, LondonEngland, ruscha

Rothko, Diebenkorn and Degas join Obama in the White House

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Celebrity Design

The world's latest Nobel Peace Prize winner also has excellent taste in art. President Barack Obama has skipped the staid portraits that are usually pulled to adorn White House walls and instead opted for three dozen pieces with a bit more of an edge. Works have been pulled from the National Gallery of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the Smithsonian American Art Museum to decorate the building the symbolizes executive authority in the United States.

The Obama family is definitely leaning modern, with Rothko, Degas and Diebenkorn among the artists represented. They've also included a word painting by Ed Ruscha. Not wanting to deprive the public of the opportunity to view works on display, the Obamas limited their choices to artwork in museum storage.

There's now a lot of money hanging from those White House walls. "Red Band" by Rothko, "Berkeley No. 52" by Diebenkorn and "White Line" by Sam Francis together are estimated to be worth between $20 million and $30 million. Throw a piece by Jasper Johns into the mix – specifically "Numerals, 0 through 9" – and you get a sense of the collection the Obamas have assembled.

Even with access to a collection of that caliber, though, I'd still never take Obama's job. And, there aren't enough Rothkos out there to change my mind.

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Jasper Johns, John Baldessari Collaborate to Raise Funds for Obama

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Big Givers

A group of 13 highly covetable artists including John Baldessari, Frank Gehry, Ed Ruscha, Jasper Johns and Richard Serra have donated print editions of their work to raise funds for Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Los Angeles-based print publisher Gemini G.E.L. commissioned the group of artists to create what they're calling the "Artists for Obama" portfolio, a set of prints in a limited edition of 150 (not including Jasper Johns's iconic Flag, at right). Art lovers looking to acquire the rare set of prints must donate a minimum of $20,000 to the campaign.

[via The Los Angeles Times]

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Tags: artists for obama, ArtistsForObama, barack obama, BarackObama, ed ruscha, EdRuscha, gemini, jasper johns, JasperJohns, john baldessari, JohnBaldessari, richard serra, RichardSerra