First Open Commotion at Christie’s, Featuring Richard Prince, Alex Katz, and Andy Warhol

In 2014, Richard Prince, who was well-known as a “rephotographing” artist, exhibited 38 “New Portraits” at Gagosian in New York. The portraits consisted of “celebrity” Instagram screenshots with Prince’s comments underneath, expanded and printed onto large canvases. The commotion created in the art community was both positive and negative, with even the original Instagram posters voicing both support and disapproval. One of Richard Prince’s untitled works from this show, featuring an Instagram screenshot with comments, is available in the upcoming First Open | Post-War & Contemporary Art auction at Christie’s. 

The sale also includes works from the Collection of Margo Leavin, property from the Estate of Sondra Gilman, as well as from the Laura Lee Stearns Collection. Beyond Prince, featured artists in the sale include Ernie Barnes, Alex Katz, Andy Warhol, Stanley Whitney, Lynne Drexler and more. Another of the featured works from the sale is Juba Dis an Juba Dat by Ernie Barnes, a work that makes reference to Juba, a political art form employed by enslaved individuals in the antebellum American South. There is also sculptural work by Arnaldo Pomodoro, Urs Fischer, Ai Weiwei, and more. View the full catalog and register to bid at Christie’s.