Post-War & Contemporary Artworks by American Artists Come to Sale with Christie’s

Black American artist Ernie Barnes was a well-known painter, actor, author, and professional football player. His paintings are noted for portraying distinctive characters with elongated looks and a sense of movement. Reading From Left To Right, a notable oil on canvas by Barnes, is a key highlight of the current First Open auction by Christie’s. In a “neo-mannerist” style, the artist depicts fluid figures in motion and focuses on imagery that evokes contentment in everyday life. Another painting of interest is Ark Grotjahn’s untitled work portraying a multi-red two-wing butterfly. This 2006 color pencil on paper work depicts an abstract, perspective image with a striking use of color and symmetry.

American artist John Wesley’s available Couch with Sailboat is a hard-edged, comic-strip-style painting. With delicate black outlines, the artist portrays a couch in the foreground with sailboats in the background using a limited range of hues. The sale also features Pop artist James Rosenquist’s screen-printed oil on canvas titled Spikey Thermometer. It best exemplifies his interests in the combination of aesthetics and science. The billboard-painter-turned-artist is also known for appropriating imagery from mass media and advertisements. To view the complete catalog and register to bid for any of these items online, visit Christie’s.