Back in the Spotlight: Lynne Drexler’s Flourishing Auction Market in 2023

Once known as a darling of the New York art world, American painter Lynne Drexler spent the twilight of her career in obscurity. She was an Abstract Expressionist with an eye for color and form, a peer of Joan Mitchell and Jackson Pollock. Many of her paintings languished in her Maine studio until her death in 1999. Since then, Drexler’s work has slowly returned to the auction market, exploding in popularity in 2022. 

Four of the artist’s paintings will come under the hammer with Barridoff Auctions this August, marking the triumphant return of an artist long neglected by history. Take a closer look at Drexler’s life and work before the upcoming sale begins.

Born and raised in Virginia, Drexler showed an interest in art at a young age. She explored this with art classes and later headed to Hunter College to study under Hans Hofmann and Robert Motherwell. Drexler was also inspired by Fauvism and the color work of Henri Matisse. She quickly established herself in New York Abstract Expressionist circles, where she met and married her husband, John Hultberg. Drexler enjoyed a solo exhibition in New York with positive buzz. She appeared to be on track for a career in the art world spotlight. 

Despite this early brush with fame, Drexler’s career never did take off during her lifetime. Public and critical interest in her work faded, and mental health struggles left Drexler feeling alienated from city life. She retreated to her island home off the coast of Maine in the 1980s. She remained there full-time for the rest of her life.

The years following Drexler’s death brought about changes in the world at large and in the art market. A new generation of gallerists and collectors worked to unearth the work of underappreciated women artists of the Abstract Expressionist movement, many of whom had been overshadowed by their husbands or who received minimal press attention at the time. Small, posthumous gallery shows took place in Portland, Maine with later events being staged in New York City and Chicago. 

A breakthrough happened in 2022, when one of Drexler’s paintings came up for auction with Christie’s. Flowered Hundred, a 1962 work, had a pre-sale estimate of USD 40,000 to $60,000. The final price was $1.2 million. It was one of the auction’s star lots, and it signaled to the world that something new was happening in Lynne Drexler’s auction market. This was further reinforced when another one of her paintings was sold by Christie’s for $1.5 million, just two months later. Drexler paintings started routinely selling for six figures and above. 

The current resurgence appears to be going strong. Bonhams organized a private selling exhibition of the artist’s works earlier in 2023. Her work has appeared with Mnuchin Gallery and Berry Campbell in New York, as well as in a Hong Kong exhibition featuring the women of Abstract Expressionism. Art Intelligence Global partner and Drexler collector Saara Pritchard recently predicted for Artnet News that this is only the beginning of Drexler’s rise in the art world. 

The latest sale from Barridoff Auctions brings several of Drexler’s early works to the market with estimates reflecting her newfound acclaim. Keller Fair Racetrack from 1959 has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000, while 1967’s Meadow’s Edge has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. Bidders will have an opportunity to own a piece of Drexler’s legacy– and perhaps shape its future. 

This Barridoff Auctions event begins at 1:00PM EDT on August 19, 2023. To view the complete catalog and register to bid, visit Bidsquare. Find more coverage of this auction on Auction Daily.