RELEASE: Christie’s to Offer Ed Ruscha’s Hurting The Word Radio #2 from The Collection of Joan and Jack Quinn

You can turn on the radio and the radio becomes the soundtrack for what you see out the window. And somehow I get more from doing this in Los Angeles than I do in another city." – Edward Ruscha

New York – On November 13, Christie’s Evening Sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art will be highlighted by Ed Ruscha’s Hurting the Word Radio #2, 1964 (estimate: $30-40 million)* from the collection of Joan and Jack Quinn, Beverly Hills. Joan Quinn and her late husband Jack, represent a pivotal moment in the history of Contemporary art, as Los Angeles came to symbolize an innovative and prolific brand of creative freedom. Ruscha’s canvas being offered here is a sublime example of the conceptual creativity that emanated from Los Angeles in the early 1960’s, that which would make Ed Ruscha into one of the most revolutionary artists of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. The Quinns acquired Hurting the Word Radio #2 directly from the artist in the early 70s, making this the first time the canvas has ever been offered at auction.

Alex Rotter, Chairman, Post-War and Contemporary Art, Christies: “It is such an honor to offer Ed Ruscha’s Hurting the Word Radio #2 from Joan and Jack Quinn’s storied Californian collection. This consummate work by Ruscha is an early example of his revolutionary Text paintings, a body of work that established him as one of the most innovative and influential painters of his generation. The Quinns acquired Hurting the Word Radio #2 directly from Ruscha in the 1970’s, and it is a testament to the couple’s excellent, forward thinking taste that most of the artist’s comparable canvases now reside in the permanent collections of major institutions. Our November sale will mark the first time that this work has ever been offered at auction, and it is particularly exciting for me on a personal level as Hurting the Word Radio #2 has long been on my list of the most desirable works in private hands.”