3411
AL HELD(Brooklyn 1927 - 2005 Camerata/Italien)Ohne Titel. 1963.Öl auf grundierter Leinwand.Verso
Description
AL HELD
(Brooklyn 1927 - 2005 Camerata/Italien)
Ohne Titel. 1963.
Öl auf grundierter Leinwand.
Verso signiert und datiert: Al Held 63.
48,5 x 62 cm.
Provenienz:
- Galerie Renée Ziegler, Zürich.
- Dort vom heutigen Besitzer in den 1970er Jahren erworben, seitdem Privatbesitz Schweiz.
Al Held gehört mit Mark Rothko und Barnett Newman zu den bedeutendsten Farbfeldmalern der USA.
1928 wird er in Brooklyn, New York geboren und interessiert sich zunächst überhaupt nicht für Kunst. Nachdem er 1945 die Schule abbricht, dient er für 2 Jahre in der US-Navy. Erst die Bekanntschaft mit Nick Krushenick weckt sein Interesse für Kunst und er schreibt sich für Zeichen- und Anatomiekurse bei der Art Students League ein. 1950/53 studiert er Kunst in Paris an der Académie de la Grande Chaumière und lernt Sam Francis kennen. Bei seiner Rückkehr nach New York im Jahr 1953 ist der Abstrakte Expressionismus von Jackson Pollock und Willem De Kooning in aller Munde und wird die Kunst revolutionieren. Al Held sucht sich ein Studio in New York und macht die Bekanntschaft von Franz Kline und Mark Rothko; vor allem letzterer mit seiner Farbfeldmalerei wird einen grossen Einfluss auf die Entwicklung Helds haben. 1956 ist er mit seinen Arbeiten erstmals in einer Gruppenausstellung der Camino Gallery vertreten, drei Jahre später stattet die Poindexter Gallery in New York ihm seine erste Einzelausstellung aus. In den 1960er Jahren erfolgt sein Durchbruch in Europa, wo er 1964 seine Zusammenarbeit mit der Galerie Renée Ziegler in Zürich beginnt. Diverse Teilnahmen an der documenta in Kassel sowie zahlreiche Museumsausstellungen folgen. Ab 1967 malt Held für einige Jahre ausschliesslich in Schwarz und Weiss und verbannt jegliche Farbe bis zu Beginn der 1970er Jahre aus seinen Werken. Anfänglich der Farbfeldmalerei verschrieben, nehmen im Laufe der Zeit Konturen und Formen zu, so dass er in seinem späteren Oeuvre der Hard-Edge Malerei zuzuordnen ist. Von 1962 – 1980 lehrt er an der Yale University. 2005 verstirbt Al Held in seinem Haus in Italien.
Das vorliegende Werk aus dem Jahr 1963 gehört stilistisch in Al Helds Phase der Farbfeldmalerei, die stark von Rothko und Newman beeinflusst ist. Ein leuchtend gelber Farbraum beherrscht das Bild, das nach oben hin durch einen exakten weissen Balken hin begrenzt wird, nach unten aber durch eine weiche braun-blaue Welle einen Abschluss findet. Eindrücklich spielt Held mit unserer Wahrnehmung und fordert sie heraus, denn auf den ersten Blick spinnt uns unsere Vorstellung eine Landschaft mit Bergen und Horizont vor. Doch folgen wir den Anfordernungen der Farbfeld-Maler, dann treten wir nah vor das Bild und versinken ganz in der Wahrnehmung der Farbe. Ohne den sonst gewohnten Abstand bei der Betrachtung des Bildes, hat der Betrachter gar nicht die Chance etwas Wiedererkennbares zu entdecken, sondern ist ausschliesslich der Farbe – dem Erhabenen in der Kunst – ausgeliefert. Das unmittelbare Erleben der Farbe ist das Ziel seiner Werke. „Das Bild wird zum Träger der sinnlich erfahrbaren, materiell greifbaren Idee als Resultat eines ebenso radikalen wie pathetischen bildnerischen Denkens.“ (zit. Walter, Ingo F. (Hrsg.): Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Teil 1, Malerei, Köln 2000, S. 289)
AL HELD
(Brooklyn 1927 - 2005 Camerata/Italy)
Untitled. 1963.
Oil on primed canvas.
Signed and dated on the reverse: Al Held 63.
48.5 x 62 cm.
Provenance:
- Galerie Renée Ziegler, Zurich.
- Purchased from the above in the 1970s, since then privately owned Switzerland.
Al Held, together with Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, was one of the most important Colour Field painters of the United States.
He was born in 1928 in Brooklyn, New York, and at first was not at all interested in art. After dropping out of school in 1945, he served in the US navy for two years. It was only his acquaintance with Nick Krushenick which awakened an interest in art, and he enrolled in drawing and anatomy courses at the Art Students League. From 1950 to 1953 he studied art in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and met Sam Francis. On his return to New York in 1953, Abstract Expressionism with Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning was on everyone’s lips and was to revolutionise art. Al Held found a studio and made the acquaintance of Franz Kline and Mark Rothko; the latter in particular, with his Colour Field Painting, was to have a great influence on Held’s development. In 1956, he was represented for the first time in a group show at the Camino Gallery, and three years later the Poindexter Gallery in New York provided him with his first solo show. The 1960s saw his breakthrough in Europe, where in 1964 he began his collaboration with Galerie Renée Ziegler in Zurich. He participated at documenta in Kassel on various occasions, and numerous museum exhibitions also followed. From 1967 and for several years Held painted exclusively in black and white and excluded any kind of colour from his work, until the beginning of the 1970s. Initially committed to Colour Field painting, gradually contours and forms began to appear, so that his late works would be classified as Hard-Edge painting. From 1962 to 1980 he taught at Yale University. Al Held died in 2005 at his house in Italy.
The present work from 1963 belongs stylistically to Al Held’s Colour Field phase, which is strongly influenced by Rothko and Newman. A bright yellow colour field dominates the picture, which is bordered towards the top by a precise white beam, and terminates below with a soft brown-blue wave. Held skilfully plays with our perception and challenges it, since at first sight our imagination conjures a landscape with mountains and a horizon. Still, if we follow the requirements of Colour Field painting, then we stand close to the picture and sink entirely into a perception of the colour. Without the usual distance when contemplating the picture, the viewer does not have the opportunity of discovering something recognisable, but is entirely exposed to the colour – and the sublime in art. The direct experience of colour is the goal of this work. “The picture becomes the medium for the idea, experienced as sensuous and tangible, as the result of an equally radical and elevated pictorial way of thinking.” (quote from: Walter, Ingo F. (ed.): Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Teil 1, Malerei, Cologne 2000, p. 289)
25.00 % buyer's premium on the hammer price
8.00 % VAT on buyer's premium
- 20.00 % buyer's premium on the amount of the hammer price exceeding 10,000
- 15.00 % buyer's premium on the amount of the hammer price exceeding 400,000
Different tax regulations may apply, if the object is exported to a none-E.U. member country
(Brooklyn 1927 - 2005 Camerata/Italien)
Ohne Titel. 1963.
Öl auf grundierter Leinwand.
Verso signiert und datiert: Al Held 63.
48,5 x 62 cm.
Provenienz:
- Galerie Renée Ziegler, Zürich.
- Dort vom heutigen Besitzer in den 1970er Jahren erworben, seitdem Privatbesitz Schweiz.
Al Held gehört mit Mark Rothko und Barnett Newman zu den bedeutendsten Farbfeldmalern der USA.
1928 wird er in Brooklyn, New York geboren und interessiert sich zunächst überhaupt nicht für Kunst. Nachdem er 1945 die Schule abbricht, dient er für 2 Jahre in der US-Navy. Erst die Bekanntschaft mit Nick Krushenick weckt sein Interesse für Kunst und er schreibt sich für Zeichen- und Anatomiekurse bei der Art Students League ein. 1950/53 studiert er Kunst in Paris an der Académie de la Grande Chaumière und lernt Sam Francis kennen. Bei seiner Rückkehr nach New York im Jahr 1953 ist der Abstrakte Expressionismus von Jackson Pollock und Willem De Kooning in aller Munde und wird die Kunst revolutionieren. Al Held sucht sich ein Studio in New York und macht die Bekanntschaft von Franz Kline und Mark Rothko; vor allem letzterer mit seiner Farbfeldmalerei wird einen grossen Einfluss auf die Entwicklung Helds haben. 1956 ist er mit seinen Arbeiten erstmals in einer Gruppenausstellung der Camino Gallery vertreten, drei Jahre später stattet die Poindexter Gallery in New York ihm seine erste Einzelausstellung aus. In den 1960er Jahren erfolgt sein Durchbruch in Europa, wo er 1964 seine Zusammenarbeit mit der Galerie Renée Ziegler in Zürich beginnt. Diverse Teilnahmen an der documenta in Kassel sowie zahlreiche Museumsausstellungen folgen. Ab 1967 malt Held für einige Jahre ausschliesslich in Schwarz und Weiss und verbannt jegliche Farbe bis zu Beginn der 1970er Jahre aus seinen Werken. Anfänglich der Farbfeldmalerei verschrieben, nehmen im Laufe der Zeit Konturen und Formen zu, so dass er in seinem späteren Oeuvre der Hard-Edge Malerei zuzuordnen ist. Von 1962 – 1980 lehrt er an der Yale University. 2005 verstirbt Al Held in seinem Haus in Italien.
Das vorliegende Werk aus dem Jahr 1963 gehört stilistisch in Al Helds Phase der Farbfeldmalerei, die stark von Rothko und Newman beeinflusst ist. Ein leuchtend gelber Farbraum beherrscht das Bild, das nach oben hin durch einen exakten weissen Balken hin begrenzt wird, nach unten aber durch eine weiche braun-blaue Welle einen Abschluss findet. Eindrücklich spielt Held mit unserer Wahrnehmung und fordert sie heraus, denn auf den ersten Blick spinnt uns unsere Vorstellung eine Landschaft mit Bergen und Horizont vor. Doch folgen wir den Anfordernungen der Farbfeld-Maler, dann treten wir nah vor das Bild und versinken ganz in der Wahrnehmung der Farbe. Ohne den sonst gewohnten Abstand bei der Betrachtung des Bildes, hat der Betrachter gar nicht die Chance etwas Wiedererkennbares zu entdecken, sondern ist ausschliesslich der Farbe – dem Erhabenen in der Kunst – ausgeliefert. Das unmittelbare Erleben der Farbe ist das Ziel seiner Werke. „Das Bild wird zum Träger der sinnlich erfahrbaren, materiell greifbaren Idee als Resultat eines ebenso radikalen wie pathetischen bildnerischen Denkens.“ (zit. Walter, Ingo F. (Hrsg.): Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Teil 1, Malerei, Köln 2000, S. 289)
AL HELD
(Brooklyn 1927 - 2005 Camerata/Italy)
Untitled. 1963.
Oil on primed canvas.
Signed and dated on the reverse: Al Held 63.
48.5 x 62 cm.
Provenance:
- Galerie Renée Ziegler, Zurich.
- Purchased from the above in the 1970s, since then privately owned Switzerland.
Al Held, together with Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, was one of the most important Colour Field painters of the United States.
He was born in 1928 in Brooklyn, New York, and at first was not at all interested in art. After dropping out of school in 1945, he served in the US navy for two years. It was only his acquaintance with Nick Krushenick which awakened an interest in art, and he enrolled in drawing and anatomy courses at the Art Students League. From 1950 to 1953 he studied art in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and met Sam Francis. On his return to New York in 1953, Abstract Expressionism with Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning was on everyone’s lips and was to revolutionise art. Al Held found a studio and made the acquaintance of Franz Kline and Mark Rothko; the latter in particular, with his Colour Field Painting, was to have a great influence on Held’s development. In 1956, he was represented for the first time in a group show at the Camino Gallery, and three years later the Poindexter Gallery in New York provided him with his first solo show. The 1960s saw his breakthrough in Europe, where in 1964 he began his collaboration with Galerie Renée Ziegler in Zurich. He participated at documenta in Kassel on various occasions, and numerous museum exhibitions also followed. From 1967 and for several years Held painted exclusively in black and white and excluded any kind of colour from his work, until the beginning of the 1970s. Initially committed to Colour Field painting, gradually contours and forms began to appear, so that his late works would be classified as Hard-Edge painting. From 1962 to 1980 he taught at Yale University. Al Held died in 2005 at his house in Italy.
The present work from 1963 belongs stylistically to Al Held’s Colour Field phase, which is strongly influenced by Rothko and Newman. A bright yellow colour field dominates the picture, which is bordered towards the top by a precise white beam, and terminates below with a soft brown-blue wave. Held skilfully plays with our perception and challenges it, since at first sight our imagination conjures a landscape with mountains and a horizon. Still, if we follow the requirements of Colour Field painting, then we stand close to the picture and sink entirely into a perception of the colour. Without the usual distance when contemplating the picture, the viewer does not have the opportunity of discovering something recognisable, but is entirely exposed to the colour – and the sublime in art. The direct experience of colour is the goal of this work. “The picture becomes the medium for the idea, experienced as sensuous and tangible, as the result of an equally radical and elevated pictorial way of thinking.” (quote from: Walter, Ingo F. (ed.): Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Teil 1, Malerei, Cologne 2000, p. 289)
25.00 % buyer's premium on the hammer price
8.00 % VAT on buyer's premium
- 20.00 % buyer's premium on the amount of the hammer price exceeding 10,000
- 15.00 % buyer's premium on the amount of the hammer price exceeding 400,000
Different tax regulations may apply, if the object is exported to a none-E.U. member country
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AL HELD
(Brooklyn 1927 - 2005 Camerata/Italien)
Ohne Titel. 1963.
Öl auf grundierter Leinwand.
Verso signiert und datiert: Al Held 63.
48,5 x 62 cm.
Provenienz:
- Galerie Renée Ziegler, Zürich.
- Dort vom heutigen Besitzer in den 1970er Jahren erworben, seitdem Privatbesitz Schweiz.
Al Held gehört mit Mark Rothko und Barnett Newman zu den bedeutendsten Farbfeldmalern der USA.
1928 wird er in Brooklyn, New York geboren und interessiert sich zunächst überhaupt nicht für Kunst. Nachdem er 1945 die Schule abbricht, dient er für 2 Jahre in der US-Navy. Erst die Bekanntschaft mit Nick Krushenick weckt sein Interesse für Kunst und er schreibt sich für Zeichen- und Anatomiekurse bei der Art Students League ein. 1950/53 studiert er Kunst in Paris an der Académie de la Grande Chaumière und lernt Sam Francis kennen. Bei seiner Rückkehr nach New York im Jahr 1953 ist der Abstrakte Expressionismus von Jackson Pollock und Willem De Kooning in aller Munde und wird die Kunst revolutionieren. Al Held sucht sich ein Studio in New York und macht die Bekanntschaft von Franz Kline und Mark Rothko; vor allem letzterer mit seiner Farbfeldmalerei wird einen grossen Einfluss auf die Entwicklung Helds haben. 1956 ist er mit seinen Arbeiten erstmals in einer Gruppenausstellung der Camino Gallery vertreten, drei Jahre später stattet die Poindexter Gallery in New York ihm seine erste Einzelausstellung aus. In den 1960er Jahren erfolgt sein Durchbruch in Europa, wo er 1964 seine Zusammenarbeit mit der Galerie Renée Ziegler in Zürich beginnt. Diverse Teilnahmen an der documenta in Kassel sowie zahlreiche Museumsausstellungen folgen. Ab 1967 malt Held für einige Jahre ausschliesslich in Schwarz und Weiss und verbannt jegliche Farbe bis zu Beginn der 1970er Jahre aus seinen Werken. Anfänglich der Farbfeldmalerei verschrieben, nehmen im Laufe der Zeit Konturen und Formen zu, so dass er in seinem späteren Oeuvre der Hard-Edge Malerei zuzuordnen ist. Von 1962 – 1980 lehrt er an der Yale University. 2005 verstirbt Al Held in seinem Haus in Italien.
Das vorliegende Werk aus dem Jahr 1963 gehört stilistisch in Al Helds Phase der Farbfeldmalerei, die stark von Rothko und Newman beeinflusst ist. Ein leuchtend gelber Farbraum beherrscht das Bild, das nach oben hin durch einen exakten weissen Balken hin begrenzt wird, nach unten aber durch eine weiche braun-blaue Welle einen Abschluss findet. Eindrücklich spielt Held mit unserer Wahrnehmung und fordert sie heraus, denn auf den ersten Blick spinnt uns unsere Vorstellung eine Landschaft mit Bergen und Horizont vor. Doch folgen wir den Anfordernungen der Farbfeld-Maler, dann treten wir nah vor das Bild und versinken ganz in der Wahrnehmung der Farbe. Ohne den sonst gewohnten Abstand bei der Betrachtung des Bildes, hat der Betrachter gar nicht die Chance etwas Wiedererkennbares zu entdecken, sondern ist ausschliesslich der Farbe – dem Erhabenen in der Kunst – ausgeliefert. Das unmittelbare Erleben der Farbe ist das Ziel seiner Werke. „Das Bild wird zum Träger der sinnlich erfahrbaren, materiell greifbaren Idee als Resultat eines ebenso radikalen wie pathetischen bildnerischen Denkens.“ (zit. Walter, Ingo F. (Hrsg.): Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Teil 1, Malerei, Köln 2000, S. 289)
AL HELD
(Brooklyn 1927 - 2005 Camerata/Italy)
Untitled. 1963.
Oil on primed canvas.
Signed and dated on the reverse: Al Held 63.
48.5 x 62 cm.
Provenance:
- Galerie Renée Ziegler, Zurich.
- Purchased from the above in the 1970s, since then privately owned Switzerland.
Al Held, together with Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, was one of the most important Colour Field painters of the United States.
He was born in 1928 in Brooklyn, New York, and at first was not at all interested in art. After dropping out of school in 1945, he served in the US navy for two years. It was only his acquaintance with Nick Krushenick which awakened an interest in art, and he enrolled in drawing and anatomy courses at the Art Students League. From 1950 to 1953 he studied art in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and met Sam Francis. On his return to New York in 1953, Abstract Expressionism with Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning was on everyone’s lips and was to revolutionise art. Al Held found a studio and made the acquaintance of Franz Kline and Mark Rothko; the latter in particular, with his Colour Field Painting, was to have a great influence on Held’s development. In 1956, he was represented for the first time in a group show at the Camino Gallery, and three years later the Poindexter Gallery in New York provided him with his first solo show. The 1960s saw his breakthrough in Europe, where in 1964 he began his collaboration with Galerie Renée Ziegler in Zurich. He participated at documenta in Kassel on various occasions, and numerous museum exhibitions also followed. From 1967 and for several years Held painted exclusively in black and white and excluded any kind of colour from his work, until the beginning of the 1970s. Initially committed to Colour Field painting, gradually contours and forms began to appear, so that his late works would be classified as Hard-Edge painting. From 1962 to 1980 he taught at Yale University. Al Held died in 2005 at his house in Italy.
The present work from 1963 belongs stylistically to Al Held’s Colour Field phase, which is strongly influenced by Rothko and Newman. A bright yellow colour field dominates the picture, which is bordered towards the top by a precise white beam, and terminates below with a soft brown-blue wave. Held skilfully plays with our perception and challenges it, since at first sight our imagination conjures a landscape with mountains and a horizon. Still, if we follow the requirements of Colour Field painting, then we stand close to the picture and sink entirely into a perception of the colour. Without the usual distance when contemplating the picture, the viewer does not have the opportunity of discovering something recognisable, but is entirely exposed to the colour – and the sublime in art. The direct experience of colour is the goal of this work. “The picture becomes the medium for the idea, experienced as sensuous and tangible, as the result of an equally radical and elevated pictorial way of thinking.” (quote from: Walter, Ingo F. (ed.): Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Teil 1, Malerei, Cologne 2000, p. 289)
25.00 % buyer's premium on the hammer price
8.00 % VAT on buyer's premium
- 20.00 % buyer's premium on the amount of the hammer price exceeding 10,000
- 15.00 % buyer's premium on the amount of the hammer price exceeding 400,000
Different tax regulations may apply, if the object is exported to a none-E.U. member country
(Brooklyn 1927 - 2005 Camerata/Italien)
Ohne Titel. 1963.
Öl auf grundierter Leinwand.
Verso signiert und datiert: Al Held 63.
48,5 x 62 cm.
Provenienz:
- Galerie Renée Ziegler, Zürich.
- Dort vom heutigen Besitzer in den 1970er Jahren erworben, seitdem Privatbesitz Schweiz.
Al Held gehört mit Mark Rothko und Barnett Newman zu den bedeutendsten Farbfeldmalern der USA.
1928 wird er in Brooklyn, New York geboren und interessiert sich zunächst überhaupt nicht für Kunst. Nachdem er 1945 die Schule abbricht, dient er für 2 Jahre in der US-Navy. Erst die Bekanntschaft mit Nick Krushenick weckt sein Interesse für Kunst und er schreibt sich für Zeichen- und Anatomiekurse bei der Art Students League ein. 1950/53 studiert er Kunst in Paris an der Académie de la Grande Chaumière und lernt Sam Francis kennen. Bei seiner Rückkehr nach New York im Jahr 1953 ist der Abstrakte Expressionismus von Jackson Pollock und Willem De Kooning in aller Munde und wird die Kunst revolutionieren. Al Held sucht sich ein Studio in New York und macht die Bekanntschaft von Franz Kline und Mark Rothko; vor allem letzterer mit seiner Farbfeldmalerei wird einen grossen Einfluss auf die Entwicklung Helds haben. 1956 ist er mit seinen Arbeiten erstmals in einer Gruppenausstellung der Camino Gallery vertreten, drei Jahre später stattet die Poindexter Gallery in New York ihm seine erste Einzelausstellung aus. In den 1960er Jahren erfolgt sein Durchbruch in Europa, wo er 1964 seine Zusammenarbeit mit der Galerie Renée Ziegler in Zürich beginnt. Diverse Teilnahmen an der documenta in Kassel sowie zahlreiche Museumsausstellungen folgen. Ab 1967 malt Held für einige Jahre ausschliesslich in Schwarz und Weiss und verbannt jegliche Farbe bis zu Beginn der 1970er Jahre aus seinen Werken. Anfänglich der Farbfeldmalerei verschrieben, nehmen im Laufe der Zeit Konturen und Formen zu, so dass er in seinem späteren Oeuvre der Hard-Edge Malerei zuzuordnen ist. Von 1962 – 1980 lehrt er an der Yale University. 2005 verstirbt Al Held in seinem Haus in Italien.
Das vorliegende Werk aus dem Jahr 1963 gehört stilistisch in Al Helds Phase der Farbfeldmalerei, die stark von Rothko und Newman beeinflusst ist. Ein leuchtend gelber Farbraum beherrscht das Bild, das nach oben hin durch einen exakten weissen Balken hin begrenzt wird, nach unten aber durch eine weiche braun-blaue Welle einen Abschluss findet. Eindrücklich spielt Held mit unserer Wahrnehmung und fordert sie heraus, denn auf den ersten Blick spinnt uns unsere Vorstellung eine Landschaft mit Bergen und Horizont vor. Doch folgen wir den Anfordernungen der Farbfeld-Maler, dann treten wir nah vor das Bild und versinken ganz in der Wahrnehmung der Farbe. Ohne den sonst gewohnten Abstand bei der Betrachtung des Bildes, hat der Betrachter gar nicht die Chance etwas Wiedererkennbares zu entdecken, sondern ist ausschliesslich der Farbe – dem Erhabenen in der Kunst – ausgeliefert. Das unmittelbare Erleben der Farbe ist das Ziel seiner Werke. „Das Bild wird zum Träger der sinnlich erfahrbaren, materiell greifbaren Idee als Resultat eines ebenso radikalen wie pathetischen bildnerischen Denkens.“ (zit. Walter, Ingo F. (Hrsg.): Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Teil 1, Malerei, Köln 2000, S. 289)
AL HELD
(Brooklyn 1927 - 2005 Camerata/Italy)
Untitled. 1963.
Oil on primed canvas.
Signed and dated on the reverse: Al Held 63.
48.5 x 62 cm.
Provenance:
- Galerie Renée Ziegler, Zurich.
- Purchased from the above in the 1970s, since then privately owned Switzerland.
Al Held, together with Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, was one of the most important Colour Field painters of the United States.
He was born in 1928 in Brooklyn, New York, and at first was not at all interested in art. After dropping out of school in 1945, he served in the US navy for two years. It was only his acquaintance with Nick Krushenick which awakened an interest in art, and he enrolled in drawing and anatomy courses at the Art Students League. From 1950 to 1953 he studied art in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and met Sam Francis. On his return to New York in 1953, Abstract Expressionism with Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning was on everyone’s lips and was to revolutionise art. Al Held found a studio and made the acquaintance of Franz Kline and Mark Rothko; the latter in particular, with his Colour Field Painting, was to have a great influence on Held’s development. In 1956, he was represented for the first time in a group show at the Camino Gallery, and three years later the Poindexter Gallery in New York provided him with his first solo show. The 1960s saw his breakthrough in Europe, where in 1964 he began his collaboration with Galerie Renée Ziegler in Zurich. He participated at documenta in Kassel on various occasions, and numerous museum exhibitions also followed. From 1967 and for several years Held painted exclusively in black and white and excluded any kind of colour from his work, until the beginning of the 1970s. Initially committed to Colour Field painting, gradually contours and forms began to appear, so that his late works would be classified as Hard-Edge painting. From 1962 to 1980 he taught at Yale University. Al Held died in 2005 at his house in Italy.
The present work from 1963 belongs stylistically to Al Held’s Colour Field phase, which is strongly influenced by Rothko and Newman. A bright yellow colour field dominates the picture, which is bordered towards the top by a precise white beam, and terminates below with a soft brown-blue wave. Held skilfully plays with our perception and challenges it, since at first sight our imagination conjures a landscape with mountains and a horizon. Still, if we follow the requirements of Colour Field painting, then we stand close to the picture and sink entirely into a perception of the colour. Without the usual distance when contemplating the picture, the viewer does not have the opportunity of discovering something recognisable, but is entirely exposed to the colour – and the sublime in art. The direct experience of colour is the goal of this work. “The picture becomes the medium for the idea, experienced as sensuous and tangible, as the result of an equally radical and elevated pictorial way of thinking.” (quote from: Walter, Ingo F. (ed.): Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Teil 1, Malerei, Cologne 2000, p. 289)
25.00 % buyer's premium on the hammer price
8.00 % VAT on buyer's premium
- 20.00 % buyer's premium on the amount of the hammer price exceeding 10,000
- 15.00 % buyer's premium on the amount of the hammer price exceeding 400,000
Different tax regulations may apply, if the object is exported to a none-E.U. member country
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3. Disclaimer
3.1 The items are auctioned in the condition existing at the time of the successful bid.
3.2 The items are described to the best of our knowledge and belief. However, Koller cannot accept any liability for the details provided in the catalogue. The items can be inspected during the preview. The Purchaser is therefore invited to inspect an item prior to the auction and, possibly with the support of an independent specialist advisor, to form its own opinion of the correspondence between the lot and the catalogue description. For the specifications of the items the print edition of the catalogue in the German language (including any later amendments) shall be exclusively applicable. Koller reserves the right to call in experts or specialists of its choice to give an opinion and to rely upon that opinion. Koller cannot be held liable for the correctness of such opinions. Neither any such expert opinions or reports, nor the descriptions of items provided by Koller or other statements pertaining to an item (including statements pertaining to the value thereof) constitute explicit or implicit warranties.
3.3 Subject to Clause 4 below, no guarantee or warranty whatsoever is given in respect of legal and material defects. The liabilities of the Seller vis-à-vis the Purchaser are limited to the same extent as the liabilities of Koller vis-à-vis the Purchaser.
4. Guarantee for forged items
4.1 Koller shall reverse the purchase (subject to Clauses 4.2 and 4.3 below) and shall reimburse the purchase price and the surcharge (incl. VAT) to the Purchaser if the item proves to be a forgery. A “forgery” shall be deemed to exist if the item in the reasonable opinion of Koller is an imitation created with the intention of causing a deception with respect to the originator, age, period, culture or source, where the correct description of such content is not reflected in the auction catalogue (taking account of any additions), and where this circumstance significantly impairs the value of the item in comparison to an item corresponding to the catalogue description. A lot shall not be deemed to have been forged if it is merely damaged and/or has been subjected to restoration work and/or modifications of any nature whatsoever.
4.2 The guarantee given to the Purchaser in accordance with the above provision shall not be applicable at the discretion of Koller if:
(i) the description of the item in the auction catalogue was supported by the view of a specialist or by the prevailing view of specialists, or if the description in the auction catalogue suggested that differences of opinion exist in this respect;
(ii) the forgery was not identifiable as such at the time of the successful bid in accordance with the current state of research and with the generally acknowledged and usual methods, or only with disproportionate effort;
(iii) the forgery (in Koller’s careful view) was produced before 1880; or
(iv) the purchase item is a painting, watercolour, a drawing or sculpture which according to the details set out in the auction catalogue should have been created prior to 1880.
4.3 This guarantee is applicable from the day of the successful bid for a period of two (2) years (three (3) weeks for jewellery). It shall be granted exclusively to the Purchaser and may not be assigned to any third party. Assertion of the guarantee claim shall be conditional upon the Purchaser making a complaint to Koller by registered letter immediately after the discovery of the defect, and returning the purchase item to Koller in the same condition as it was handed over to him and unencumbered by third parties' claims. The Purchaser must provide proof that the item is a forgery. Koller may demand that the Purchaser obtains at his own expense expert opinions from two independent individuals who are recognised experts in the field. However, Koller shall not be bound by any such expert opinion, and reserves the right to obtain additional expert advice at its own expense.
4.4 Koller may at its complete discretion waive the assertion of grounds for exclusion pursuant to the above Clause 4.2 or the fulfilment of preconditions pursuant to the above Clause 4.3.
4.5 The claims of the Purchaser against Koller under Clause 4.1 are limited to the reimbursement of the purchase price and surcharge (incl. VAT) paid by the Purchaser. Further or other claims of the Purchaser against Koller or its employees are excluded under any legal title whatsoever.
5. Participation in the auction
5.1 Any party may participate in an auction as a Purchaser. However, Koller reserves the right at its complete discretion to prevent any person entering its premises or attending or participating in its auctions.
5.2 Purchasers who are not personally known to Koller must register at least 48 hours before the auction, using the form provided for this purpose. A copy of the passport of the Purchaser must be enclosed with registration, signed with legal effect. In the event of every payment default of the Purchaser, Koller shall be entitled to charge the credit card of the Purchaser in accordance with the details provided on the registration form up to the level of the owed sum plus the expenses of the card provider.
5.3 If a Purchaser who is unknown to Koller is planning to bid for items with upper estimated values of more than CHF 15 000, he shall be required to present to Koller in advance a certificate of creditworthiness issued by a bank approved by Koller.
5.4 In the case of bids for items with upper estimated values of more than CHF 30 000, Koller may demand that the Purchaser first remits 20 % of the lower estimated value as security. Following the auction, Koller will offset this sum against its claims and the claims of the Seller, and will reimburse any possible surpluses to the Purchaser without delay.
6. Auction
6.1 Koller may initiate the auctioning of an item below the minimum selling price agreed upon with the Seller. A bid placed at an auction is a binding offer. The bidder shall remain bound by his bid until this is either outbid or rejected by Koller. Double bids shall immediately be called once again; in case of doubt, the auction management shall decide.
6.2 Koller may refuse a bid either without giving reasons or if a Purchaser fails to fulfil the conditions for participation in an auction pursuant to the above Clauses 5.2 to 5.4. Koller may also knock down or withdraw auctioned items without a sale even if this is not apparent to the auction participants.
6.3 Koller reserves the right to combine, separate or omit numbered lots in the catalogue or to offer them out of sequence. Koller reserves the right to sell lots “conditionally” at its sole discretion, in which event the hammer price will be considered as conditional and the highest bidder will remain bound by his bid for 14 days following the auction. The highest bidder will be released from all obligations if he does not receive a statement from Koller within this period declaring the hammer price as final.
6.4 Written bids from potential Purchasers who cannot attend the auction in person are accepted up to 48 hours before the bidding begins.
6.5 Potential Purchasers may bid by telephone if they have given written notice at least 48 hours before the auction starts. Koller does not accept telephone bids for amounts under CHF 500 and Purchasers are requested to leave a written bid or participate in the salesroom.
6.6 Potential Purchasers who intend to place their bids in the course of an Online Auction via the internet may participate in the auction once their registration applications have been approved by Koller. Koller reserves the right to decline registration applications at its discretion.
6.7 Koller refuses all liability for any kind of bids as well as advance notifications of telephone bidding which are not taken into consideration. Telephone bidders and persons giving written instructions are also subject to the provisions of Clause 5 relating to proof of identity and financial soundness. In the case of Purchasers who place bids in the course of an Online Auction via the internet, Clause 5 only applies with regards to financial soundness.
7. Transfer of title
Ownership of an auctioned item shall be transferred to the Purchaser as soon as the purchase price and the surcharge (incl. VAT) have been comprehensively paid and Koller has attributed these payments to the corresponding item.
8. Collection of the auctioned items
8.1 The auctioned items must be collected at the Purchaser's own expense within 7 days from the end of the auction during official opening hours. If time permits, the items may be handed over after each auction session. The handover shall be performed following comprehensive payment of the purchase price as well as the surcharge (incl. VAT) and the attribution of this sum to the auctioned item by Koller. Cheques offered as payment must be confirmed by the drawee bank before the auctioned item is handed over.
8.2 During the aforementioned period Koller shall be liable for loss, theft, damage or destruction of items which have been auctioned and paid for, but only up to the total of the auction price, surcharge and VAT. Koller ceases to have liability after the aforementioned period, and the Purchaser shall be responsible for ensuring adequate insurance cover for the auctioned item. No liability can be assumed for frames and glass. If the auctioned items are not collected within 7 days, Koller will store the works at a company of their choice at the purchaser’s own risk and expense or on their own premises at a daily rate of CHF 10 per object.
8.3 Transport orders may be sent to Koller in writing. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, transport insurance shall be taken out for the sold items at the expense of the Purchaser. Glazed pictures and fragile items shall not be sent by Koller.
9. Payment for the auctioned items
9.1 The invoice for a successful bid for an auctioned item is payable within 7 days from the end of the auction. Irrespective of the Purchaser's instructions, Koller may use any payments by the Purchaser as settlement for any debt owed by the Purchaser to Koller or the Seller and set off any debt which it owes to the Purchaser against its own claims. If the Purchaser defaults on a payment, default interest of 10 % p.a. shall be charged on top of the invoiced sum.
9.2 If the Purchaser does not pay or does not pay promptly, Koller may moreover in its own name and in the Seller's name optionally (i) insist on the fulfilment of the purchase agreement or (ii) without further notice withdraw from the purchase agreement and waive the subsequent performance of the Purchaser or assert a claim for compensation for non-performance; in the latter case Koller shall also be entitled, irrespective of a possible minimum sales price, to sell the item either directly or on the occasion of an auction, and may use the proceeds to reduce the debts of the Purchaser. Any possible sales price above the original hammer price shall be paid out to the Seller. The Purchaser is liable to Koller and the Seller for all prejudice caused by non-payment or late payment.
9.3 Koller retains a right of retention and a lien on all the Purchaser's items in its custody until full payment of all monies owed. Koller may exercise such liens in accordance with the legislation on the enforcement of debts or by private sale (including in its own name). The plea of prior lien exploitation pursuant to Art. 41 of the Swiss Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Act is excluded.
10. Representation
Each Purchaser shall be personally liable for the bid placed by him. Proof of the power of representation may be requested from persons bidding as agents for a third party or as an organ of a corporate body. The agent shall be jointly and severally liable with his principal for the fulfilment of all obligations.
11. Miscellaneous provisions
11.1 The auction shall be attended by an official from the city of Zurich. The attending official, the local authority and the state have no liability for the acts of Koller.
11.2 Koller reserves the right to publish illustrations and photographs of sold items in its own publications and the media and to publicise its services therewith.
11.3 The aforementioned provisions form part of each individual purchase agreement concluded at the auction. Amendments are binding only with Koller's written agreement.
11.4 The present Auction Conditions and all amendments thereof are governed by Swiss law.
11.5 The courts of the Canton of Zurich shall be exclusively responsible for settling disputes (including the assertion of offsetting and counterclaims) which arise out of or in conjunction with these Auction Conditions (including their validity, legal effect, interpretation or fulfilment). Koller may, however, initiate legal proceedings before any other competent court.
