Hard To Find Names Anchor Bruneau's Modern & Contemporary Art Auction

By Author: Jil Evans
Total Articles: 5
Comment this article

Hard to Find Names Anchor Bruneau's Modern & Contemporary Art Auction

In European academic traditions, fine art is art developed primarily for aesthetics or beauty, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork.

When it comes to collecting fine art and fine art auction in 2021, tastes have changed from thirty years ago. Previously, the market had been dominated by traditional subject matters. Premiere evening and daytime auctions commonly featured Old Master’s, colonial American art, Hudson River School, and Dutch Painting amongst other things. Back in 1990, modern and contemporary art auctions were happening, but the market was nothing like it is today.
Here are our Top Picks from the upcoming auction with some useful collector tips:

As a collector in today’s art world, saying you own an Eddie Martinez will make heads spin faster than doing a doughnut in a Ferrari at 200mph. The Brooklyn based artist has had a momentous 18 months in the auction scene with a top result ...
... of just over $2 million a year ago on November 23, 2019, followed by a second million-dollar painting on July 10, 2020. Outside the monetary aspect, his career has landed him several solo museum exhibitions including the Yuz Museum, Shanghai (2019-2020), Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit (2019), and The Bronx Museum (2018) amongst others. In recent news, the artist joined the roster of Blum & Poe with a solo exhibition planned for their Los Angeles space in 2021.

Modern and contemporary African art has been a leading category internationally throughout auctions with records being continually set and broken. Ben Enwonwu is the epitome of that statement. Outside of the retinal pleasures of his work Enwonwu was a leading figure and voice behind the break from colonialism in Nigeria. His market record was set earlier this year for $1.6 million after experiencing an accelerated growth over the past two years. This new to the market painting depicts Constance “Afi” Ekong (1930-2009), noted Nigerian female artist and advocate for the arts and development of a free Nigeria. The painting was acquired from the estate of Adelaide M. Cromwell (1919-2019), Harvard Ph.D. graduate and Boston University professor who founded their African Studies center in 1959. The combination of artist, subject matter, and provenance makes this a true piece of African art history.