Softcover
2014 · New York
by Schjeldahl, Peter
New York: Christie's, 2014. Softcover. VG (slight scuffs to covers). One ink stamp on title-page at top right. Black & illus. wraps, French flaps, 142 pp., many color and some BW illus. Issued in conjunction with a 2014 auction of this particular sculpture rendered by Dutch-American abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning (1904-1997). This is an extensive publication, with much background and many illustrations regarding the artist and the piece. "Willem de Kooning's Clamdigger is one of the most remarkable works of art to have been produced in the last fifty years and in many ways stands as a highly personal invocation of the spirit of its creator. Having remained in the artist's personal collection since its inception, the close bond between de Kooning and this particular work is almost palpable. For the last four decades Clamdigger has stood guard at the entrance to de Kooning's studio in Springs, New York—a place he moved to in the early 1960s to escape what he regarded as the distractions of Manhattan. The east end of Long Island became a haven for the artist, a place where he had the space and freedom to reflect on a life lived, and the life still to come. Here, Clamdigger became de Kooning's Adam, an object created in his own image and every day, as he entered the studio, the artist would confront this sculpture. Looking into its noble features he could face himself, exposed in a raw state, and reflect on not only his own mortality, but also on the countless possibilities still to come." (Christie's web site) The Clamdigger sold for $29 million.
(Inventory #: 152839)