Josef Albers Study for Homage to the Square Makes $262,900 Million at Heritage Auction

A work by Bauhaus master Josef Albers, Study for Homage to the Square: Stucco Setting, 1958, brought $262,900 as the top lot in Heritage Auctions’ $1,552,954 Signature® Modern & Contemporary Art Auction, providing the principal fireworks in an auction that saw strong prices realized across the board for a wide array of 20th century masters.

Josef Albers, Study for Homage to the Square: Stucco Setting, 1958, brought $262,900

“The strong price on the Albers painting was indicative of the continued demand for works of this level that we are continuing to see from collectors,” said Frank Hettig, Director of Modern & Contemporary Art at Heritage. “This proved especially true as it concerned mid-century American Modern painters, with a majority of examples exceeding pre-auction estimates.”

Other Notable Lots

A rare early work by Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein, The assimiboins attacking a blackfoot village at fort mckenzies – 28 august 1833, circa 1951, was the subject of several rounds of spirited bidding, rising to $95,600 before the smoke cleared, almost four times its pre-auction estimate of $25,000+.

One of the most interesting surprises of the auction came in the form of American Minimalist Jo Baer’s Untitled (Double Bar Orange), 1972, which brought $83,650 – doubling its $40,000+ pre-auction estimate – as several determined bidders sought it out. Alexander Calder also showed his enduring popularity as a pair of his paintings, Vertical Loops, 1968, and Dream Figments, 1964, both came in well above their pre-auction estimates, bringing $83,650 and $65,725 respectively.