Monday, March 8, 2010

The Four Paintings from Crichton’s Collection


As I noted on in my Feb. 8 post, four paintings from Michael Crichton’s collection are going to be auctioned off at Christies in New York on May 11. The four paintings are:

Flag by Jasper Johns (1960-66)

Femme et Filettes (Woman and Children) by Pablo Picasso (1961)

Studio Painting (Combine) by Robert Rauschenberg (1960-61)

Girl in Water by Roy Lichtenstein (1965)

All of the paintings can be seen along with an article at the Italian art website Art Economy 24. The article can be read in the original Italian or in an English translation.
(Scroll down to the bottom to see the four paintings from Crichton’s collection)

In an article about the auction, Crichton is quoted:
I never really cared whether a particular piece was major or minor, typical or atypical of the artist’s work, or whether the artist was fully or thinly represented in my collection,” Crichton wrote. “I just bought images that I enjoyed looking at, and in the end, that is the only significance that I attach to them. I feel fortunate to have been able to live with the works.


A spokesperson for the Crichton family stated (in the same article):

“Michael was a visionary. He loved art and treasured his relationships with artists. It is a very difficult decision to sell works that have had such a personal place in his world. We are confident that the auctions and exhibitions at Christie’s will commemorate Michael’s eye and deep passion for art.”


This photo from the Architectural Digest July 2002 issue shows Jasper Johns’ Flag hanging in the library of Crichton’s Bedford, New York home. In other photos from the article (not available online), Picasso’s Femme et Filettes (Woman and Children) is seen on a wall in Crichton’s living room, and Lichtenstein’s Girl in Water is visible on the wall of the hallway opposite the master bedroom door.

An April 1998 article in Architectural Digest focused on Crichton’s Los Angeles home and contains this quote from Crichton:

“Art should be looked at when you want to look at it…I have enough demands on my life without a painting requiring my attention when I come home.”


Related Posts:
Paintings from Crichton’s Art Collection to be Auctioned Off

Links and more info on Michael Crichton at:
Kahlessa's Corner

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