An iconic photograph from 1978, Untitled Film Still #21 by Cindy Sherman, is auctioning tomorrow (March 9) at Sotheby's New York. The work could bring as much as $200,000 - you can read more about it here.
Or if you can't wait until tomorrow's Sotheby's auction, then another iconic image by Sherman is auctioning in New York later today.
Sherman's clown images are among her best-known recent works. Typical features in the photographs include flamboyant costumes, riotous make-up and digitally touched-up backgrounds, colours and patterns.
You have to wonder if Sherman feared clowns during her childhood. Many of the artist's clown images explore the boundaries between humour and horror mixed with digitally-enhanced lushness. With these photographs, Cindy explores the underlying pathos of happy, or nasty, clowns.
 Untitled #426, a rare clown photograph by Cindy Sherman |
While Sherman's Untitled Film Still #21 dates to the '70s, her clown works were captured more recently in the 2000s. They have exhibited at the Serpentine Gallery, London, and elsewhere and never fail to draw plenty of attention.
This particular image, Untitled #426, dates to 2004 and measures 79 1/2 x 54 3/4 inches. It is signed, numbered and dated "Cindy Sherman, 2004, 5/6".
The work is number five from an edition of six. Given its rarity, and Sherman's immense influence as a 20th century artist, the photograph's $300,000-500,000 presale estimate should prove a realistic valuation in this New York auction.
There seems to be a lot of art market buzz surrounding Cindy Sherman at the moment. Watch this space for more news on sales of her rare photographs.
