Jackson Pollock’s 213.4 x 142.1 cmThe Blue Unconscious painting will be offered at auction by Sotheby’s New York this spring. The Contemporary art Evening Sale will take place on May 14, about half a year after the auction house set a new auction record for the fabled artist: over $40 million for Number 4, 1951.
The Blue Unconscious last emerged on the market in 1965 and spent almost half a century in one private collection. This is an early abstract canvas of Pollock’s, created in 1946 as part of the “Sounds in the Grass” series of seven paintings. It is a precursor of the artist’s instantly recognizable drip works, which he only started ‘painting’ the following year.
Expert estimates put this piece of art in the $20-$30 million range of presale estimates, but there’s always a chance for bidders to surprise everybody and maybe even set a new Pollock record. Before the auction in May, the canvas will be displayed at the auction house’s Los Angeles galleries, then in London, and finally in New York, after the sale.
