A rabbit sculpture by US artist Jeff Koons has achieved a record price at auction in New York. As the auction house Christie's announced, the silver sculpture "Rabbit" was auctioned on Wednesday for 91.1 million dollars, which are the equivalent of about 81.2 million euros. The identity of the buyer is not known yet.
Thus, the previous record price for the work of a living artist was exceeded again: the record last held a painting by the British painter David Hockney. "Pool of two figures" was auctioned last November for around $ 90.3 million.
Previously, Koons's "Balloon Dog (Orange)" sculpture had held the record for years: it had been auctioned at auction in New York in 2013 for $ 58.4 million.
The 1.04 meter high sculpture "Rabbit" is one of the most famous works of the US artist. On display is a faceless hare with carrot. "He has a carrot on his lips," the auction house quotes artist Koons. Is it a masturbator, is it a politician on a notice, is it the 'playboy' hare? ... it's all that. "
Seth Wenig / AP
"Rabbit" in the auction house Christie's
Koons created the sculpture in 1986, there are a total of three copies and one artist's copy. A sculpture belongs to the Broad Foundation in Los Angeles; another will soon be on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. The sculpture, which was auctioned now, was last part of the collection of the US publisher Samuel Irving Newhouse, who died in 2017. He owned the publishing house Condé Nast, which publishes the magazines Vanity Fair, Vogue, and New Yorker. Christie's had estimated the value in advance to 80 million dollars.