http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/10/arts/design/for-sale-the-first-artwork-de-kooning-saw-every-workday-.html 2014-10-10 01:25:12 For Sale: The First Artwork de Kooning Saw Every Workday The estate of Willem de Kooning’s daughter is selling “Clamdigger,” a 1972 sculpture that stood in the entry of his studio. === Willem de Kooning When “Clamdigger,” one of his best-known bronze sculptures, comes up for sale at Christie’s on Nov. 12, it will be a test of whether that freshness has endured. Executed in 1972, while he was living and working in the Springs on the eastern end of Long Island, the work was inspired by the clam diggers he would see working on the beach every day. And this sculpture — one of 25 he created from 1969 to 1974 — is his only full-size male figure. For these large sculptures, he would first construct an armature out of wood and metal over which he would then mold the wet clay, building up layers of what became a gnarled, tactile figure with somewhat Neanderthal features: a small head, sunken eyes and oversize feet. “It is a depiction of the artist himself,” said Brett Gorvy, Christie’s worldwide chairman of postwar and contemporary art. “It is the closest de Kooning came to a self-portrait and was created specifically at a time when he was pushing the boundaries.” What makes this particular “Clamdigger” special is that the artist had kept it for himself, placing it at the entrance to his studio as if it were a mirror into his soul. When he died in 1997, his daughter, Lisa de Kooning, inherited the sculpture. She died two years ago, and it became part of a trust for the benefit of her three daughters, who decided to sell “Clamdigger” to pay taxes on their mother’s estate. In a statement, they said, “We certainly hope it will find a new home as wonderful as the de Kooning studio, where it guarded the entryway for so many years.” REUNION AT THE FRICK Curators at the Both artists were followers of the Aesthetic Movement, although in different ways, Ms. Galassi said. Leighton recorded his subjects in a highly polished, elaborate style, whereas Whistler tended to simplify forms. WHAT BACALL LOVED Here are some little-known facts about Bacall, who died in August, would go antiquing in Los Angeles, New York and any place she could when she was on the road performing in out-of-town plays, according to Jon King, director of Bonhams in New York. Now, some 700 lots, estimated to bring about $3 million, will be up for sale at Bonhams in New York. While the bulk of the art and objects will be sold in March, two sculptures by Moore will be sold on Nov. 4. One of them, “Working Model for Reclining Figure: Bone Skirt,” cast in 1977-79, is estimated to sell for $600,000 to $800,000. STEEL AND GRANITE When the sculptor Walter De Maria died in July 2013, he left no will and a stash of artworks — sculptures, drawings and archival material, including notes about projects — in his Manhattan studio, a former Con Edison substation on the Lower East Side. While he was perhaps best known for the earthworks like “The Lightning Field,” a vast grid of 400 stainless steel poles covering an area a mile wide in western New Mexico, he also created conceptual and Minimalist sculptures and paintings. On Nov. 8 the Gagosian Gallery will be presenting the first show from De Maria’s estate. It will be the second exhibition of his work in that space (the first was in 1989, when de Maria joined the gallery). “For some people, the show will be an eye-opener,” said Larry Gagosian, the super-dealer who had worked with De Maria for about 20 years. On view will be several major sculptures in stainless steel and granite as well as works on paper. Some had never left the studio until now. “He kept pretty good records, and we’re planning to do an inclusive monograph,” Mr. Gagosian added. “Walter was never interested in money. That wasn’t a priority.” But he talked about setting up a foundation to oversee his legacy, something Mr. Gagosian said he was in the process of doing. The foundation will be separate from the gallery and have its own advisory board.