Untitled

The present lot is the first collaboration between two superstars of the 1980s New York art scene, Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. The pair first met in 1982, and this study for the poster for the 20th Montreux Jazz Festival—commissioned by the art director, Pierre Keller—was created four years later. Origins of this collaboration began in 1982 when Keller and Haring were introduced, not long after Haring’s first exhibition at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York. The year after, Haring agreed to design the poster, Keller brought Warhol on, and the pairing was forged. The story goes that the day before the design was due and Keller was leaving New York, nothing was done. In a stroke of inspiration, Haring suggested that Warhol draw a series of staves, and Haring would draw figures dancing on the lines, resembling musical notes. The duo then painted the poster red and yellow, which reminded Keller of the bottle design for the prominent Swiss seasoning, Maggi. Warhol and Haring finished the poster just in time, and Keller took it with him, the typography and signatures arriving in the mail a few days later.

Christie’s is delighted to offer works from the esteemed collection of Professor Laurent Jacob. The son of Professor Francois Jacob, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1965 and himself a loyal friend of Pierre Soulages and Zao Wou-Ki, Professor Jacob has developed an astute and audacious taste for contemporary art. Professor Jacob’s collecting journey began with some of the most innovative artists of the 1960s, such as Lucio Fontana and Yves Klein. Yet, wishing to bear witness to the abundant creativity of his own time, Professor Jacob soon began to acquire both established contemporary artists, such as Keith Haring and David Hammons, as well as younger, emerging talents, such as Jeff Sonhouse and Rashid Johnson. With an energetic curiosity and unbridled passion, Professor Jacob has built a significant and thoroughly contemporary collection, consistently anchored by some of the most sought-after artists of the 21st century. Highlights from the November selection include a unique collaboration between Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, an important early work by Mark Bradford, a splendid Kool-Aid work by David Hammons, and a large-scale tapestry by New York artist Noel W. Anderson.