Rare 2012 Sotheby's London Contemporary Art Evening Auction Catalog – Jean-Michel Basquiat Cover ("Orange Sports Figure", 1982)

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Description

A premier piece of contemporary art ephemera and institutional provenance. This scarce, lavishly produced auction catalog was published exclusively for … Read more A premier piece of contemporary art ephemera and institutional provenance. This scarce, lavishly produced auction catalog was published exclusively for Sotheby’s marquee Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London on February 15, 2012 (Sale L12020)—an evening recognized among modern collectors for setting critical benchmark valuations across the post-war market.

​The Cover & Featured Masterwork

​Commanding the front wrap is a full-bleed, vibrant reproduction of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s seminal 1982 masterpiece, "Orange Sports Figure" (Lot 23). Produced during Basquiat’s golden year—the peak creative explosion following his breakout Modena and Annina Nosei shows—the cover showcases his unmistakable visual language: the iconic crowned, grimacing skull-head, electric cobalt and ochre palette, raw gestural energy, and layered symbolic mark-making.

​Collector & Curatorial Significance

​Unlike standard exhibition retrospectives, single-evening contemporary auction catalogs from blue-chip houses like Sotheby's and Christie's are issued in strictly limited, private distribution runs for registered evening bidders and premier VIP clients. Many were discarded or archived by institutions, making well-preserved survivor copies increasingly rare and sought-after.

​Inside, the catalog features full-page color plates, gatefolds, and authoritative scholarly entries covering landmark works by:

​Jean-Michel Basquiat (featuring both Orange Sports Figure and Untitled [Slingshot])

​Gerhard Richter

​Yves Klein

​Lucio Fontana

​Andy Warhol & Damien Hirst

​Display & Interior Styling

​Whether acquired as secondary documentation for an art collection or showcased as an intentional styling object, this volume offers an immediate punch of museum-tier Pop/Neo-Expressionist character. It is substantial enough to anchor a cocktail table stack or display upright in an acrylic book stand on a modernist bookcase or console. See less