Christie’s to auction Dennis Hopper art collection in November

NEW YORK – Christie’s has announced it will auction The Dennis Hopper Collection during its Post-War & Contemporary Evening and Day Sales in New York on Nov. 10 and 11, 2010. The late Hopper (1936-May 29, 2010), who fused film with fine art throughout his influential 60-year career, culled a comprehensive collection of contemporary art, including prized works by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat.  The actor-artist’s collection is expected to realize over $10 million.

Earlier this year, Hopper stated: “You can’t have preconceived ideas. You have to live in the moment. You have to keep yourself open.” It is a mantra the actor and art collector followed through much of his adult life.

Under the tutelage of actor Vincent Price – who was known also for his art collection – and inspired by James Dean, with whom he acted in Rebel Without a Cause in 1955, Hopper took an interest in the arts early on, from photography to painting, assemblage and sculpture. With Price’s encouragement, underscored by a vigor for all things anti-establishment, Hopper pursued his own art as well as collected the works of then-fledgling artists such as Warhol, Basquiat, Claes Oldenburg, Julian Schnabel and Richard Prince.

Hopper counted many contemporary artists as friends and creative peers. His seminal Easy Rider — the 1969 film about two counterculture bikers that travel cross country in search of America, which he wrote, starred in and directed alongside Peter Fonda and a young Jack Nicholson — earned him respect in both acting and artistic circles. He went on to act in several paradigm-shifting films, such as Blue Velvet, with Isabella Rossellini, and Apocalypse Now, opposite Marlon Brando.

Hopper once said: “I am just a middle-class farm boy from Dodge City… I thought painting, acting, directing and photography was all part of being an artist. I have made my money that way and I have had some fun. It has not been a bad life.”

Hopper was on the forefront of the pop art movement, and was noted for buying Warhol’s first Campbell’s Soup Can for $75, at the artist’s first show in Los Angeles.  The works of Wallace Berman and Bruce Connor that Hopper collected emerged from a “beat generation” aesthetic. Other artists whose work he collected include Donald Baechler, John Baldessari, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and Robert Rauschenberg.

This summer, Julian Schnabel, whose work Hopper also collected, curated Dennis Hopper Double Standard, Hopper’s first, comprehensive museum retrospective in the U.S. at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Hopper has had monographic exhibitions outside the U.S., but being appreciated in his own country was insurmountable to him, as he supported mostly American artists himself.

“Dennis Hopper went from cultural icon with Easy Rider to a multifaceted artist and art collector,” said Cathy Elkies, director of Private and Corporate Collections at Christie’s. “His relationships with artists reflect his dynamism and forward-thinking.”

Andrew Massad, senior vice president and International Contemporary specialist at Christie’s, called Hopper an influential free spirit. “Hopper had a fierce individualism and he was an auteur in the realm of popular culture,” said Massad. “He was always his own man and he collected works that linked to his life and his lifestyle.  He lived the art.  He was part of the moment.”

Highlights from The Collection of Dennis Hopper include Basquiat’s Untitled 1987, executed in acrylic, oil stick and graphite (estimate: $5 million to $7 million) as well as Warhol’s Portrait of Dennis Hopper 1971, in synthetic polymer and silkscreen ink (estimate: $800,000 -$1,200,000) in shades of blue, gray and ecru. The two works will be presented for sale at Christie’s Post-War &Contemporary Evening Sale on Nov.10. An additional single-owner section from the Hopper estate will be featured at the Post-War & Contemporary Days sale the following day.

Christie’s will host a sale of prints, smaller works and other memorabilia from The Dennis Hopper Collection in January 2011 during Christie’s Interiors Sale.

Auction Central News will publish a detailed preview in advance of the auction later this year.

Visit Christie’s online at www.christies.com.

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