''Black Fire I'' is an oil on canvas

abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

painting by

Barnett Newman Barnett Newman (January 29, 1905 – July 4, 1970) was an American artist. He has been critically regarded as one of the major figures of abstract expressionism, and one of the foremost color field painters. His paintings explore the sense o ...

, completed in 1961.

Background

''Black Fire I'' was sold to a private collector for $84.2 million ($84,165,000) on May 13, 2014, at Rockefeller Plaza in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, after a telephone bidding war, exceeding the estimations of $50 million made by the organizing house,

Christie’s Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

References

{{20C-painting-stub Works by Barnett Newman 1961 paintings

Background

See also

References