Wayne Thiebaud's 'Four Pinball Machines' painting could fetch $25M at auction
Wayne Thiebaud 1962 "Four Pinball Machines" painting will be auctioned off at Christie's
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Christie’s is auctioning off a rare pinball painting reportedly owned by California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s father-in-law that could fetch $25 million.
The 1962 canvas “Four Pinball Machines,” by American artist Wayne Thiebaud (Christies)
The 1962 canvas “Four Pinball Machines,” by American artist Wayne Thiebaud, was last auctioned in 1981 and collected a record $143,000 bought by real-estate developer Donald Bren, the chairman of private landowner Irvine Co., according to the provenance provided by Christie’s. Bren sold the painting to Newsom's father-in-law, Ken Siebel, an investment manager, and his wife, Judy, Bloomberg reported.
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Siebel cited estate planning reasons for parting with the piece, which will be auctioned at Christie’s upcoming “One: A Global Sale of the 20th Century,” opening July 10.
Thiebaud is best known for his colorful Pop art images that show ordinary objects like pies, ice cream cones, lips sticks and paint cans. His "Four Pinball Machines," which, actually features five of the beloved arcade games, was last seen in public at the Whitney Museum of American Art 20 years ago.
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When "Four Pinball Machines" was executed, the seemingly innocent coin game was controversial. It was banned throughout many U.S. cities when players started to gamble on games, with school kids skipping class to play.
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"Four Pinball Machines" is slated to more than double the artist’s world auction record currently held by "Encased Cakes," 2011, which sold for $8.5 million in November 2019.
"Four Pinball Machines is a painting that combines all of the qualities that people treasure about Thiebaud’s work: an iconic subject imbued with American nostalgia, the joyful palette and the masterly quality of the expressionistic brushstrokes," Alex Rotter, chairman of post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s said in a statement, adding: "This work is the most important example by the artist in private hands, and we are honored to be able to offer it."