A deep-pocketed collector with room to spare could snare one of the most famous contemporary sculptures in her or his web next month, when Louise Bourgeois’ famed “Spider” hits the auction block at Sotheby’s in New York.

The work, over 10 feet (3.05 meters) tall and more than 18 feet across, is expected to bring in between US$30 million and US$40 million — meaning it is very likely to break at least one auction record, if not several.

If the work achieves at its low estimate, once Sotheby’s fees are accounted for, it would likely become the artist’s most expensive work at auction and the most expensive sculpture by a female artist ever sold at auction, surpassing another Bourgeois “Spider” that sold for US$28 million (US$32.1 million with fees) at Christie’s in May 2019. If it sells at or above its high estimate, the present “Spider” could come within web-slinging distance of the record for any work by a female artist at auction, currently the US$44.4 million (with fees) that Walmart heiress Alice Walton’s Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas paid for Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting “Jimson Weed” in 2014.

“Spider” is being offered by Fundação Itaú, the nonprofit arm of Brazilian bank Itaú Unibanco. The sculpture was acquired by Olavo Setubal, an art collector and co-founder of the bank, after it was featured as the centerpiece of a special presentation of works by Bourgeois at the 1996 São Paulo Biennial, for which the French-American artist also designed a distinctive, spiraling logo. The sculpture was on loan to the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art from 1997 to 2017, and was subsequently displayed at various Brazilian institutions.

In the years since the artwork’s acquisition, Fundação Itaú has shifted its collecting priorities to focus on works by artists based in Brazil. Proceeds from the sculpture’s sale will support those efforts.

Works from Bourgeois’ “Spiders” series are on prominent display at many of the world’s leading museums, including the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Dia Beacon in New York and Tate Modern in London.

“The ‘Spider’ has become a global icon, recognizable by all given its prominent presence in cultural institutions around the world,” David Galperin, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art in New York, said in a statement. “It is not only a paragon of modern sculpture, but has taken on a larger symbolic presence within contemporary culture internationally.”

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【显著的】xiǎnzhù de prominent important, famous

【收益】shōuyì proceeds the amount of money received from a particular event or activity or when something is sold

下个月，纽约苏富比将拍卖当代最著名的雕塑作品之一 — — 路易丝•布尔乔亚的《巨型蜘蛛》。如果某个财力雄厚的藏家有地方放置这件作品就可以考虑出手了。

雕塑高10英尺（3.05米），宽超过18英尺，估价3至4千万美元。这意味着它可能打破至少一项拍卖记录，或者更多。

如果这件作品以较低的估价拍出，再算上苏富比的佣金，就会成为该艺术家拍出的最贵作品，超过布尔乔亚的另一件 《蜘蛛》，也是史上最贵女性艺术家的雕塑作品。之前那件作品2019年5月在佳士得以2800万美元（加上佣金一共3210万美元）的价格售出。

如果它以较高估价出售，或高于这个价格，那么现在的“蜘蛛”可能会与女艺术家的最贵作品比肩，目前记录保持者是乔治亚•奥基夫的画作《曼陀罗》，

2014年由沃尔玛女继承人爱丽丝•沃尔顿购入，收藏在阿肯色州本顿维尔的水晶桥博物馆，成交价为4440万美元

（含佣金）。

《蜘蛛》的卖家是巴西伊塔乌联合银行的非营利部门伊塔乌基金会。雕塑由银行联合创始人奥拉沃•塞图巴尔购入，这位银行家同时也是艺术收藏家。此前该雕塑曾在1996年圣保罗双年展上特别呈现，是布尔乔亚作品展的亮点，这位法裔美国艺术家为此设计了一个独特的螺旋形标志。雕塑1997年至2017年间租借给圣保罗现代艺术博物馆，随后在巴西国内多家机构展出。

收购该艺术品后的几年里，伊塔乌基金会已将其收藏重点转移到巴西本土艺术家的作品上。出售该雕塑的收入将用来购买新的藏品。

布尔乔亚的 《蜘蛛》系列作品在许多国际知名的场馆中展出，包括毕尔巴鄂的古根海姆博物馆、渥太华加拿大国家美术馆、纽约迪亚灯塔艺术博物馆和伦敦泰特现代美术馆。

“《蜘蛛》已经成为一个全球性的符号，因其在世界各地重要文化地标出现而受世人瞩目，”纽约苏富比当代艺术主管大卫•加尔佩林在一份声明中说。“它不仅是现代雕塑的典范，而且在国际当代文化中具有重要象征意义。

(SD-Agencies)