Claes Oldenburg

Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago
Acquired from the above by the present owner

New York, Leo Castelli Gallery, Claes Oldenburg, April - May 1974 (another example exhibited)
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Collects: Art Since 1940, September - November 1986 (another example exhibited)

Exh. Cat., Minneapolis, Walker Art Center (and traveling), Oldenburg: Six Themes, 1975-1976, pp. 63 and 67, illustrated 
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Eds., Large-Scale Projects, New York 1994, p. 234
Marla Prather and Dana A. Miller, Eds., An American Legacy: A Gift to New York, New York 2002, p. 80, illustrated  

This work is in very good and sound condition overall. Under close inspection there are several surface scratches and some very light handling marks. There are several abrasions including on the silver at the center of the pin. The patina at the base of the work appears to have been recoated and is discolored and rubbed off in several areas from a prior cleaning attempt.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

"I remember that in October 1967, as I flew into Chicago for an exhibition of my work at the new Museum of Contemporary Art, I took out a clothespin that I had brought along and held it up against the skyscrapers on the ground below. The next month, in response to a commision for a cover by Artforum, I made a drawing of a skyscraper in the form of the clothespin. Perceiving it as a certain Gothic character, I visualized it as a substitute for the Chicago Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue."

Claes Oldenburg

Oldenburg’s Clothespin from 1974 is a quintessential embodiment of the artist’s lifelong interest in the reappropriation of ordinary materials. By removing everyday household objects from their normal contexts and enlarging them to larger-than-life scales, Oldenburg’s chosen products become a vehicle through which he questions standardization and urges viewers to reexamine otherwise banal consumer objects through a new lens. This idea of displacing and thus defamiliarizing an object was fundamental to the Surrealists, who similarly believed that once an object was removed, its meaning was critically transformed. While conceptually aligned with the Surrealists, Oldenburg most importantly endures as a pivotal Pop artist, whose work centers on the commodities of American life. In his early career, Oldenburg gained critical notoriety for his oversized soft sculptures of quotidian items such as hamburgers, fans, light switches, and toilets. Following his soft sculptures, Oldenburg transitioned toward an increasingly industrial aesthetic based on mechanical production and hard materials as witnessed by the pristine construction and striking bronze patina of the present work. An iconic symbol of this second phase of Oldenburg’s practice, Clothespin reveals the artist’s absolute finesse in industrial design and flawless mastery over the sculptural medium.