From Kandinsky to Kusama, Heritage’s October 16 Prints & Multiples Auction Charts a Century of Innovation

Highlights include Warhol’s Birth of Venus series, Johns’ personal Untitled etching and Celmins’ meditative ocean surface alongside works by emerging contemporary powerhouses DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT DALLAS, Texas (Sept. 26, 2025) — Heritage’s October 16 Prints & Multiples Signature®Auction continues the auction house’s strength in Modernism and Pop Art while expanding substantively into works by major contemporary artists. “This event offers a breadth and depth we haven’t seen in seasons past, from iconic Warhols, Ruschas and Picasso ceramics to groundbreaking works by Banksy, Yayoi Kusama and Julie Mehretu,” says Desiree Pakravan, Heritage’s Consignment Director of Prints and Multiples. “With more than 100 lots, there is something for every collector: accessible works for new enthusiasts and exceptional museum-quality pieces.” Contemporary Voices and Pop Icons From global provocateurs to emergent powerhouses, this auction brings together an extraordinary lineup of contemporary artists. Banksy’s Love is in the Air (2003) is a cultural touchstone, blending protest imagery with instantly recognizable force. Jeff Koons’ Monkey Train (2007) channels his pop irreverence, while Rashid Johnson’s Untitled Anxious Red(2021) exemplifies the artist’s intensity, coinciding with his current Guggenheim exhibition. Tschabalala Self’s Out of Body (2019) and Julie Mehretu’s Untitled (Pulse) (2013) add distinctive voices, alongside Ai Weiwei’s Year of the Ox (2021), which reframes the zodiac through Warholian repetition. That connection to Warhol is no accident: The auction includes a remarkable range of his work, from the hot-pink Marilyn(1967) to Indian Head Nickel (1986) from his Cowboys and Indians series, and most notably a complete portfolio of four Birth of Venusscreenprints (1984), with each print offered individually in the auction. Isolating Botticelli’s goddess and rendering her in neon hues, Warhol reinvents Venus as a modern Pop icon, eternal and newly minted. Like Warhol, Ed Ruscha distilled everyday language into visual art. His Made in California (1971) captures the Golden State in glowing block letters that blur the line between celebration and critique, reflecting the state’s rise as both economic powerhouse and cultural dreamscape. (Other pieces by Ruscha, significant works made with dry pigment from his Hollywood series, are featured in Heritage’s upcoming Modern & Contemporary Art auction.) A Tour-de-Force of Power and Intensity Charles White, one of the great mid-century draftsmen, is represented by The Folk Singer (1957), a figurative tribute to Harry Belafonte. This impression carries unique provenance: Purchased by Sidney Poitier as a wedding gift for Karen and Stanley Kramer, it ties together three icons whose art and advocacy shaped America’s Civil Rights movement. Art Forged From Exile Displacement shaped some of the most resonant modern visions. Yayoi Kusama, who moved from Japan to New York in 1958, transformed the humble gourd into a hypnotic symbol in Pumpkin (#4) (1982). German-Jewish émigré Gego, recently the subject of a Guggenheim exhibition, redefined line and space in Venezuela; her Untitled Portfolio (1966) reflects her lifelong exploration of abstraction as metaphor for community. Latvian-born Vija Celmins brings meditative intensity to Drypoint — Ocean Surface (1983), rendering the sea as both subject and symbol. Each artist reshaped exile into enduring artistic language. Late-20th Century Masterworks The 1980s downtown New York scene, where punk, finance and art collided, is captured vividly in Robert Longo’s acclaimed Men in the Cities series. His lithograph Rick (1994) shows a suited figure in violent motion, emblematic of the cultural reckoning of the era. Jasper Johns, a key postwar innovator, is represented by Untitled(2011), a layered color etching that reflects on memory and mortality. Offered from a private collection, it carries both emotional weight and impeccable provenance. Another standout is Richard Diebenkorn’s High Green, Version I (1992), which distills the luminous geometry of his Ocean Park series into a contemplative print evoking California’s coastal light. Early Modernist Gems The earliest works in this sale reflect a world remade after World War I. Lyonel Feininger’s Villa am Strande IV(1921) blends crystalline geometry with dreamlike atmosphere, while Wassily Kandinsky’s Kleine Welten VII (1922) explores synesthetic abstraction. Paul Klee’s Seiltänzer(1923) is one of the artist’s best-known graphic works; the title translates as “tightrope walker” and describes a turbulent period for Klee as he taught at the Bauhaus. Max Beckmann’s Stadtnacht(1921) lays bare the anxieties and theatrics of city life. “This auction is really about the conversations between generations of artists,” says Pakravan. “From Modernist pioneers to Pop legends to today’s most compelling contemporary voices, these works show how art keeps reinventing itself, and why collectors at every level are inspired to be part of that story.” Images and information about all lots in Heritage’s October 16 Prints & Multiples Signature® Auction can be found here. Highlights from this auction will be on public view in Heritage’s New York City gallery, 445 Park Avenue, Oct. 13-15, 2025. Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet's most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 2 million registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of 7,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit. For breaking stories, follow us: HA.com/Facebook and HA.com/Twitter . Link to this release or view prior press releases . Hi-Res images available: Christina Rees, Director of Public Relations and Communications 214-409-1341; CRees@HA.com