Mega gallery Hauser & Wirth said it sold a steel version of Louise Bourgeois’ iconic 1996 Spider sculpture for $40 million during the Swiss fair’s first VIP day at Art Basel. This makes it the most expensive sculpture ever sold by an artist. It is also the largest sum ever publicly reported for the work of a Louise Bourgeois.
Towering over the Hauser & Wirth stand, the nearly 11-foot sculpture comes from the collection of Ursula Hauser, mother of gallery co-founder Manuela Hauser. It is made of steel, so unlike Bourgeois bronze pieces, which cannot be placed outdoors. Its president, Marc Payot, said the work had been sold to a European client and the sale was arranged before the fair. The work was shown at the opening of the Hauser & Wirth premises in Monaco last year and in London in 2016.
Bourgeois, whose auction record is $32 million, was sold at Christie’s in 2019 for a bronze version of the Spider cast in 1997, based on a steel version sold at Art Basel.
A related small work, Spider IV (1997 Actor) sold at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong in April for HK$129.2 million ($16.4 million), setting the Asian auction record for a sculpture. The previous record was also held by Bourgeois, whose bronze sculpture Quarantania sold for HK$67 million (about US$8.5 million) at Seoul Auctions Hong Kong in 2018.
According to Artnet, the spiders are the most valuable works on the market, occupying six of the best auction results. As was usual for Bourgeois, the Steel Spider is a unique work. Her bronze spiders, like those at Christie’s, usually came in runs of six.
The series is considered autobiographical, and the spider and its webs are related to the artist’s mother. Representing her mother, Spider possesses various abilities and is indispensable. Spinning the web is like a mother working with threads on a tapestry and has a protective effect on the child.
“With the spider, I’m trying to convey the power and personality of a humble animal,” Bourgeois once said. “As humble as it is, it is very determined and indestructible. It’s not about the animal itself, it’s about my relationship with it. It confirms the fact that the spider is my mother, believe it or not.”
