Carolee Schneemann's Market Performance Despite Golden Lion
Carolee Schneemann (Fox Chase, Pennsylvania, 1939) received the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 57th Venice Biennale, yet her auction record remains modest. Her career began in the early 1960s with experimental film, performance, and happenings, focusing on body and sexuality. Major retrospectives include the New Museum (1996), Museum der Moderne Salzburg (2015), and MoMA PS1 (2017). Her work is held by institutions such as Museo Nacional de Arte Reina Sofía, MoMA, Whitney Museum, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, and Hirshhorn Museum. At auction, a photograph from Eye Body: 36 Transformative Actions (1963) sold for $180,000 at Christie's New York in May 2015, while a Meat Joy (1964) print fetched about $13,000. European sales have not exceeded €10,000. The article speculates whether the Venice Biennale award will boost her market.
Key facts
- Carolee Schneemann received the Golden Lion at the 57th Venice Biennale.
- She was born in Fox Chase, Pennsylvania in 1939.
- Her career started in the early 1960s with experimental film and performance.
- The New Museum held her first museum retrospective in 1996.
- Museum der Moderne Salzburg celebrated her Kinetic Painting in 2015.
- MoMA PS1 planned a solo show in 2017.
- Her work is in collections of Reina Sofía, MoMA, Whitney, Tate, Centre Pompidou, and Hirshhorn.
- A Christie's auction in May 2015 sold an Eye Body photo for $180,000.
Entities
Artists
- Carolee Schneemann
Institutions
- New Museum
- Museum der Moderne Salzburg
- MoMA PS1
- Museo Nacional de Arte Reina Sofía
- Museum of Modern Art
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Tate Modern
- Centre Georges Pompidou
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- Christie's
- Artribune
Locations
- Fox Chase
- Pennsylvania
- New York
- Salzburg
- Madrid
- London
- Paris
- Washington
- Venice