Although many know of A-Rod's athletic achievements, some are not aware that the former Yankees hitter is actually a passionate art collector. At his modernist home in Coral Gables, Florida, the walls are adorned with works from the biggest names in contemporary art: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, as well as newer names like Nate Lowman, Joe Bradley and Dan Colen.
Now, the baseball star is selling two of his works at Phillips this June as he prepares to wed Jennifer Lopez, to whom he got engaged in March. He said to Robert Manley, Phillips' worldwide co-head of 20th-century and contemporary art, “I am starting a fresh chapter in my personal life, and after a decade of collecting on my own, I am excited to begin a new collecting journey with Jennifer. We are both committed to the arts, and will continue to be great patrons together.”
The two works, Pink Elephant with Fire Engine by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Mustang Painting by Richard Prince, will go under the hammer on 27 June at Phillips' 20th-Century and Contemporary Sale in London.
Pink Elephant with Fire Engine carries an estimate of £3-4 million and was painted in 1984. It was included in Basquiat's solo show at the Mary Boone Gallery in May 1984, which drew rave reviews for the then-24 year old. A few months later, due to the success of the gallery show, the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh hosted Basquiat's first solo museum exhibit. The large-scale work (7.1 x 5.6 ft) is dominated by painterly strokes in a sunny yellow shade as elements characteristic of Basquiat peer through: a sketch of an elephant-like cartoon figure, a brightly coloured cab and scrawled shapes in neon pink, red, and more yellow. Basquiat is one of A-Rod's favourite artists and he also owns M.T. (1984), which is prominently displayed in the entrance foyer of his Florida home.
Mustang Painting by Richard Prince depicts a Mustang car driving on an invisible road, seemingly suspended against a deep blue background and edged in bright, vibrant hues of orange, lime green, purple and turquoise. In his art, Prince deals with concepts like American pop culture, celebrity and masculinity, and the Mustang is one of the most iconic hot-rod cars popularised in film in the '60s and '70s. This work was conceived in inkjet and acrylic on canvas between 2014-16 and carries an estimate between £700,000 to1 million.
A-Rod's art collecting process is based on close relationships with the artists themselves. He told Architectural Digest in 2017, “I go to their studios and watch them do their work. And a lot of them come to see me play at Yankee Stadium." Furthermore, he looks for artists he can relate to: "A number of gallerists and advisors pointed me in the right direction, and I have been in conversation with several artists, whose studio practice seem close to my own as an athlete."
Cover image: via Instagram