Jeff Koons, the father of shiny balloon dog sculptures, is used to smashing records at auction. His last oversized, exceedingly glossy work of art sold for a whopping $33.7 million at Sotheby's, a record for the kitsch-happy artist.
But a new Koonsian piece is hitting the bidding block this fall, poised to blow the reigning "Tulips" out of the water. The sculpture, titled "Balloon Dog (Orange)", is heading to Christie's in New York City, boasting an estimated price tag between $35 million and $55 million.
The 12-foot tall stainless steel artwork -- which, if you hadn't already guessed, looks like a massive novelty children's toy -- will be sold on behalf of the Brant Foundation Art Study Center in Greenwich, Connecticut. It is one of five metallic dog pieces crafted by Koons (or, more likely, his art assistants).
The other dogs are yellow, blue, magenta and red, owned by big-name businessmen Steven A. Cohen, Eli Broad, François Pinault and Dakis Joannou, respectively.
"Koons has made his name manufacturing toys for rich old boys," Carl Swanson wrote in an article for Vulture, "exacting pagan monuments to mass-culture triviality."
The orange dog -- or as Christie's puts it, "one of the most recognizable images in today’s canon of art history" -- will be up for auction on November 12, 2013. Let us know your thoughts on the rather pricey balloon animal in the comments.
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