Historic provenance: From the collection of legendary art dealer Ileana Sonnabend - wife of Leo Castelli and the estate of their daughter Nina Castelli Sundell. This is Hans Haacke's conceptual art piece from the New York Collection for Stockholm Portfolio, issued in 1973. It commemorated a collection of paintings and sculpture by top New York artists of the 1960s, assembled by Hulten and Kluver for the Moderna Museet Museum, Stockholm, Sweden. In this deceptively simple but effective work, Haacke used a straightforward poll to make explicit the 1970s liberal politics of most people who worked in the arts and many art patrons. The text, which appears typed, reads: "If elections were held today, for which candidate would you vote? / Mc Govern 634 (74.4%)/Nixon 55 (6.4%)/None 102 (12.0%)/Dont know 44 (5.1%)/ No answer 13 (1.5%)/This is the response of 848 visitors to the John Weber Gallery/from October 7 to 24, 1972. They have completed a questionaire/of 20 questions with which they participated in 420 WEST BROADWAY/ VISITOR'S PROFILE, a survey conducted by Hans Haacke./ 602 (70.9%) of the 848 visitors indicated having a professional/ interest in art (e.g. artist, dealer, critic, etc.)." This print is rarely seen at auction because so many of the individual prints from the portfolio, as well as complete portfolios, are in major museum and public collections around the world such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Brooklyn Museum, Smithsonian Museum, Moderna Museet, and Walker Art Center, to name a few. It is also especially rare to find this print in the original portfolio sleeve, with the E.A.T. colophon page as this is because they are almost always separated. (E.A.T. is "Experiments in Art and Technology," founded by Robert Rauschenberg). It its original portfolio sleeve (shown) made of Cranes Bond Extra No. 1 quality with HANS HAACKE's name in block letters stamped in front. It also comes with a copy of the colophon page of the entire portfolio as provenance. This will be the first time it has been removed from the original mahogany portfolio box it was housed in as part of the Sonnabend/Castelli. Rare to find one in fine condition, in the original sleeve with such impressive provenance. This is a cool piece from a formerly subversive artist, now embraced by the Establishment he once mocked. Conceptual art pioneer and counter culture guru Hans Haacke is now highly sought after by the very museum and art establishment he once shunned. (see link to interesting article below):
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/arts/design/hans-haacke-gets-establishment-nod-of-approval.html
The roster of artists included in the New York Collection for Stockholm portfolio includes many artists who were important in the New York art world during one of its most influential decades.