Yves Klein (1928 - 1962) Untitled (SE 288). photo Sotheby's

Executed in 1958. IKB pigment and synthetic resin on natural sponge, signed with the artist's initials and dated 58 on the reverse. 31 by 31 by 14cm.; 12 1/4 by 12 1/4 by 5 5/8 in. Est. 100,000—150,000 GBP. Lot Sold 397,250 GBP

PROVENANCE: Alexander Iolas, New York
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in the early 1980s.

NOTE: Please note that this work has been requested for the Yves Klein Retrospective which will take place at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC (20 May - 12 September, 2010) and at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (23 October, 2010 - 13 Feburary, 2011).

"It is the sponge's extraordinary capacity to impregnate itself with anything fluid that attracted me. Thanks to the wild living material of sponges, I was going to be able to do the portraits of the beholders of my monochromes, who, after having seen them, after having travelled through the blue of my paintings, come back totally impregnated in sensibility, like sponges." (Yves Klein cited on www.yveskleinarchives.org )

Sotheby's. Contemporary Art Day Auction. 11 Feb 10. London www.sotheby's.com