Muhammad Ali
I Love You America, 1979
Estimate: 15.000 - 20.000 USD
Price realised: 150.313 USD
Price realised: 150.313 USD
Description
I Love You America, 1979
Acrylic on canvas, with miniature Stars and Stripes flag
Signed lower right "Muhammad Ali" and dated "Feb 1-19-79"
Framed
According to Rodney Hilton Brown: "And so, by 1979-1980 Ali's patriotism and attitude toward his country had come full-circle. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Ali's fight for social justice outside the ring had made him an "Enemy of the State." It had brought him, enemies, from the left and the right, made him hated, reviled, and almost sent him to prison. But through it all, Ali stood his ground and "took nothing from nobody." But in doing so he had won something more than just boxing matches - he had won the heart and respect of the nation and - indeed, of the world...Ali conquered and changed America, and as a result, America changed Ali...Indeed, in the end, his direct, penultimate, unmist
Provenance: From the Collection of Rodney Hilton Brown, formerly President of Hilton Fine Arts, Ltd., publisher of Muhammad Ali's limited edition silkscreen prints, 1978.
Literature: BROWN, Rodney Hilton, Muhammad Ali: The Untold Story: Painter, Poet & Prophet, Fairhaven, MA: The War Museum Press, 2021, p. 77, 175-178 (illus.)
Frame: 13 1/2 x 17 1/2 in.
Acrylic on canvas, with miniature Stars and Stripes flag
Signed lower right "Muhammad Ali" and dated "Feb 1-19-79"
Framed
According to Rodney Hilton Brown: "And so, by 1979-1980 Ali's patriotism and attitude toward his country had come full-circle. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Ali's fight for social justice outside the ring had made him an "Enemy of the State." It had brought him, enemies, from the left and the right, made him hated, reviled, and almost sent him to prison. But through it all, Ali stood his ground and "took nothing from nobody." But in doing so he had won something more than just boxing matches - he had won the heart and respect of the nation and - indeed, of the world...Ali conquered and changed America, and as a result, America changed Ali...Indeed, in the end, his direct, penultimate, unmist
Provenance: From the Collection of Rodney Hilton Brown, formerly President of Hilton Fine Arts, Ltd., publisher of Muhammad Ali's limited edition silkscreen prints, 1978.
Literature: BROWN, Rodney Hilton, Muhammad Ali: The Untold Story: Painter, Poet & Prophet, Fairhaven, MA: The War Museum Press, 2021, p. 77, 175-178 (illus.)
Frame: 13 1/2 x 17 1/2 in.
Artwork auctioned at seven times the upper estimate price
When the work I Love You America, 1979 by Muhammad Ali was auctioned at Bonhams in New York in October 2021, the result exceeded expectations many times over. The upper estimate was set at a - in retrospect quite modest - USD 20,000.00 but the actual price achieved was more than seven times as high at USD 150,312.50 (€ 130,118.16). However, buyers have had to dig much deeper into their pockets for other works by Muhammad Ali - we have observed the highest auction result to date for the work Sting Like A Bee, 1978, which sold at auction in October 2021 for USD 425,312.50 (€ 368,172.18).
Kunstwerk zum Siebenfachen des oberen Schätzpreises versteigert
Als die Arbeit I Love You America, 1979 von Muhammad Ali im Oktober 2021 bei Bonhams in New York versteigert wurde, übertraf das Ergebnis die Erwartungen um ein Vielfaches. Der obere Schätzpreis war mit – rückwirkend betrachtet recht bescheidenen – USD 20.000,00 angesetzt, der tatsächlich erzielte Preis hingegen war mit USD 150.312,50 (€ 130.118,16) mehr als siebenmal so hoch. Für andere Arbeiten von Muhammad Ali mussten die Käufer allerdings auch schon deutlich tiefer in die Tasche greifen – das bisher höchste Auktionsergebnis haben wir für die Arbeit Sting Like A Bee, 1978 beobachtet, die im Oktober 2021 für USD 425.312,50 (€ 368.172,18) versteigert wurde.
Muhammad Ali - Auction history
