61Because of Celmins’s time-intensive practices, her output is
very low. For a gallery and collectors, “the problem is getting
the work,” says Renee McKee. “She was also not that inter-
ested in working on museum shows. They always interrupted
her work.” Along with her husband, David, McKee spent more
than 30 years building Celmins’s market through their New
York gallery. On the secondary market, where the artist and
her dealers have less control over what comes up for sale,
Celmins’s art is nearly impossible to buy—again, a volume issue.
Just two noneditioned works, including a 19-inch graphite-on-
paper depiction of the night sky that sold for $2.4 million, have
come up for sale in the past 12 months.
The simplest explanation for Celmins’s success is the art
itself. “It’s super detail-oriented, and it’s super precise,” says
the Met’s Alteveer. After beginning her career painting real-
istic, life-size depictions of the objects in her studio, Celmins
moved to painting World War II planes. Then, “in 1968 she
decides to leave paint altogether and for the next 10 years only
used graphite,” Alteveer says.
Soon after her switch, she began to make her ocean series,
ethereal and spectacularly detailed drawings of photographs
of the water’s surface. This work became arguably her most
famous. “Carefully, sometimes over three months, she would
redescribe [on paper] what she sees in the photo,” Alteveer
says. She never used an eraser with this series; if she erred, she
tossed out the piece and began again. Along with the oceans
was a series of desert drawings and another of constellations.
In the 1980s, Celmins began to paint again—the oceans and des-
erts were rendered in oil—and she began a series of the night
sky; the paintings were often created with as many as 20 layers.
“It’s very labor-intensive,” McKee says, having seen the artistat work. “She paints, then scrapes it off, then paints it again.
It’s layer upon layer until she’s happy with it.”
“She’s actually quite quick,” she continues. “She just
doesn’t like what she comes up with, and then she has to start
all over again.” Thus, Celmins’s collectors often have to wait
years before they have a chance to acquire an original work.
(Her current gallery, Matthew Marks, declined to comment on
the existence of a waiting list.)
“Her collector base grew from the initial people who were
interested to other people who saw her museum shows and
wanted a work in their collection,” says McKee—because that’s
how the trifecta is supposed to work. But even as demand
built, Celmins resisted price hikes. “It was always as difficult
to get her to release her work as it was to get her to raise her
prices. That’s Vija.”
Eventually, though, prices did rise. “We tried not to sell to
speculators or people who really didn’t understand who they
were buying,” McKee says. “They had to be serious clients.”
Today that clientele, by dint of cost, is almost exclusively very
wealthy collectors. The McKees closed their gallery in 2015,
and Celmins went to Marks, at which point her prices con-
tinued to soar.
Not that it matters much to the artist, McKee says, “but
she’s not unaware of it.” Instead, Celmins has “tried to keep
her sense of integrity and belief in the art that she’s creat-
ing,” McKee says. The marketing and selling are the purview
of her dealers.
“Of course there was a lot of advocacy” on her behalf,
she says. “Everyone who came into the gallery, all of the art
fairs we did, we’d talk about her. [A market] doesn’t hap-
pen by itself.” <BW>61Graphite on paper by Celmins, from left: Untitled (Big Sea #1), 1969; Clouds, 1968; Untitled (Web #1), 1998FALL CULTURE PREVIEW Bloomberg Pursuits September 16, 2019BecauseofCelmins’stime-intensivepractices,heroutputis
verylow.Fora galleryandcollectors,“theproblemisgetting
thework,”saysReneeMcKee.“Shewasalsonotthatinter-
estedinworkingonmuseumshows.Theyalwaysinterrupted
herwork.”Alongwithherhusband,David,McKeespentmore
than 30 yearsbuildingCelmins’smarketthroughtheirNew
Yorkgallery.Onthesecondarymarket,wheretheartistand
herdealershavelesscontroloverwhatcomesupforsale,
Celmins’sartis nearlyimpossibletobuy—again,a volumeissue.
Justtwononeditionedworks,includinga 19-inchgraphite-on-
paperdepictionofthenightskythatsoldfor$2.4million,have
comeupforsaleinthepast 12 months.
ThesimplestexplanationforCelmins’ssuccessis theart
itself.“It’ssuperdetail-oriented,andit’ssuperprecise,”says
theMet’sAlteveer.Afterbeginninghercareerpaintingreal-
istic,life-sizedepictionsoftheobjectsinherstudio,Celmins
movedtopaintingWorldWarII planes.Then,“in 1968 she
decidestoleavepaintaltogetherandforthenext 10 years only
used graphite,” Alteveer says.
Soon after her switch, she began to make her ocean series,
ethereal and spectacularly detailed drawings of photographs
of the water’s surface. This work became arguably her most
famous. “Carefully, sometimes over three months, she would
redescribe [on paper] what she sees in the photo,” Alteveer
says. She never used an eraser with this series; if she erred, she
tossed out the piece and began again. Along with the oceans
was a series of desert drawings and another of constellations.
In the 1980s, Celmins began to paint again—the oceans and des-
erts were rendered in oil—and she began a series of the night
sky; the paintings were often created with as many as 20 layers.
“It’s very labor-intensive,” McKee says, having seen the artist
at work. “She paints, then scrapes it off, then paints it again.
It’s layer upon layer until she’s happy with it.”
“She’s actually quite quick,” she continues. “She just
doesn’t like what she comes up with, and then she has to start
all over again.” Thus, Celmins’s collectors often have to wait
years before they have a chance to acquire an original work.
(Her current gallery, Matthew Marks, declined to comment on
the existence of a waiting list.)
“Her collector base grew from the initial people who were
interested to other people who saw her museum shows and
wanted a work in their collection,” says McKee—because that’s
how the trifecta is supposed to work. But even as demand
built, Celmins resisted price hikes. “It was always as difficult
to get her to release her work as it was to get her to raise her
prices. That’s Vija.”
Eventually, though, prices did rise. “We tried not to sell to
speculators or people who really didn’t understand who they
were buying,” McKee says. “They had to be serious clients.”
Today that clientele, by dint of cost, is almost exclusively very
wealthy collectors. The McKees closed their gallery in 2015,
and Celmins went to Marks, at which point her prices con-
tinued to soar.
Not that it matters much to the artist, McKee says, “but
she’s not unaware of it.” Instead, Celmins has “tried to keep
her sense of integrity and belief in the art that she’s creat-
ing,” McKee says. The marketing and selling are the purview
of her dealers.
“Of course there was a lot of advocacy” on her behalf,
she says. “Everyone who came into the gallery, all of the art
fairs we did, we’d talk about her. [A market] doesn’t hap-
pen by itself.” <BW>61Graphite on paper by Celmins, from left: Untitled (Big Sea #1), 1969; Clouds, 1968; Untitled (Web #1), 1998
FALL CULTURE PREVIEW Bloomberg Pursuits September 16, 2019