To understand George Condo, one must begin with paper. Not as a preparatory surface, nor as a secondary medium, but as a site of intellectual velocity — a space where thought outruns decorum and figuration is liberated from coherence. Condo’s works on paper are not sketches in the traditional sense; they are autonomous arenas in which his theory of Artificial Realism finds some of its most distilled and psychologically charged expressions.
Introduction
Across drawings, pastels, watercolors, and etchings, Condo mobilizes the full weight of Western art history — from Old Master draftsmanship to Cubist fracture and Surrealist automatism — only to subject it to systematic disruption. Faces multiply, collapse, and reassemble. Eyes drift, mouths contort, anatomies obey no single logic. Yet nothing is accidental. Line, however erratic it may appear, is always deliberate. Paper becomes the ideal medium for this tension: fragile enough to register immediacy, yet rigorous enough to sustain complex compositional intelligence.
Condo’s command of draftsmanship has been repeatedly foregrounded by major institutions. The The Morgan Library & Museum has notably emphasized the importance of his drawings in revealing the structural underpinnings of his practice, highlighting how line operates as both descriptive tool and psychological probe. Similarly, his works on paper have featured prominently in museum contexts such as the New Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, where they are presented not as ancillary studies, but as fully resolved articulations of his visual language.
What distinguishes Condo’s works on paper is their ability to oscillate between intimacy and excess. On one hand, they invite close, almost forensic looking — the tremor of a graphite line, the density of a pastel passage, the sudden violence of a compositional rupture. On the other, they convey a theatrical intensity comparable to his large-scale paintings. Characters appear trapped within their own consciousness, suspended between lucidity and breakdown, comedy and dread. Condo himself has often likened his figures to actors, and paper functions here as the rehearsal stage where identities are tested, exaggerated, and dismantled.
Technically, these works demonstrate remarkable versatility. Condo shifts seamlessly from refined, almost classical draughtsmanship to deliberately crude mark-making, exploiting paper’s responsiveness to pressure, erasure, and layering. In etchings and aquatints, the medium’s inherent precision becomes a counterpoint to the instability of his imagery, reinforcing the paradox at the heart of his practice: control versus chaos, intellect versus instinct.
Ultimately, George Condo’s works on paper offer perhaps the clearest access to his artistic mind. They are neither preparatory nor decorative; they are sites of thinking, arenas of experimentation, and psychological portraits in their own right. Before market considerations, before scale, before spectacle, paper is where Condo’s art speaks most directly — unfiltered, unsentimental, and intellectually uncompromising.
In the contemporary art firmament, few figures fuse intellectual rigor with visceral inventiveness as compellingly as George Condo, an artist whose practice defies simple categorization yet whose works on paper have become a quietly compelling sub-market within the broader secondary market. Condo’s “Artificial Realism” — a term he coined to describe his hybrid visual language — synthesizes the vocabulary of art history with an idiosyncratic psychological depth that is especially legible in his works on paper. These pieces, ranging from drawings and pastels to etchings and aquatints, reveal the artist’s core preoccupations: fractured figuration, expressive distortion, and an ongoing dialogue with both classical draftsmanship and contemporary absurdity.
Across institutional exhibitions and gallery presentations, Condo’s works on paper have repeatedly been emphasized for their capacity to bridge the cerebral and the immediate, inviting close looking while resisting facile interpretation. His technique on paper, whether executed in pastel, ink, watercolor, or etching, is not ancillary to his painted oeuvre; rather, it is fundamental to understanding his creative engine. The Morgan Library & Museum, among others, has underscored how his draftsmanship conveys both painterly inventiveness and a remarkable command of line and tone.
Auction Market Overview
From a market perspective, works on paper by Condo occupy a fascinating position: they are simultaneously accessible entry points into his oeuvre and vehicles for collecting mature examples of his imaginative grammar. According to aggregated auction records, Condo’s works on paper — inclusive of drawings, pastels, etchings, and screenprints — appear regularly across global salerooms, with realized prices exhibiting notable breadth. A pastel on paper from the mid-1980s might fetch in the teens of thousands of dollars, while select graphite or acrylic compositions on paper climb into the mid-five-figures bracket at major houses like Christie’s.
The dispersion in price points reflects a broader dynamic in Condo’s market: while his large-scale paintings have achieved stratospheric figures (with record auction results in the multi-millions), his works on paper are valued both for their direct engagement with the artist’s imaginative process and for their relative scarcity in the context of mainstream graphic art markets. This dual appeal is visible in curated sales — such as Phillips’ Editions & Works on Paper auctions — where a 1989 colored etching titled Clown (editioned, signed, and published by Pace Editions) significantly outperformed its estimate, realizing nearly three times its pre-sale high.
What emerges from this constellation of results is a nuanced picture: Condo’s works on paper are at once historical documents of his evolving visual lexicon and active market commodities that reward discerning collectors. They occupy an intermediary space — more intimate and draft-oriented than his canvases, yet more complex and collectible than standard prints — and their auction trajectory underscores the sustained interest among institutional and private buyers alike.
In sum, the secondary market for George Condo’s works on paper is both deep and differentiated, marked by consistent demand across decades and media. Whether approached as material traces of a distinctive artistic ethos or as strategic entries into a collector’s portfolio, these works offer a compelling lens through which to appreciate one of contemporary art’s most singular voices.
2025 Auction Highlights
26 lots sold at auction in 2025 for a total turnover of USD 2,494,419. With 7 lots failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 78.8%. The highest price was achieved by Blue Portrait Composition, a drawing dated 2013, that sold at Sotheby’s in Diriyah, on 8 February 2025 for USD 420,000.
2025 Top 6 Lots
2024 Auction Highlights
30 lots sold at auction in 2024 for a total turnover of USD 2,212,330. With 7 lots failing to sell the sell-through rate is 81%. 4 lots sold for more than USD 100,000, for a cumulative turnover of USD 1,061,700, representing 48% of the total for 2024. The highest price was achieved by Linear Portrait, a drawing dated 2013, that sold at Christie’s in New-York on 22 November 2024 for USD 478,800.
2024 Top 6 Lots
4 lots sold for more than USD 100,000, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 1, 061,700, representing 48% of the total turnover for 2024.
2026 Auction Results
Edwardian Man, 2004
Christie’s online: 27 February 2026
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 95,250
WORK ON PAPER
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Edwardian Man | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Edwardian Man, 2004
Charcoal, watercolor and graphite on paper
15-1/2 x 19-1/2 inches (64.8 x 49.5 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 04’ (upper right)
Orange Couple, 2006
Rago: 28 January 2026
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 63,500
WORK ON PAPER
GEORGE CONDO (b.1957)
Orange Couple, 2006
Silkscreen ink on paper
50×44 inches (127×112 cm)
Signed and dated to lower right ‘Condo 06’
This work is unique
Untitled, 1999
Phillips New-York: 28 February 2026
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 41,280
WORK ON PAPER
George Condo Modern & Contemporary Art
GEORGE CONDO
Untitled, 1999
Grease pencil on paper
30 x 22-1/4 inches (76.2 x 56.5 cm)
Signed and dated “Condo 99.4” upper right
2025 Auction Results
26 lots sold at auction in 2025 for a total turnover of USD 2,494,419. With 7 lots failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 78.8%. The highest price was achieved by Blue Portrait Composition, a drawing dated 2013, that sold at Sotheby’s in Diriyah, on 8 February 2025 for USD 420,000.
2025 Top 6 Lots
#1. Blue Portrait Composition, 2013
Sotheby’s Diriyah: 8 February 2025
Estimated: USD 350,000 – 450,000
USD 420,000
WORK ON PAPER
Blue Portrait Composition | Origins | 2025 | Sotheby’s
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Blue Portrait Composition, 2013
Ink, acrylic and gesso on paper
60 1/4 x 41 1/2 inches (152 x 105.4 cm)
#2. Untitled
Estimated: USD 250,000 – 350,000
USD 254,000
WORK ON PAPER
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Untitled
Acrylic, pastel and charcoal on paper
80×80 inches (203.2 x 203.2 cm)
#3. Abstract Head, 2012
Christie’s London: 16 October 2025
Estimated: GBP 80,000 – 120,000
GBP 146,050 / USD 195,705
WORK ON PAPER
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Abstract Head | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Abstract Head, 2012
Oil pastel on paper
30 x 22 1/2 inches (76.1 x 57 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 2012’ (upper left)
#4. Untitled, 1993
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 180,160
WORK ON PAPER
Untitled, 1993
Oilstick on paper
#5. Smiling Faces, 2019
Sotheby’s New-York: 16 May 2025
Estimated: USD 80,000 – 120,000
USD 177,800
WORK ON PAPER
Smiling Faces | Contemporary Day Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Smiling Faces, 2019
Wax crayon on paper
30×22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm)
Signed and dated Aug 2019 (upper left)
#6. Untitled, circa 2009
Christie’s New-York: 27 February 2025
Estimated: USD 80,000 – 120,000
USD 151,200
WORK ON PAPER
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Untitled | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Untitled, circa 2009
Gouache, pastel and watercolor on paper
59 7/8 x 41 1/4 inches (152.1 x 104.8 cm)
#7. Portrait Composition, 2018
Estimated: GBP 80,000 – 120,000
GBP 103,200 / USD 138,290
WORK ON PAPER
Portrait Composition, 2018
Charcoal and wax crayon on paper
#8. Untitled, circa 2007
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 127,000
WORK ON PAPER
Untitled, circa 2007
Acrylic, charcoal and pastel on paper
50 x 38 1/8 inches (127 x 96.8 cm)
USD 100,000
#9. Untitled, 2018
Christie’s New-York: 20 November 2025
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 95,250
WORK ON PAPER
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Untitled | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Untitled, 2018
Graphite and wash on paper
18 1/8 x 22 3/4 inches (46 x 56.6 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo Feb 2018’ (upper left)
Inscribed and dedicated ‘Happy Birthday April 25, 2018 with all best wishes’
(on the reverse)
#10. Untitled, 2013
Christie’s New-York: 15 May 2025
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 88,200
WORK ON PAPER
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Untitled | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Untitled, 2013
Graphite on paper
22 1/2 x 30 1/4 inches (57.2 x 76.8 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 6-9-2013’ (lower left)
#11. Untitled no. 3, 1999
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 61,920 / USD 82,975
WORK ON PAPER
Untitled no. 3, 1999
Wax crayon on paper
#12. Untitled, circa 2013
Christie’s New-York: 15 May 2025
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 69,850
WORK ON PAPER
George Condo – Modern & Contemporar… Lot 42 February 2025 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Untitled, circa 2013
Ink on paper
30×22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm)
#13. Untitled, 2007
Phillips New-York: 2 July 2025
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 69,850
WORK ON PAPER
George Condo Modern & Contemporary Art: Online Auction, New York
Untitled, 2007
Pastel on paper
#14. Untitled, circa 1996
Christie’s online: 28 February 2025
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 50,400
WORK ON PAPER
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Untitled | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Untitled, circa 1996
Acrylic on paper
29×23 inches (73.7 x 58.4 cm)
#15. Figures at a Bar, 2009
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 45,150
WORK ON PAPER
#16. Untitled, 1982
Estimated: USD 7,000 – 10,000
USD 41,280
WORK ON PAPER
Untitled, 1982
Oilstick on paper
#17. Untitled, 1999
Estimated: USD 35,000 – 45,000
USD 40,320
WORK ON PAPER
Untitled, 1999
Gouache and watercolor on paper
20 3/4 x 29 1/2 inches (52.7 x 74.9 cm)
Signed, inscribed and dated ‘Condo 99.4 Paris’ (upper right)
#18. Untitled, 2011
Phillips London: 7 March 2025
Estimated: GBP 25,000 – 35,000
GBP 30,480 / USD 39,285
WORK ON PAPER
George Condo – Modern & Contemporary … Lot 192 March 2025 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Untitled, 2011
Charcoal and charcoal wash on paper
16 1/2 x 11 7/8 inches (41.9 x 30.1 cm)
#19. The Nun, 1994
Christie’s New-York: 27 February 2025
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 30,000
USD 32,760
WORK ON PAPER
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), The Nun | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
The Nun, 1994
Graphite on paper
25 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches (65.1 x 50.2 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 94’ (upper right)
#20. Seated Nude, 1988
Christie’s London: 6 March 2025
Estimated: GBP 15,000 – 20,000
GBP 25,200 / USD 32,256
WORK ON PAPER
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Seated Nude | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Seated Nude, 1988
Pastel on cardboard
22×15 inches (56×38 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 88’ (upper left)
#21. Untitled, 1983
Phillips New-York: 21 November 2025
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 30,960
WORK ON PAPER
George Condo Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Afternoon Session
GEORGE CONDO
Untitled, 1983
Crayon and graphite on paper
24 1/8 x 38 1/8 inches (61.3 x 96.8 cm)
Signed and dated “Condo 6 • 83” lower right
#22. Untitled, 1985
Bonhams New-York: 19 November 2025
Estimated: USD 10,000 – 15,000
USD 25,600
WORK ON PAPER
Bonhams : GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957) Untitled 12 1/8 x 8 1/4 in (30.8 x 21 cm) (Executed in 1985)
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Untitled, 1985
Pastel on paper
12 1/8 x 8 1/4 inches (30.8 x 21 cm)
#23. Lonely Red Man, 1983
Bonhams London: 17 October 2025
Estimated: GBP 12,000 – 18,000
GBP 15,360 / USD 20,580
WORK ON PAPER
Bonhams : GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957) Lonely Red Man (Executed in 1983)
Oil on paper
16 3/8 x 21 7/8 inches (41.8 x 55.8 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 83-12’ (lower left)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Condo 83.12 Lonely Red Man’ (on the reverse)
#24. La femme au ballon, 1992
Sotheby’s London: 1 August 2025
Estimated: GBP 6,000 – 8,000
GBP 10,795 / USD 14,340
WORK ON PAPER
La femme au ballon | Contemporary Discoveries | 2025 | Sotheby’s
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
La femme au ballon, 1992
Watercolor and oil on paper
12 1/2 x 9 3/4 inches (31.5 x 25 cm)
Signed and dated 92 (lower right)
Signed and dated 25 Dec 92 N.Y.C. and inscribed Love To Mimi from George + Anna + Eleonore (on the verso)
Lots Passed
Sunset, 2020
Sotheby’s New-York: 19 November 2025
Estimated: USD 450,000 – 550,000
PASSED
WORK ON PAPER
Sunset | Contemporary Day Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Sunset, 2020
Ink, graphite, gesso and watercolor on paper
41 3/4 x 60 inches (106 x 152.4 cm)
Signed and dated July 30, 2020 (upper left)
Untitled
Estimated: USD 120,000 – 180,000
WORK ON PAPER
PASSED
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Untitled
Charcoal and pastel on paper
35 x 47 1/4 inches (88.9 x 120 cm)
French Maid, 2006
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 27 September 2025
Estimated: HKD 400,000 – 600,000
WORK ON PAPER
PASSED
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), French Maid | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
French Maid, 2006
Graphite on paper
25 x 19 1/4 inches (63.5 x 49 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 06’ (upper left)
Untitled, 2007
Phillips New-York: 16 July 2025
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
WORK ON PAPER
PASSED
George Condo Modern & Contemporary Art
Untitled, 2007
Graphite on paper
Smiling Woman, 2009
Christie’s New-York: 27 February 2025
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
WORK ON PAPER
PASSED
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Smiling Woman | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Smiling Woman, 2009
Charcoal and ink wash on paper
29 3/4 x 22 3/8 inches (75.6 x 56.8 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 09’ (lower left)
Untitled, 2005
Phillips New-York: 28 February 2025
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
WORK ON PAPER
PASSED
George Condo – New Now: Modern & C… Lot 131 February 2025 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Untitled, 2005
Charcoal on paper
18 x 15 3/8 inches (45.7 x 39.1 cm)
2024 Auction Results
#1. Linear Portrait, 2013
Christie’s New-York: 22 November 2024
Estimated: USD 300,000 – 500,000
USD 478,800
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Linear Portrait | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Linear Portrait, 2013
Ink on paper
60 1/2 x 41 1/2 inches (153.7 x 105.4 cm)
#2. Stepmonk’s Diary, 1996
Phillips New-York: 25 September 2024
Estimated: USD 200,000 – 300,000
USD 279,400
George Condo – New Now: Modern & C… Lot 31 September 2024 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Stepmonk’s Diary, 1996
Acrylic, pastel and charcoal on paper
80 x 80 1/8 inches (203.2 x 203.5 cm)
Titled “Stepmonk’s Diary” on the reverse
#3. Untitled, circa 2010
Christie’s New-York: 22 November 2024
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 163,800
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Untitled | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Untitled, circa 2010
Pastel and colored pencil on paper
16 1/4 x 12 7/8 inches (41.3 x 32.7 cm)
#4. Untitled, 2017
Sotheby’s New-York: 14 May 2024
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 139,700
Untitled | Contemporary Day Auction | 2024 | Sotheby’s
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Untitled, 2017
Colored pencil on paper
30 1/4 x 22 3/4 inches (76.8 x 57.8 cm)
Signed and dated Sept 14, 2017 (upper left)
USD 100,000
#5. Untitled, 2006
Phillips New-York: 20 November 2024
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 95,250
George Condo – Modern & Contempora… Lot 364 November 2024 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Untitled, 2006
Pastel on paper
17 3/4 x 17 1/4 inches (45.1 x 43.8 cm)
#6. Reclining Nude (II), 2010
Christie’s New-York: 17 May 2024
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 94,500
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Reclining Nude (II) | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Reclining Nude (II), 2010
Colored pencil on paper
22 1/4 x 30 inches (56.5 x 76.2 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 2010’ (upper left)
#7. Untitled, 1983
Christie’s New-York: 17 July 2024
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 30,000
USD 88,200
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Untitled | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Untitled, 1983
Pastel and watercolor on paper
31 x 22 1/4 inches (78.7 x 56.5 cm)
Signed, dedicated and dated ‘For Rene Ricard Condo 83-8’ (upper left)
#8. Circus Figure, 2018
Phillips New-York: 15 May 2024
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 82,550
George Condo – Modern & Contemporary Ar… Lot 351 May 2024 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Circus Figure, 2018
Pastel and gouache on paper
30×22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm)
Signed and dated “Condo July 15, 2018” upper left
#9. Urbanscape, 1993
Phillips London: 4 December 2024
Estimated: GBP 55,000 – 75,000
GBP 63,500 / USD 80,480
George Condo – New Now: Modern & Co… Lot 18 December 2024 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Urbanscape, 1993
Pastel on paper
29 7/8 x 22 5/8 inches (76 x 57.4 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 93.5’ lower left
#10. Figure with Pearls, 1992
Phillips New-York: 15 May 2024
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 76,200
George Condo – Modern & Contemporary Ar… Lot 418 May 2024 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Figure with Pearls, 1992
Gouache, charcoal and colored pencil on paper
25 1/2 x 19 3/4 inches (64.8 x 50.1 cm)
Signed and dated “Condo 92” upper left
#11. Untitled (No. 2), 1999
Christie’s New-York: 1 October 2024
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 63,000
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Untitled (No. 2), 1999
Ink and pastel on paper
29 5/8 x 21 3/4 inches (75.2 x 55.2 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 4.99’ (upper left)
Partially titled and dated again ‘No. 2 99’ (lower left)
#12. Nude Figures in Landscape, 2004
Christie’s London: 9 March 2024
Estimated: GBP 20,000 – 30,000
GBP 47,880 / USD 61,565
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Nude Figures in Landscape | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Nude Figures in Landscape, 2004
Graphite on paper
30 1/8 x 22 5/8 inches (76.5 x 57.5 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 04’ (upper left)
#13. Untitled
Phillips New-York: 25 September 2024
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 57,150
George Condo – New Now: Modern & … Lot 174 September 2024 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Untitled
Ink on paper
30 1/8 x 22 1/4 inches (76.5 x 56.5 cm)
#14. Untitled, 2007
Christie’s New-York: 17 July 2024
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 56,700
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957), Untitled | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Untitled, 2007
Watercolor and charcoal on paper
26 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches (67.3 x 49.5 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 07’ (upper left)
USD 50,000
#15. Untitled, 2006
Christie’s New-York: 18 December 2024
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 47,880
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957), Untitled | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Untitled, 2006
Silkscreen ink on paper
50×44 inches (127 x 111.8 cm)
#16. Untitled, 2011
Christie’sNew-York: 17 July 2024
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 30,000
USD 44,450
George Condo – New Now: Modern & … Lot 175 September 2024 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Untitled, 2011
Graphite on paper
13 3/8 x 10 inches (34 x 25.4 cm)
2023 Auction Results
WORK IN PROGRESS
#1. Abstract Face (2), 2012
Christie’s New-York: 10 November 2023
Estimated: USD 250,000 – 350,000
USD 516,600
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957) (christies.com)
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Abstract Face (2), 2012
Pastel on paper
30 x 22 1/2 inches (76.2 x 57.2 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 2012’ (upper left)
#2. Out of Time and In Space, 2020
Phillips New-York: 16 May 2023
Estimated: USD 200,000 – 300,000
USD 419,100
George Condo – 20th Century & Contempor… Lot 370 May 2023 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Out of Time and In Space, 2020
Aquarelle pencil and wash and ink on paper
26×40 inches (66 x 101.6 cm)
Signed and dated “Condo June 29, 2020” upper left
#3. Untitled, 1987
Christie’s New-York: 12 May 2023
Estimated: USD 80,000 – 120,000
USD 176,400
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Untitled | Christie’s
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Untitled, 1987
Charcoal on paper
54 x 62.5 inches (137.2 x 158.8 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 87.12’ (lower right)
#4. Untitled, 2016
Phillips Hong-Kong: 31 March 2023
Estimated: HKD 900,000 – 1,200,000
HKD 1,270,000 / USD 161,790
George Condo – 20th Century & Contemp… Lot 155 March 2023 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Untitled, 2016
Ink on paper
22 1/2 x 29 7/8 inches (57×76 cm)
Signed and dated ‘George Condo 12.14.2016’ upper left
#5. Abstract Head, 2012
Sotheby’s London: 13 October 2023
Estimated: GBP 80,000 – 120,000
GBP 107,950 / USD 131,520
Abstract Head | Contemporary Day Auction | 2023 | Sotheby’s
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Abstract Head, 2012
Oil pastel on paper
30×22 inches (76.2 x 56.5 cm)
Signed and dated 2012 (upper left)
#6. Linear Butler, 2011
Phillips London: 3 March 2023
Estimated: GBP 60,000 – 80,000
GBP 95,250 / USD 113,820
George Condo – 20th Century & Contemp… Lot 121 March 2023 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Linear Butler, 2011
Graphite on paper
30 x 22 1/8 inches (76.2 x 56.3 cm)
Signed, inscribed and dated ‘Condo 2011 6/17 London’ upper left
#7. Circus Composition, 2000
Phillips Hong-Kong: 26 November 2023
Estimated: HKD 550,000 – 650,000
HKD 698,500 / USD 89,515
George Condo – New Now & Design Lot 35 November 2023 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Circus Composition, 2000
Ink on paper
28 3/4 x 20 1/2 inches (73×52 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 2000’ upper left
2022 Auction Results
WORK IN PROGRESS
#1. Untitled, 2017
Sotheby’s London: 15 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 90,000 – 120,000
GBP 441,000 / USD 492,665
Untitled | Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Untitled, 2017
Ink on paper
30 1/8 x 22 5/8 inches (76.5 x 57.5 cm)
Signed and dated 2017
#3. Portrait Composition, 2009
Christie’s London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 80,000 – 120,000
GBP 163,800 / USD 185,120
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Portrait Composition | Christie’s (christies.com)
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Portrait Composition, 2009
Charcoal and watercolor on paper
29 3/4 x 22 1/4 inches (75.6 x 56.5 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 09’ (lower right)
Multi-faced Woman, 2004
Christie’s New-York: 18 November 2022
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 182,700
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Multi-faced Woman | Christie’s (christies.com)
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Multi-faced Woman, 2004
Graphite on paper
11 5/8 x 11 5/8 inches (29.46 x 29.46 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 04’ (upper left)
Focus
Smiling Faces, 2019
Sotheby’s New-York: 16 May 2025
Estimated: USD 80,000 – 120,000
USD 177,800
Smiling Faces | Contemporary Day Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Smiling Faces, 2019
Wax crayon on paper
30×22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm)
Signed and dated Aug 2019 (upper left)
“The most consistent thing in my work is this idea of humanity. Of finding a way to represent the human consciousness in the representation through a portrait. That portrait could represent not only the exterior appearance of that person, but what’s going through their mind and what emotional states could be happening to them and within them.”
Pablo Picasso, FEMME AU BÉRET ET À LA ROBE QUADRILLÉE (MARIE-THÉRÈSE WALTER), 1937. Sold at Sotheby’s for $61.9 million. Private Collection. Art © 2023 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Blue Portrait Composition, 2013
Sotheby’s Diriyah: 8 February 2025
Estimated: USD 350,000 – 450,000
USD 420,000
Blue Portrait Composition | Origins | 2025 | Sotheby’s
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Blue Portrait Composition, 2013
Ink, acrylic and gesso on paper
60 1/4 x 41 1/2 inches (152 x 105.4 cm)
Following a nine-month stint in Andy Warhol’s Factory, George Condo emerged onto the 1980s New York art scene alongside seminal figures such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Like Haring and Basquiat, Condo was critically engaged throughout the eighties in the inauguration of a new form of figurative painting that stylistically blended the representational and the abstract. Condo coined the terms ‘artificial realism’ and ‘psychological cubism’ to define his hybridization of art historical influences, specifically his fusion of the Old Master subject matter with the distorted geometric perspectives of Cubism.
Through a prolific output of compelling yet grotesque portraits, Condo established himself by the turn of the century as one of the preeminent figurative painters of the contemporary era. Testament to this accomplishment, Condo’s method of extrapolating and distorting traditional figurative motifs through an abstract lens has influenced an entire generation of artists working today.
Pablo Picasso, Femme en pleurs, 1937
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne / © Succession Picasso/DACS, London 2025 / Bridgeman Images
Art © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Visceral in application and metamorphic in composition, Blue Portrait Composition captures the raw painterly dynamism and searing psychic intensity which characterize the very best of George Condo’s celebrated practice. An assemblage of forms and figures that collide and fragment, Blue Portrait Composition obfuscates and blurs the traditional delineations between drawing and painting, finished and unfinished, balanced and unbalanced, flatness and sculptural depth to embody the kaleidoscopic complexities of human emotion.
Stepmonk’s Diary, 1996
Phillips New-York: 25 September 2024
Estimated: USD 200,000 – 300,000
USD 279,400
George Condo – New Now: Modern & C… Lot 31 September 2024 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Stepmonk’s Diary, 1996
Acrylic, pastel and charcoal on paper
80 x 80 1/8 inches (203.2 x 203.5 cm)
Titled “Stepmonk’s Diary” on the reverse
Measuring more than six feet in height and width, George Condo’s Stepmonk’s Diary, 1996, is a monumental example of the artist’s portraiture practice. Created the year after Condo returned to the United States following a decade long stay in Paris, the present work is a testament to Condo’s increasing interest in Picasso, the drawings of which he studied and collected during his time abroad. In the same manner that Picasso was known for pushing the boundaries of figurative painting, Condo’s ‘figures’ are often grotesque and cartoon-like, transcending the familiar and foreign, and reflecting a manipulation of art historical tradition. The figure’s lack of facial features in Stepmonk’s Diary work within Condo’s framework of “artificial realism” – questioning the logic of our exterior world. A figure in a navy-blue shirt poses alone within a vast white empty sheet. An uncannily long neck extends upward, upon which sits an oblong egg-shaped head, a green ball resting on top. To the left and right are two wide frog-like eyes, staring intensely back at the viewer. Emerging from the artist’s memory and imagination, the figure appears more dreamlike than realistic, presenting the viewer with imagery akin to a human, but distinctly unrecognizable – we are both haunted and intrigued by the ‘Stepmonk’, if we assume the title to depict the figure.
Condo has described his style of painting as “psychological cubism” saying, “Picasso painted a violin from four different perspectives at one moment. I do the same with psychological states. Four of them can occur simultaneously. Like glimpsing a bus with one passenger howling over a joke they’re hearing down the phone, someone else asleep, someone else crying – I’ll put them all in one face.” Just as Picasso was able to collapse multiple entities and states of being into one form, Condo’s ‘antipodal beings’, as he calls them, exemplify a similarly perverse art historical construction. Started in the late 1990s, these invented forms are characterized by their exaggerated facial features, meant to exist on the outskirts of society as indicated by their often-sparse settings. Conceptualized early in his practice, this style has come to define the artist’s career, solidifying him within the cannon of contemporary art.
[Left] Willem de Kooning, The Dubliner, 1965, The Philadelphia Museum of Art. Image: Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Luther W. Brady Collection, Artwork: © The Willem de Kooning Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
[Right] Pablo Picasso, Harlequin Musician, 1924 / The National Gallery of Art. Image: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Given in loving memory of her husband, Taft Schreiber, by Rita Schreiber, Artwork: © Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
In constructing this liminal space, Condo’s work reflects a preoccupation with the traditions of classical portraiture proposed by the Old Masters, while subverting it, aligning with artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Pablo Picasso and Caravaggio. Condo is noted as being directly inspired by these artists, as each of them “created their own language which was somehow comprised of everything that came before them and took it to a new level.” With the bizarre, unnerving characters which dominate his imagination, such as the one depicted in Stepmonk’s Diary, Condo strikes a uniquely postmodern balance of power.
Circus Composition, 2000
Phillips Hong-Kong: 26 November 2023
Estimated: HKD 550,000 – 650,000
HKD 698,500 / USD 89,515
George Condo – New Now & Design Lot 35 November 2023 | Phillips
GEORGE CONDO
Circus Composition, 2000
Ink on paper
28 3/4 x 20 1/2 inches (73×52 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 2000’ upper left
An eccentric amalgamation of physical anatomy and human psychology, Circus Composition brilliantly epitomizes American artist George Condo and his wildly inventive contributions to the tradition of portraiture. Drawing from European art history, the avant-garde and popular culture, his whimsical yet often grotesque works are situated between the familiar and uncanny in exploring the limits of the human psyche. In Circus Composition, a group of carnivalesque caricatures populate the composition, all possessing the overly modelled features of Condo’s ‘antipodal beings’ – oversized eyes, protruding ears, frenzied stares and ominous grins that defy both traditional portraiture practices and common beauty standards. Set within an empty environment, the characters surround a nude female figure, also typical of the artist’s oeuvre, in a tense face-off. As the objectified body clashes with macabre representations of split personalities, the viewer is simultaneously confronted by the spectacle at play – the right-most figure stares out of the frame, directly at those observing the scene to solicit a variety of reactions. More than a simple depiction of marginalised characters, Condo transforms them into surrogates of his exploration of human psychology. With rationality and the various states of human consciousness battling for dominance, absurdity, conflict and hysteria become all that remain.
Abstract Face (2), 2012
Christie’s New-York: 10 November 2023
Estimated: USD 250,000 – 350,000
USD 516,600
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957) (christies.com)
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Abstract Face (2), 2012
Pastel on paper
30 x 22 1/2 inches (76.2 x 57.2 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 2012’ (upper left)
Abstract Face (2) embraces the improvisational act of drawing. Confident lines and playful colors form a hysterical and lyrical figure, brightly punctuated against a white background. Teeth haphazardly dance across the face like keys of a piano. Treating paper with the same respect that canvas demands, Condo seamlessly fuses the surface of drawing with that of painting. In a sketch-like quality he maintains control using pastel to define the essence of a person in a few deft strokes. While drawing has always occupied an important space in Condo’s practice, his ability to effortless incorporate drawing into his painting process is something he developed over time. First asserted in his Drawing Paintings, begun in 2009 and continued ever since, his ability to freely flow between the two modes of production marks a turning point in the artist’s career. In order to fully understand the importance of this shift, we must consider it within the history of art, which has always had the tendency to give hierarchical preference to painting over drawing—drawing often considered the support mechanism and necessary process for realizing the higher and more preferred medium of painting. Despite the fact artists and historians for centuries have rejected the classification and privileging of painting as something other than and better than drawing, this notion is so deeply ingrained in the value placed on work that it is something each artist must reconcile for themselves. Condo has not only reconciled drawing and painting as equal, he has found a way to authentically render that in his work, an authenticity exemplified in Abstract Face (2). In liberating drawing, Condo liberated himself, opening up a more fluid form of expression that allowed him to freely trace the tenets of the human mind. Through the improvisation of form and consciousness, Condo creates jarring compositions that give weight to the turbulence of life and our frenzied existence. The carnivalesque portrayal of an imagined person in Abstract Face (2) creates a playful and menacing interaction with the viewer. Through grotesque characterizations, Condo is able to exploit the best and worst of human nature. The exaggerated tendencies of his subjects provide comic relief, while the perversions of the figure and monstrous-distortion lead to darker impulses. As we stare into a shattered mirror of line and color, the strange creature reflects back a volatile mixture of fear, desire, freedom, vulgarity and humor. What we see has the ability to tell us more about ourselves than we might realize. Seen abstractly his portraits are existential reliefs. Through a figurative lens they become caricatures of human existence.
Untitled, 2017
Sotheby’s London: 15 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 90,000 – 120,000
GBP 441,000
Untitled | Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
GEORGE CONDO (b. 1957)
Untitled, 2017
Ink on paper
30 1/8 x 22 5/8 inches (76.5 x 57.5 cm)
Signed and dated 2017
Executed in 2017, Untitled by George Condo, is a exemplary of the artist’s celebrated ouevre and inimitable creative spirit. A quasi history portrait that has been refracted and abstracted through the kaleidoscopic aesthetic lens of Picasso, the present work celebrates Condo’s homage to the artists of yesteryear. Throughout his forty-year illustrious career, Condo continues to abandon conventional pictorial narrative, leaning instead towards his own grotesque and fantastical inventions, whilst espousing a myriad of influences, including Pop Art, graffiti, caricatures and comics. Born of an intense dialogue between art history and popular culture, Condo’s paintings conjure stylistic traits that are absorbed from a multitude of canonical references, corporeally melding their features into a unique brand of psychologically charged portraiture.
Studying Picasso’s work as a young painter living in Paris in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Condo engages the Spanish artist’s imposing legacy to create an aesthetic identity and painterly legacy entirely and unapologetically his own. In the present work, the sitter is shown in three-quarter profile; a standard for portraiture dating back to the Renaissance era. Wonderfully warm in its golden and auburn tonality, Untitled sees the dismantling of the figures retina as one eye sits atop the female sitter’s head – akin to the oculus of an omnipresent being that is all seeing and knowing – whilst the right eye cascades disturbingly yet gracefully down the figure’s cheek. Jekyll & Hide in its very nature, this schizophrenic alter ego collapses identifiable space in favor of geometric forms that appear to morph and grow from her profile, espousing Condo’s celebrated ‘Artificial Realism’ in all its glory. Since the early 1980s, Condo has pioneered a hybrid-topography of the human figure, inventing a fictional schema to explore the tenets of subjectivity. A process of celebration, reverence and progression at a time when painting was considered dead, Condo catapulted portraiture back into the creative Now in a profound and meaningful way. Indeed, Untitled bears witness to the fantastical hybridization that is synonymous with the artist’s ingenious treatment of the contemporary psyche; it is an extraordinary examination of the deepest recesses of the psychological.
Portrait Composition, 2009
Christie’s London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 80,000 – 120,000
GBP 163,800
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957), Portrait Composition | Christie’s (christies.com)
GEORGE CONDO (B. 1957)
Portrait Composition, 2009
Charcoal and watercolor on paper
29 3/4 x 22 1/4 inches (75.6 x 56.5 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Condo 09’ (lower right)