Michael Goldberg 1924–2008
Michael Goldberg defies classification. Often described as a second generation Abstract Expressionist; the Bronx-born artist began carving out his place in the canon when he started painting in 1939 at the age of fifteen. He had finished high school a year earlier and enrolled in classes at City College. His foray into collegiate life was short lived, however. More interested in the Jazz clubs near campus, Goldberg started skipping classes and promptly dropped out. At the age of seventeen, like many of the leading artists of the time, he began studying under Hans Hofmann. After the outbreak of World War II, Goldberg enlisted in the United States Army as a paratrooper and earned a purple heart for his service—an honor befitting of the man described by so many as immensely generous, gregarious and formidable. Upon returning to the states, Goldberg continued to study under Hofmann and participated in Leo Castelli’s groundbreaking Ninth Street Show in 1951. A regular at the Cedar Bar in New York, he was known for having involved conversations about painting and for telling epic tales from his past. Needless to say, he befriended many artists who also frequented the famed watering hole including poet Frank O’Hara who would become a lifelong friend and occasional collaborator.
Auction Results Michael Goldberg
Michael Goldberg
Untitled
estimate: $200,000–300,000
result: $300,000
Michael Goldberg
Untitled
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $42,500
Michael Goldberg
Untitled
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $20,000
Michael Goldberg
Untitled
estimate: $8,000–10,000
result: $17,500
Michael Goldberg
Le Grotte Vecchie 1st Study
estimate: $7,000–9,000
result: $11,250
Michael Goldberg
Untitled
estimate: $3,000–5,000
result: $11,250
Michael Goldberg
Codex Coner Piede Vicentino V
estimate: $7,000–9,000
result: $7,500
Michael Goldberg
Untitled
estimate: $7,000–9,000
result: $6,875
Michael Goldberg
Codex Morales Piede Sermugnanc VII
estimate: $5,000–7,000
result: $5,000
Michael Goldberg
Untitled (Double Square)
estimate: $700–900
result: $1,250
Michael Goldberg
Untitled (Triangle)
estimate: $700–900
result: $1,063
Michael Goldberg
Untitled
estimate: $700–900
result: $625
Michael Goldberg
Untitled
estimate: $30,000–50,000
Michael Goldberg
Codex Morales Piede Sermugnanc VII
estimate: $10,000–15,000