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Christie’s and a Baltimore Gallery to Sell Work by Black Artists

Later this month, the auction house will sell works chosen by the Black-owned Galerie Myrtis, amid an increased focus on diversity.

Morel Doucet’s “Black Maiden (The Caged Bird Sings a Soliloquy of Midnight Veil),” which is part of the Christie’s auction.Credit...Morel Doucet; via Galerie Myrtis

At a time when galleries and museums are focusing on diversity in the artists they show, Christie’s auction house this month will collaborate with the Black-owned Galerie Myrtis in Baltimore to sell a selection of work by six contemporary Black artists.

“It gives us the opportunity to think about the auction model and try to expand it,” said Julian Ehrlich, the Christie’s specialist organizing the sale. “The goal is to bring a wider group of voices into the Christie’s world.”

The paintings, to be featured in Christie’s “Post-War to Present” sale on Sept. 29, were all chosen by Myrtis Bedolla, the founder of the gallery.

“It is very impactful and part of what needs to happen across the board,” Bedolla said. “It’s important in achieving our blue-chip status, the visibility that it allows for us as it relates to equity and Black economic empowerment.”

The group of works — “Time, Space, Existence: Afro-Futurist Visions From Galerie Myrtis” — echoes the gallery’s exhibition “The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined,” currently on view at the European Cultural Center’s “Personal Structures — Reflections” in Venice through Nov. 27.

Among the artists whose work is featured are Monica Ikegwu, who focuses on Black portraiture; Morel Doucet, a Miami-based multidisciplinary artist; and Larry Cook, a Washington-based photographer.

“There are serious concerns addressed in their work that we’re bringing to a global audience,” Bedolla said.

A correction was made on 
Oct. 7, 2022

An earlier version of this article misstated where the exhibition “The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined” is on display. It is part of the European Cultural Center’s “Personal Structures -- Reflections,” not the Venice Biennale.

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Robin Pogrebin is a reporter on the Culture desk, where she covers cultural institutions, the art world, architecture and other subjects. She is also the co-author of “The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation.” More about Robin Pogrebin

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section C, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: A Christie’s Collaboration Is Focusing On Diversity. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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