The Los Angeles museum founded by billionaire Eli Broad said it acquired Mark Bradford’s "Helter Skelter I" — the painting inspired by serial killer Charles Manson that retired tennis pro John McEnroe sold at auction last week.
“We are proud to acquire Helter Skelter I, which is among the most significant works he has ever produced,” Joanne Heyler, the Broad museum’s founding director and chief curator, said in a statement. Like many of the works by Bradford, a black artist from Los Angeles, “it confronts the economic and social structures that perpetuate issues of power, race and crime,” she said. “It is a powerful work that deepens our Bradford holdings, and will become a centerpiece in our galleries.”
The Broad paid $12 million, an auction record for a Bradford work, at Phillips in London on March 8. The figure includes commission.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.
