Famous for his distinctive riffs on popular cartoon characters, American artist KAWS has created a huge buzz in the contemporary art world with his visual language. Brian Donnelly, popularly known as KAWS, started as a graffiti artist with New York as his urban canvas. Since his first vinyl toy COMPANION (one of the first from over 130 toy designs) in 1999, it was only upward and onwards for the former street artist. Be it with the 115-foot-long inflatable sculpture that floated in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, the 20-foot tall WHAT PARTY bronze sculpture in front of the Seagram Building in Manhattan, or with his numerous other figures and auction records, KAWS has cemented his name in the contemporary art world and beyond. So much so that his artworks sell for eight-figure amounts at auctions and are some of the most expensive and undeniable mainstays of the art market today.
Meanwhile, KAWS’ endless collaborations including the ones with A Bathing Ape (BAPE), Dior, Nike, Bearbrick, Disney, Travis Scott, Pharrell Williams, Nina Chanel Abney and J-Hope from BTS, add more value to his list of achievements. KAWS’ inspirations from the famous cartoon family gives a sense of familiarity and make his figures and paintings easy to understand. No doubt he is winning over varied spectrums of popular culture and helping bridge boundaries between street art, fine art, fashion and more. KAWS’ reworking of cartoons, also takes after works of older pop artists such as Claes Oldenburg, Tom Wesselmann and Takashi Murakami, who according to KAWS, “really opened up a lot of doors on acceptance and crossover projects.”
Donnelly studied illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Prior to his success as KAWS, Donnelly was a background painter for the Disney animated series 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997-1998), and shows Daria (1997 – 2002) and Doug (1991 – 1994). From a curious kid who loved cartoons to the groundbreaking contemporary artist KAWS, who now smashes auction records, Donnelly’s journey has been magnificent. Be it The KAWS Album (2005) which sold for USD 14.8 million or the Untitled (Kimpsons #1) (2004) which sold for USD 7.4 million in Hong Kong’s Sotheby’s in 2019, his artworks have been creating history time and again.
Want to know more about KAWS’ record-breaking sales? Well, we have you covered.
Here are some of the most expensive KAWS artworks sold at auctions
The KAWS Album
Sold for: USD 14.8 million
About the artwork: Inspired by The Beatles’ 1967 album cover for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the work titled The KAWS Album (2005) features KAWS’ signature Kimpsons characters based on the popular sitcom The Simpsons and was a part of Sotheby’s NIGOLDENEYE® Vol.1 auction in Hong Kong on 1 April 2019. The painting that now makes for one of the most expensive KAWS artworks to be auctioned, sold for 14 times its estimate and smashed the previous auction record set by the 2004 Untitled (Fatal Group) for KAWS.
The Walk Home
Sold for: USD 6 million approximately
About the artwork: The Walk Home (2012), which sold for almost ten times its low estimate on 16 May 2019, became an unmissable highlight of Phillips’ 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale, in New York. It is a re-imagination of the iconic character from the SpongeBob SquarePants series with KAWS’ signature x-crossed eyes ‘Kawsbob’ that screams among dozens of disembodied arms.
Untitled (Kimpsons #1)
Sold for: USD 7.4 million
About the artwork: The nine-foot-tall painting created in 2004, with a dark blue background, is the largest of KAWS’ Kimpsons paintings produced in collaboration with Japanese art collector NIGO®. It was auctioned at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Contemporary Art Evening Sale on 6 October 2019, and soared past its lower estimate, becoming one of the most expensive KAWS art pieces sold at an auction.
In The Woods
Sold for: USD 3.9 million
About the artwork: In The Woods (2002) is a larger-than-life reimagination of Disney’s Snow White and was first auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York on 3 March 2016. Three years later, the painting outdid its expected estimate and sold after an increase of almost nine times the previous selling price, at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Afternoon Session in New York on 16 May 2019.
Armed Away
Sold for: USD 3 million
About the artwork: This surreal landscape created in 2014 makes for one of the most expensive KAWS works sold at an auction and offers explosive and disjointed figures of Tom and Jerry chasing each other in an immersive dystopian environmental disaster. It was offered for auction at Christie’s in Hong Kong on 25 May 2019.
Untitled (Fatal Group)
Sold for: USD 2.3 million
About the artwork: This 2004 creation was auctioned at Phillips in New York on 15 November 2018, and sold for triple the amount of its higher estimate. The work that set a new auction record for KAWS, is a reimagination of the popular characters from the 1970-80s children’s cartoon Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids with KAWS’ signature cross-eyed skull faces.
Kurf (Hot Dog)
Sold for: USD 2.6 million
About the artwork: This 2008 artwork shows Kurf holding a giant hotdog, thus bringing together many elements of American life. It was sold at Sotheby’s in New York on 16 May 2019. The Kurf (Hot Dog) is inspired by the 1980s cartoon series The Smurfs.
Kurfs (Tangle)
Sold for: USD 2.7 million
About the artwork: This artwork was up for auction at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on 15 May 2019. The work that shows the Kurf struggling to break free against a kid-friendly animated background, became a global sensation after its creation in 2009 and went ahead to create major records. Similar to the 2008 creation Kurf (Hot Dog), this too is a homage to the famous 1980s cartoon series The Smurfs.
Untitled (Kimpsons #3)
Sold for: USD 2.2 million
About the artwork: The 2003 work is the fourth most expensive KAWS piece sold at an auction. This painting was sold for almost four times its presale estimate in Hong Kong’s Sotheby’s on 1 April 2019. The work offers a drastic contrast to the other Kimpsons paintings and shows the caricatured Simpsons family slumped in varying positions across the now-deflated couch.
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(Main image credit: In The Woods/Christie’s; Featured image credit: Untitled (Kimpsons #1)/Sotheby’s)
A PhD research scholar, Sushmita is a full-time writer and a part time poet. Notepads are Sushmita's one true love -- the unbothered victims drowned in the ink of her pen. An avid fan of K-pop and K-dramas, she mostly writes about Korean culture and entertainment. When not writing, Sushmita is dancing, reading, collecting books, learning about fashion, art, motion pictures, and appreciating BTS.