A Look Inside Christie's Southampton's First Exhibition

Christie’s Southampton, which launched this summer, opened its first private selling exhibition, “Out East,” in late June. The show focuses on the work of artists who’ve spent time or lived on the East End of Long Island.

“Our inaugural exhibition ‘Out East’ features artists who lived or spent a good bit of time out on Long Island, and who were inspired by the creative spirit of the East End,” said Kristen France, who manages the gallery. “Beginning in the early 20th century, Long Island was a place where artists and writers would come to seek inspiration in the natural beauty of the area, to find space to think creatively, and to kind of remove themselves from the city. But the proximity to the city also makes this location attractive: artists can still be part of the city culture and arts scene and then always easily have this moment of respite out here.”

Artists like North Haven’s Eric Fischl, and Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, who lived in the Springs, to Andy Warhol, who had a compound in Montauk, populate the gallery with paintings, photographs and other work.

Christie’s, which signed a year-long lease on the former automotive service station at 1 Pond Lane in Southampton Village, partnered with the Carpenter’s Workshop Gallery, whose chairs and other pieces are also on display — and for sale.

“It’s a very large space,” France said of the new gallery. “Half of it has just windows and doesn’t have walls for us to hang the pieces on. So we were kind of like, ‘How can we best utilize this space?’ This partnership came about and I think it works well to have this wonderful conversation between fine art and design, because that’s how people really collect.”

The residency in Southampton comes after a successful pop-up auction event at the Parrish Art Museum last summer. Christie’s Southampton’s second exhibition, “Grace Hartigan: No Rules,” is set to open Saturday, July 17 and run through Sunday, August 8. Hartigan was a trailblazing figure and celebrated artist in the New York arts scene beginning in the ’40s. Her extensive circle of friends included the de Koonings, Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, Franz Kline, the poet Frank O’Hara and countless other artists and writers. In addition to the upcoming show, Christie’s plans to hold other private selling exhibitions, as well as other programming for the off-season.

France explained that the presence was getting wonderful feedback, so there may be potential for Christie’s in Southampton to stay beyond its initial lease.

“I think what we’re seeing in the past year, year-and-a-half, is that auction houses and galleries and organizations are looking outside of the usual centers of New York City and kind of trying to expand our horizons and think about how we can have a presence elsewhere,” France said.

In Southampton, Christie’s joins the Peter Marino Foundation, a gallery space that recently opened down the street in the former Rogers Memorial Library building, as well as the Philips Auction House, which opened in the former Southampton Town Hall on Hampton Road in 2020. In addition, a slate of high-end New York City galleries have set up shop in East Hampton as well in the past year.

“For our first presence out here, we wanted to pay homage to this wonderful place. We wanted to represent the community because we are so excited to once again be a part of this fantastic and creative artistic community,” France said. “I mean, it’s been wonderful to see all the galleries that are coming in and the different arts organizations and foundations that are coming into the area. And it really feels like there’s this renewed spirit.”

Pieces within the exhibition are available for private sale. Christie’s Southampton is open by appointment, Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at 1 Pond Lane. For more information, visit christies.com/exhibitions/southampton, call 212-636-2600 or email southampton@christies.com.