Late artist Larry Rivers’ sculpture “Legs” sold for $100,000 in the first 15 minutes of Hamptons Fine Art Fair, The Post can report.
The giant legs — Rivers made multiple pairs of the 20-foot gams — had been in front of Rivers’ home in Southampton.
Said a local of the sculpture that was previously displayed at Rivers’ home, in front of his studio, “These legs were originally displayed at the Smith Haven Mall and then when that display was over, they were moved to Larry’s house in the village of Southampton.”
The Hamptons insider recalled, “It was a very classic, old-fashioned shingled street and so the ‘Legs’ were controversial from the moment they went up on the property. All the guests had to walk through the legs — almost like being reborn to get into Larry’s [studio] front door! Larry found his friends’ and guests’ reactions to be hilarious. The house was frequently photographed by everyone, and there were days when there were literal traffic jams on this small street.”
The sculpture was sold by the artist’s foundation. The foundation’s executive director, David Joel, confirmed that the “Legs” sculpture sold, but would not comment on the price.
He added that, “They are the same ‘Legs‘ that were originally part of the 1969 mixed media construction for the Smith Haven Mall, called ‘Forty Feet of Fashion.’ These original set of ‘Legs’… were used to create a second set in 1994 for a collector in Florida. Years later, that second set went to auction and were ultimately purchased by [Hamptons art gallerist Ruth Vered], who then erected them on her property in Sag Harbor.”
Page Six has previously written about the Sag Harbor sculpture: A battle has raged for years over whether the art, displayed outside the home of Vered and Janet Lehr, violates local zoning rules.
In 2017, the Sag Harbor sculpture was vandalized with red paint, and the yearslong controversy over the artwork was even made into a documentary, “Legs: A Big Issue in a Small Town,” co-directed by Beatrice Alda, daughter of actor Alan Alda.
The Hamptons Fine Art Fair wrapped on Sunday at the Southampton Arts Center. The fair also included this year a M.C. Escher display, and a re-creation of Jackson Pollock’s studio floor.
According to reports, Rivers’ former home has also just been put on the market for $8.495 million.