kolkata sothebys contemporary art evening sale on 14 may 2013 will include the most important painting by barnett newman ever to appear at auction onement vi from 1953 stands as a masterwork not only of newmans artistic enterprise but of the entire abstract expressionist movement the vast 8 x 10 feet canvas overwhelms the viewer with cascading washes of vibrant blue intersected by the artists revolutionary vertical zip onement vi is the most momentous of the six paintings in the series and one of only two onement works remaining in private hands onement vi is estimated to fetch 3040 million and will be on exhibition at sothebys from 3 may tobias meyer worldwide head of contemporary art at sothebys commented in an email onement vi is one of the most significant pieces of contemporary art i have handled in my 20 years at sothebys barnett newman is regarded as among the most independent and courageous artists of the 20th century he was deeply admired by his fellow abstract expressionists and as an exhibitions organizer for the newly opened betty parsons gallery in 1946 played a critical role in the careers of friends such as mark rothko jackson pollock and clyfford still among others newmans paintings also went on to influence the next generation of artists such as frank stella in addition onement vi was singled out for praise by the acclaimed critic and proponent of jackson pollock clement greenberg the paintings of the onement series are characterized by the distinctive stripe running down the centre of the canvas the zip is considered a defining turning point in the artists practice and was formed by using tape and allowing the blue paint to bleed irregularly into the central area in onement vi the zip is distinguished both by the sharp edges that retain the memory of the tape and the gentle laps of darker paint seeping into the cool light blue newman gave onement vi to his wife annalee in december 1953 and it remained in her collection for nearly a decade it was later acquired by the prestigious collectors frederick and marcia weisman in 1961 the same year that the newmans lent the painting to the influential abstract expressionists and imagists show at the solomon r guggenheim museum and also the year vogue art director alexander liberman shot the famous photograph of the artist with the painting onement vi is the final largest and definitive work of the venerated cycle of the six paintings in the series four are held by major museums two in the collection of the museum of modern art new york with one each at the wadsworth atheneum hartford and the allen memorial art museum oberlin college ohio there is only one other work from the series in private hands the much smaller onement v which was sold at auction in 2012 and currently holds the record for the artist not only is onement vi the largest in that acclaimed cycle it also one of the