Jeff Koons’s ‘Bob-Tail’ Emerges from Three Decades of Private Custodianship for its Auction Debut
AI-assisted voice playback. Starts only when you choose Play.
The monumental presence of a dog rendered in gleaming stainless steel and polychrome has occupied a private sanctuary for the better part of three decades. Now, Jeff Koons's 'Bob-Tail', conceived in 1991 as an emblem of companionship and the ineffable bonds that animate human devotion, is preparing to encounter new admirers through the auction house.
A Work of Pivotal Significance
The sculpture belongs to Koons's formative 'Made in Heaven' series, a body of work that purposefully dissolves the carefully maintained boundary between the spectacle of high art and the quotidian experience of everyday life. In 'Bob-Tail', the artist's sustained fascination with the canine form finds profound expression. The creature's salt-and-pepper coat, parted mouth and gently panting expression combine to create an almost uncanny presence, one that speaks to the deeply personal yet universally understood experience of animal companionship.
'Bob-Tail' will mark the first occasion on which any edition of this significant work has appeared at public auction, lending the forthcoming sale considerable weight within the broader canon of contemporary sculpture.
London Viewing and the New York Sale
The work is currently visible at the London galleries, where it remains available for inspection through 14 October, granting collectors and scholars the opportunity to experience its commanding scale and material refinement firsthand.
The sculpture will anchor the Contemporary Evening Auction in New York on 16 November, presented in partnership with Céline. This represents a significant moment for discerning collectors seeking to acquire a cornerstone work from one of contemporary art's most influential practitioners.
The Language of Devotion
In choosing the domestic animal as a primary subject, Koons engages with archetypal forms of loyalty and affection that transcend the boundaries of fine art discourse. The shaggy coat, rendered with extraordinary technical precision, speaks to the tactile reality of animal companionship, whilst the sculpture's monumental scale elevates this intimate subject matter to the realm of the monumental and the transcendent.
After three decades in the care of a single collector, 'Bob-Tail' now seeks its next custodian among the international community of serious collectors and institutions devoted to contemporary sculpture.
The emergence of 'Bob-Tail' at auction represents a rare opportunity to acquire a work that captures both a defining moment in the artist's artistic evolution and a universal human experience rendered in enduring materials.
Key Facts
- Title: 'Bob-Tail'
- Artist: Jeff Koons
- Series: 'Made in Heaven'
- Year Created: 1991
- Sale: The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction, presented in partnership with Céline
- Sale Date: 16 November 2026
The Simply Luxury View
For collectors of contemporary sculpture, the appearance of 'Bob-Tail' at auction holds considerable significance. The work represents an early crystallisation of Koons's engagement with domesticity and emotion as subjects worthy of monumental artistic treatment, anticipating concerns that would occupy him throughout the subsequent decades.
The fact that this edition has remained in private hands for more than thirty years underscores the work's status within the artist's oeuvre. Its emergence at auction marks a watershed moment for serious collectors seeking to acquire major works from the 'Made in Heaven' series, one of the most distinctive and culturally resonant bodies of work in late twentieth-century art.
Official brand website: sothebys.com
Imagery is used for editorial purposes. All rights remain with the respective owners, photographers and licensors.
Imagery courtesy of Sotheby's (@sothebys).