Paul McCarthy

(American, born 1945)

Paul McCarthy is an American contemporary artist working across media in performance, sculpture, and film. Inspired by American popular culture, lewd sexual innuendo, and the work of Joseph Beuys, McCarthy constructs complicated critiques of consumerism and art. “I had this thing about exposing the interior of the body,” the artist has said, “the orifices leading into the body, and what the interior was, and the taboos of the interior.” His work aims to make his audience feel uncomfortable and often succeeds in stirring controversy, notably in 2014 when his sculpture Tree—a green inflatable that resembled a butt plug—was defaced and then removed within two days of its installation in Paris’ Place Vendôme. Among his recurring themes is the satirizing of the iconic male painter, as seen in his seminal video Painter (1995), which depicts a buffoonish, arrogant artist in the vein of Abstract Expressionism. Born on August 4, 1945 in Salt Lake City, UT, he went on to receive his MFA from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. His work is in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., among others. McCarthy lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. 

Paul McCarthy News

Art Fairs

High-Octane Sales During the VIP Preview of Art Basel's Second Online Fair Solidify the 'New Normal' of the Socially Distanced Art Market

by Tim Schneider
High-Octane Sales During the VIP Preview of Art Basel's Second Online Fair Solidify the 'New Normal' of the Socially Distanced Art Market
Art Fairs

How Is Art Basel’s Experiment With Online Sales Going? Early Indications Suggest Mega-Galleries Are Making Out Just Fine

by Eileen Kinsella
How Is Art Basel’s Experiment With Online Sales Going? Early Indications Suggest Mega-Galleries Are Making Out Just Fine
On View

Danish Collector Jens Faurschou Is Opening a Private Museum in Brooklyn—and He Doesn't Care If You Have Fun There

by Eileen Kinsella
Danish Collector Jens Faurschou Is Opening a Private Museum in Brooklyn—and He Doesn't Care If You Have Fun There

Paul McCarthy Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Paul McCarthy (508 results)
Sans titre, 2007

Paul McCarthy

Sans titre, 2007

Sale Date: December 11, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1983

Paul McCarthy

Untitled, 1983

Sale Date: December 14, 2022

Auction Closed

Michael Jackson (They Schould'n Touch), 1999

Paul McCarthy

Michael Jackson (They Schould'n Touch), 1999

Sale Date: December 4, 2022

Auction Closed

Michael Jackson (They Schould'n Touch), 1999

Paul McCarthy

Michael Jackson (They Schould'n Touch), 1999

Sale Date: December 4, 2022

Auction Closed

Pinocchio Pipenose Householddilemma, 1994

Paul McCarthy

Pinocchio Pipenose Householddilemma, 1994

Sale Date: December 7, 2022

Auction Closed

Pudding, 1999

Paul McCarthy

Pudding, 1999

Sale Date: December 2, 2022

Auction Closed

Senza titolo, 1992

Paul McCarthy

Senza titolo, 1992

Sale Date: December 13, 2022

Auction Closed

The Tree, triptych, and Long Sleeve Shirt, 2021

Paul McCarthy

The Tree, triptych, and Long Sleeve Shirt, 2021

Sale Date: November 16, 2022

Auction Closed

Pudding, 1999

Paul McCarthy

Pudding, 1999

Sale Date: November 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Fake Shit (10 pieces), 1992

Paul McCarthy

Fake Shit (10 pieces), 1992

Sale Date: November 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Photo Book, 1992

Paul McCarthy

Photo Book, 1992

Sale Date: November 6, 2022

Auction Closed

Peter Paul Skin Sample (P. 73), 2005

Paul McCarthy

Peter Paul Skin Sample (P. 73), 2005

Sale Date: October 26, 2022

Auction Closed

Bad Boy, 2005

Paul McCarthy

Bad Boy, 2005

Sale Date: August 18, 2022

Auction Closed

Pudding

Paul McCarthy

Pudding

Sale Date: June 2, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled 8 (Clooney Looney), 2006

Paul McCarthy

Untitled 8 (Clooney Looney), 2006

Sale Date: June 2, 2022

Auction Closed

The Tree, triptych, and Long Sleeve Shirt, 2021

Paul McCarthy x The Skateroom

The Tree, triptych, and Long Sleeve Shirt, 2021

Sale Date: May 18, 2022

Auction Closed

Barney 1992, 1992

Paul McCarthy

Barney 1992, 1992

Sale Date: April 26, 2022

Auction Closed

Paul McCarthy

"Red, 2005

Sale Date: April 6, 2022

Auction Closed

Brancusi Tree (Gold), 2007

Paul McCarthy

Brancusi Tree (Gold), 2007

Sale Date: February 24, 2022

Auction Closed

The Popular Figure, 1993

Paul McCarthy

The Popular Figure, 1993

Sale Date: January 11, 2022

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 2004

Paul McCarthy

Ohne Titel, 2004

Sale Date: December 17, 2021

Auction Closed

Sans titre (shit drawing), 1992

Paul McCarthy

Sans titre (shit drawing), 1992

Sale Date: December 6, 2021

Auction Closed

Santa Claus 1997, 1997

Paul McCarthy

Santa Claus 1997, 1997

Sale Date: November 23, 2021

Auction Closed

Dead Penis;

Paul McCarthy

Dead Penis; "Yellow Swing"; Coma, 1997

Sale Date: November 14, 2021

Auction Closed

English (US)

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