Tonight (14th February) at 19:00hrs, Christie’s, the London Auctioneer’s, will be holding a Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction. They have paintings from a number of well known artists, such as Mark Rothko, Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon. The auction’s have a combined pre-sale estimate in the region of £85 million to £125 million.
In my personal opinion there are some both amazing and quite strange pieces on sale but all are different and I’m sure will appeal to someone!
I was fortunate enough to be at the press call on the 10th February to photograph some of the art work on show. And Christie’s were very helpful in supplying information during and after the press call.
Below is the press release from Francis Outred, Head of Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art, Europe
RELEASE: POST-WAR & CONTEMPORARY AUCTIONS IN LONDON
A FOREWORD BY FRANCIS OUTRED
“This February we are delighted to present an unprecedented series of auctions which combine our normal evening and day auctions alongside two private collections which incorporate contemporary art in totally different ways and the presentation of the master prints of Lucian Freud from the print makers studio. The clean lines and intellectual enquiry of ‘A Way of Thinking’ and the diverse accumulation of works from different periods and styles of ‘Living with Art’ both feature a rich variety of works of art by the most significant creators of the 20th and 21st centuries and present an inspiring counterpoint to some of the outstanding works in the main auctions. The Freud prints, show the central position these works played in his oeuvre and the obsessive devotion he paid to their depictions which stand alongside his paintings, much as Rembrandts prints did. Our Evening Auction showcases a highly varied and important selection of works from the last fifty years of international art. It is led by Portrait of Henrietta Moraes, the most seductive painting of a female figure ever realised by Francis Bacon. It forms part of the pantheon of great paintings realised in 1963, of which three of Bacon’s seven large-format works are housed in museum collections. Formerly part of the Schniewind Collection, it was acquired by the present owner in 1983, almost thirty years ago. Other important works include Mark Rothko’s majestic Untitled(1955) from the height of his classic period. Previously part of the Oliver-Hoffman Family Collection, Untitled was executed in 1955, the year after the artist’s breakthrough exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, and is the first major canvas by Rothko to come to a London auction in a decade. It belongs to a noble series of works, the majority of which are now held in some of the best international museum collections. The auction will also feature several exceptional works by Lucian Freud, including the important rediscovered drawing, Boat, Connemara (1948), the sensuous, nude portrait Small Figure (1983) and Annie (circa 1960) one of the earliest paintings of one of the artist’s children. Major works by Gerhard Richter, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Louise Bourgeois and Nicolas de Staël amongst others will also feature at auction. ‘A Way of Thinking’ offers a unique assembly of works, collected over the course of three decades. It contains exceptional and perfectly preserved works that have since become milestones in the passage of contemporary art. Uniting names such as Gerhard Richter, Jeff Wall, Thomas Struth, Thomas Schütte and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, ‘A Way of Thinking’ includes some of the greatest adherents of Arte Povera, second generation Conceptual Art, British sculpture and photography. The Hubertus Wald collection will offer Le Feu (1949), a seminal work by Wols, Yves Klein’s Untitled Blue Monochrome (IKB 176) as well as works by Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Georg Baselitz, Cy Twombly, Piero Manzoni, Gerhard Richter and Arman”.
Francis Outred, Christie’s Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Europe
Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction
Auction: Christie’s London – 8 King Street
14 February at 7 pm
Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Auction
Auction: Christie’s London – 8 King Street
15 Febraury at 1pm
A Way of Thinking
Works From An Important Private Collection
Auction:
Christie’s London – 8 King Street
15 February at 12 noon
Here are the photographs from the Press Call at Christie’s, London.
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- Artist Francis Bacon’s Most Seductive Female Portrait is to be offered at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction. This painting is expected to fetch an estimated £18million
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- Artist Lucian Freud’s Rediscovered Drawing Boat, Connemara was drawn in 1948 and is only one of two drawings of the Irish coast from his stay there. This is drawing is fresh to the market and has been unseen for 50 years
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- This painting by Mark Rothko was executed in 1955 and is on show at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London. This is the first major canvas by Rothko at a London auction in a decade. This painting is estimated to fetch £10million
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- This painting by Mark Rothko was executed in 1955 and is on show at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London. This is the first major canvas by Rothko at a London auction in a decade. This painting is estimated to fetch £10million
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- Artist Lucian Freud’s Rediscovered Drawing Boat, Connemara was drawn in 1948 and is only one of two drawings of the Irish coast from his stay there. This is drawing is fresh to the market and has been unseen for 50 years
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- This is an untitled piece by artist Anish Kapoor and was created in 2000. it is now at Christie’s for the Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London
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- Here is a piece by artis Belinde De Bruyckere called The Black Horse and was created in 2003 from stitched horse hide. Its estimated value is £200,000 – £300,000
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- Mark Rothko’s canvas at Christie’s for the Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London
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- Mark Rothko’s Canvas is flanked by two standing mobiles by artist Alexander Calder. The mobile on the left was created in 1953 and is estimated at £700,000 – £1,000,000 and the mobile on the right was created in 1954 and is estimated at £4,000,000 – £6,000,000
Lee Massey 