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Category :Art Market |
Written by: Elena Lanzanova
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Prints At Auction In London And New York
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Monday 18 April 2011
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After the record achieved for a print by Paul Gauguin – Crouching Tahitian Woman seen from the back, sold for 577 thousand pounds at Sotheby’s London, last 30th March – even April promises to be an important month for Prints, the most democratic and accessible art sector compared to others, with a considerably lower market value than works on canvas. Indeed, etchings are the first step to access the art market thanks to their contained prices, but they also represent a type of art that attracts collectors interested in the technical quality of works and the level of details achieved by great artists. This art sector is also generally subject to the positive trend offered by the respectability of acclaimed masters and its results have often anticipated the economic revival of old master, modern and contemporary art.
Christie’s will be kicking off the spring sessions dedicated to prints, with two auctions, one in the London venue and the other in New York.
The first session, entitled Old Master, Decorative, Modern & Contemporary Prints, will be held on 19th April presenting 370 lots with very fair figures. The most expensive piece of the sale is Abstract with Red Circle by Ben Nicholson, a Japanese gouache on paper dated 1937 and estimated at 10-15 thousand pounds. Besides this abstract-geometric work, the auction also offers other “low cost” pieces, including works signed by American Pop Art artists such as Andy Warhol (Ashai Shimbun Catalogue, estimate 6-8 thousand pounds), Roy Lichtenstein (As I opened fire, estimate 500-700 pounds) and Tom Wesselmann (seven lots which vary from a minimum estimate of 2 thousand to a maximum of 8 thousand pounds).
Furthermore, the London sale is proposing a catalogue which can meet the tastes of all collectors, auctioning old master, modern and contemporary works of art. For the lovers of Old Masters there are 16 etchings by Rembrandt, but also works by Francisco Goya, Jacques Callot, Canaletto and Albrecht Dürer, while for the lovers of modern art there are sublime works by Marc Chagall, Joan Mirò, Rene Magritte, Georges Braque and Honore Victorin Daumier.
Finally, a group of contemporary prints promise to catalyse the collectors’ attention thanks to the presence of important stars of today’s art system, such as Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Peter Doig, Julian Opie, Jeff Koons and Anish Kapoor.
After the British event, Christie’s will be holding Prints & Multiples in New York on 26th April, featuring 373 lots realised by the most famous names in the history of art. Star of the sale is Marc Chagall with L’Odyssée, a set of coloured lithographs dated 1974 and estimated between 400 and 600 thousand dollars. The Russian artist will also be present at auction with numerous works, including Das Geschenk (estimate 50-70 thousand dollars) and La Mort de Dorcon, from Daphnis et Chloé (estimate 35-55 thousand dollars).
The honour of one of the highest estimates goes to a Mick Jagger by Andy Warhol, a portfolio of ten coloured prints centred solely on the leader of the Rolling Stones (estimate 350-450 thousand dollars). The father of Business Art also appears in other pieces offered at auction, including Eva Mudocci – After Munch (estimate 120-180 thousand dollars), Grapes DD (estimate 90-120 thousand dollars) and Mao: one plate (estimate 40-60 thousand dollars).
Besides Chagall and Warhol, the US sale will be lining up Green (estimate 200-300 thousand dollars) and High Green (estimate 120-180 thousand dollars) by Richard Diebenkorn, but also Nu au Coussin bleu à côté d’une Cheminée by Henri Matisse, Suites Pour Ubu Roi, Tériade, Paris by Joan Mirò, 0 Through 9 by Jasper Johns and Brushstrokes Figures Series by Roy Lichtenstein (estimate for each single lot 100-150 thousand dollars).
In the days dedicated to prints Phillips de Pury also has a session dedicated to this sector scheduled to be held in New York. On 21st April, the auction house will be proposing its Evening Editions catalogue featuring 79 pieces with an overall pre-sale estimate of 3.5-5 million dollars.
Prominent figure in this session is once again Andy Warhol present with a portfolio dedicated to the Chinese communist politician Mao (estimate 600-800 thousand dollars). The master from Pittsburgh will also be intervening in the auction with Disaster Series (estimate 200-300 thousand dollars) and with different lots valued from a minimum of 15 thousand to a maximum of 60 thousand dollars.
Unmissable also Pablo Picasso, an artist who has managed twice to exceed the million pound threshold in the field of etchings. On 16th September 2010, at Sotheby’s London, the Iberian master achieved two extraordinary results with La Minotauromachie sold for 1.2 million pounds (estimate 400-600 thousand) and with Le femme qui pleure (estimate 500-700 thousand) sold for 1,094 million pounds. Now it is Phillips’ turn to offer to the public a masterpiece by Picasso: Grand vase aux danseurs, a rounded vase with wide neck painted and etched in 1950 (estimate 200-400 thousand dollars).
Other works worth considering are Double Poke in the Eye II by Bruce Nauman (estimate 200-300 thousand dollars), but also Swim/ROCI USA, from Fire Wax Works series by Robert Rauschenberg (estimate 100-150 thousand dollars) and On a Clear Day portfolio by Agnes Martin, a core of thirty grey serigraphs estimated at 120-180 thousand dollars.
The offer of April’s sales dedicated to prints ends with Sotheby’s Prints in New York. On 29th April, the auction house will be proposing a catalogue of 305 lots, highlight among them Grand Odalisque a la Culotte Bayadere by Henri Matisse, a marvellous lithograph dated 1925 valued by experts at 300-500 thousand dollars. And also: High Green by Richard Diebenkorn (estimate 120-180 thousand dollars), Nude with Blue Hair by Roy Lichtenstein (estimate 120-180 thousand dollars) and Marilyn by Andy Warhol (estimate 120-150 thousand dollars).
Other highlights that promise to strike art lovers and collectors include Metamorphosis II by M.C. Escher (estimate 100-150 thousand dollars), The Cat Boat by Edward Hopper, Leda: Projet d’Assiette by Paul Gauguin and Dame in Regen by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (estimate for each lot 80-120 thousand dollars), but also Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge by El Lissitzky, Self-Portrait by Edvard Munch and Savarin by Jasper Johns, graphic works each valued individually by experts at 80-120 thousand dollars.
Arcadja Auctions Browse here Christie’s – London, April 19th 2011 Arcadja Auctions Browse here Christie’s – New York, April 26th 2011 Arcadja Auctions Browse here Phillips de Pury – New York, April 21th 2011 Arcadja Auctions Browse here Sotheby’s – New York, April 29th 2011
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Tags: Ben Nicholson, Jasper Johns, Tom Wesselmann, Georges Braque, Honore Victorin Daumier, David Hockney, Richard Diebenkorn, Roy Lichtenstein, René Magritte, Jeff Koons, Julian Opie, Damien Hirst, Rembrandt, Peter Doig, Edvard Munch, Francisco Goya, Andy Warhol, Joan Miro, Bruce Nauman, Jacques Callot, Canaletto, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Albrecht Dürer, Anish Kapoor, Agnes Martin
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