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  • Posts Tagged ‘Frederic Lord Leighton’

    A LANDMARK SALE OF BRITISH ART TO MARK CHRISTIE’S 250TH ANNIVERSARY

    Thursday, April 28th, 2016

    A landmark sale of major paintings and sculpture will mark Christie’s 250th anniversary in London on June 30. The focus will be on great works of British art.  Highlights will include an intimate family portrait by Lucian Freud painted in 1992.  At auction for the first time in 100 years is a pivotal example of British Aestheticism from 1864 by Frederic, Lord Leighton.  And there is an exquisite 1778 portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds which has never been on the market before.

    Building on the success of Christie’s pioneering series of curated evening sales including Looking Forward to the Past and The Artist’s Muse in 2015, the global auction house will celebrate four centuries of British artists with an evening sale on June 30 entitled  Defining British Art.    A loan exhibition with the same title will run from June 17 to July 15.  Highlights will be on view at Christie’s New York from May 6-12 and at Christie’s Hong Kong from May 26-30.

    Ever since James Christie first opened his doors for business in 1766, in St James’s London, where the headquarters remain today, Christie’s has championed British art and artists. Both Reynolds and Gainsborough were among the regular visitors to these salerooms.   Orlando Rock, Chairman, Christie’s UK said:  “A celebration of Britain’s artistic achievements, the Defining British Art Loan Exhibition and Evening Sale will break new ground for Christie’s, charting the evolution of British art over the last 400 years. A fitting launch to Christie’s 250th Anniversary celebrations in London and inspired by James Christie’s own innovative spirit, the sale and exhibition will create dynamic juxtapositions and, we hope, inspire artists and collectors of the future. Open to all, I would like to encourage not only those who are already friends of Christie’s but also those we have yet to welcome, to share in these celebrations and become part of our next chapter, looking ahead to the next 250 years and beyond.”

    LUCIAN FREUD (1922–2011) Ib and her husband (estimate c£18 million). Courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2018.

    LUCIAN FREUD (1922–2011)
    Ib and her husband (estimate c£18 million). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2018.

    Frederic, Lord Leighton, P.R.A. (1830-1896) Golden Hours (£3-5 million).  Courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2016

    Frederic, Lord Leighton, P.R.A. (1830-1896)
    Golden Hours (£3-5 million). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2016

    Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792) Portrait of Lucy Long, Mrs George Hardinge (£2-3 million).  Courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2016

    Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792)
    Portrait of Lucy Long, Mrs George Hardinge (£2-3 million). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2016

    STUDY FOR “FLAMING JUNE” SELLS FOR £167,000

    Wednesday, July 15th, 2015

    The only known head study for one of the most famous masterpieces of the nineteenth century, Frederic, Lord Leighton’s Flaming June sold to an American private collector for £167,000 at Sotheby’s in London today.  The pencil and white chalk study sold for four times it pre sale low estimate (£40,000-60,000) to make an auction record for a work on paper by the artist.

    Various museums possess studies for the draperies in Flaming June, for the nude figure and for the overall composition, but this unique head study was only known from an illustration in the Magazine of Art of 1895. It was rediscovered hanging on a bedroom wall at West Horsley Place, the 400-acre Surrey estate that was home to the late Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe, by Sotheby’s Victorian Art specialist Simon Toll. The head study represents one of the most important surviving drawings relating to this famous painting and provides the missing link in the preparatory work for what has become known as ‘The Mona Lisa of the Southern Hemisphere’.

    The sale also featured Leighton’s oil painting Catarina, another re-discovery, which sold to an UK private collector for £233,000 against a pre-sale estimate of £100,000-150,000.

    Frederic, Lord Leighton - Study for Flaming June - sold for £167,000.

    Frederic, Lord Leighton – Study for Flaming June – sold for £167,000.

    Frederic, Lord Leighton - Catarina -sold for £233,000.

    Frederic, Lord Leighton – Catarina -sold for £233,000.