Boy's Head by Lucian Freud made £3,177,250. (Click on image to enlarge).
Lucian Freud’s (1922-2011) 1952 portrait Boy’s Head made £3,177,250 at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art evening sale on October 13. It was bought by an anonymous telephone bidder. The sitter, Charlie Lumley, was a neighbour of Freud’s when he moved to Paddington in 1952. The portrait transmits a remarkable psychological intensity. The estimate was £3-4 million.
The evening sales of Contemporary Art and 20th Century Italian Art brought a combined total of £39,456,950 against the pre-sale estimate of £34,982,000-48,338,000. A total of six artist records were established for Alberto Burri, Leon Kossoff, Wim Delvoye, Francesco Lo Savio, Michelangelo Pistoletto and Giuseppe Penone.
Contemporary art realised £17,809,000 with 36 of the 47 lots offered sold. The 20th Century Italian art sale achieved the highest-ever total for a sale in this category, at £21,647,950.
See post on antiquesandartireland.com for September 12, 2011.