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The breadth and range of Sotheby’s sale of Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist art evening sale on February 4 is characterised in these images.  The highlight of this 90 lot sale is a restituted Pissarro masterpiece Boulevard Montmartre, matinee de printemps.  Sotheby’s describe it as one of the most important impressionist paintings on the market in the last decate (see post on antiquesandartireland.com for December 23, 2013).  On offer are works on paper, paintings and sculpture to appeal to the most discerning of collectors.  There is work from the private collection of legendary gallerist Jan Krugier including examples by Goya, Delacrois, Ingres, Degas, Cezanne, Giacometti and Picasso.  The Magritte pictured here is one of the greatest Surrealist works by the artist ever to come to market and the evening sale is expected to realise more than £93 million.

René Magritte 1898 – 1967 Le Beau Monde Painted in 1962. (£4-6 million)  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £7,822,500

HENRI MATISSE
1869 – 1954
BOLÉRO VIOLET
signed Henri Matisse and dated 37 (£6.5-8.5 million)  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £9,154,500

ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER 1880 – 1938
WALDINNERES (FOREST INTERIOR) (£800,000-1.2 million).  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £1,482,500

ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER 1880 – 1938
STILLEBEN MIT LAMPE (STILL-LIFE WITH LAMP) (£1.6-2 million). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

CLOSING DOWN – The Liqudation Store at Paul St. shopping centre, Cork, January 17, 2014.

THE retail sector in austerity driven Ireland is hurting so badly that even The Liquidation Store in Cork city centre’s Paul St. shopping complex is closing. So an upcoming Arte Povera auction at Christie’s in London is timely.  The idea that humble everyday material – natural and man made – can be made into powerful, evocative works of art transformed contemporary art in the late 1960’s and ’70’s  and developed into one of the most influential art movements of the past half century.

An important private collection of Arte Povera, assembled over the past 25 years by an Italian couple, will be offered at Christie’s on February 11.  Exploring the roots of the movement it will be on display in a museum quality exhibition at Christie’s from February 5.  The work of post war Italian artists like Alberto  Burri, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Fausto Melotti, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Alighero Boetti, Mario Merz, Luciano Fabro, Giulio Paoline, Pino Pascali, Guiseppe Penone and Emilio Prini is featured.  The collection also investigates Arte Povera’s legacy in the work of artists as diverse as Cy Twombly, Olafur Eliasson, Anish Kapoor, Tony Cragg, Rosemarie Trockel and Thomas Schutte.

Mariolina Bassetti, Chairman Christie’s Italy and International Director, Post-War & Contemporary Art said:  “Following our huge success in last October’s Italian Sale, a record for any of these sales in their 15-year history, Christie’s is pleased to be offering this exceptional private collection – the best collection of Italian art I have ever seen come on the market. Never before have we seen a private collection that shows the ‘before and after’ of Arte Povera in such depth – its roots in Burri and its huge legacy to succeeding generations of artists around the world, from Cy Twombly and Anish Kapoor to Thomas Schütte and Olafur Eliasson. It has been assembled with passion and rigour by an Italian couple”.

UPDATE: THE Arte Povera sale realised  £38,427,400 and established records for 13 artists.

ALIGHIERO BOETTI (1940-1994)
Mappa
signed and dated ‘Alighiero e Boetti KABUL AFGHANISTAN 1979’ (£450,000-650,000). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £866,500

PINO PASCALI (1935-1968)
Torso di negra al bagno (Nascita di Venere)
enamel on canvas, wool, inflatable balloons, wood structure and shaped painted base   (£1.1-1.5 million). Courtesy Christie’s Images   Ltd., 2014.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £1,538,500

Gerhard Richter Wand (Wall) 1994 (£15 million +)

A major abstract painting by Gerhard Richter – treasured by the artist – leads Sotheby’s Contemporary Art evening sale in London on February 12.  Wand (Wall) was held by Richter in his personal collection for over 15 years. He singled it out as a keynote work for several museum exhibitions.  Sotheby’s. which estimates it at more than £15 million, say it ranks among the greatest works by Richter ever to come to market.

Cheyenne Westphal, Sotheby’s Chairman of Contemporary Art, Europe, said: “This is an incredible time for Richter. Recent exhibitions of his work, as well as the film by Corinna Belz, with all its fascinating detail about his working practice, have cemented his place as one of the greatest artists of our time. This excitement for Richter has also been evident in our salerooms, culminating in the £24.2m ($37.1m) paid for Domplatz, Mailand in May 2012 which established a new record for any living artist.”

LED by an early Magritte masterpiece the most valuable group of works in the category at auction to date will feature at Christie’s annual sale of Surreal Art in London on February 4.  Les chasseurs au bord de la nuit (The hunters at the edge of night) by Rene Magritte dates to 1928 and is estimated at £6-9 million.  The auction of 54 lots includes art by Joan Miro, Carlo Carra, Paul Delvaux as well as De Chirico, Dali, Dominguez, Ernst, Arshile Gorky, Man Ray, Tanguy and Dorothea Tanning.  Estimates range from £40,000 to £9 million with an overall pre-sale estimate of £42.9-£64.5 million.  Christie’s evening auctions of Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist Art on February 4 have a total pre-sale estimate of £137.1- £199.5 million.

Olivier Camu, Deputy Chairman, Impressionist and Modern Art, Christie’s said: “25 years on from holding the inaugural standalone Dada and Surrealism sale and 14 years since Christie’s established its annual auction in the field, the global demand for this pioneering movement continues to go from strength to strength. Surrealist art now commands the attention of the international art market from across many collecting categories, from Old Masters to Contemporary art. We are proud to present this rich array of exemplary works, led by a monumental early Magritte and the most significant work by Carlo Carrà ever to come to auction, alongside the outstanding works from the landmark offering of the collection ‘Miró – Seven Decades of His Art’.”

Renè Magritte
Les chasseurs au bord de la nuit (The hunters at the edge of night)
1928 (£6-9 million). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014.  UPDATE: THIS MADE £6,578,500

Paul Delvaux La Vénus endormie 1943 (£1.2-1.6 million). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014