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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

Francis Bacon – Portrait of George Dyer Talking.  UPDATE: THIS MADE £42,194,500

THE most significant large scale Bacon portrait of George Dyer at auction in more than a decade comes up at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art evening sale on February 13. Portrait of George Dyer Talking is expected to make around £30 million.  It was made in 1966.  Dyer was Bacon’s love, muse and arguably his greatest influence. This portrait has been widely celebrated since it was first shown in Paris in 1966. It was also exhibited at the artist’s legendary first museum retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris in 1971.

Francis Outred, Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, Christie’s Europe said: “Francis Bacon’s position at the forefront of 20th century painting was highlighted at Christie’s in November when his triptych of Lucian Freud sold for $142 million and became the most valuable work of art sold at auction. For the triptych we had 6 collectors who bid at over $100 million, showing both the global demand which we see in today’s art market as well as the huge appeal of the artist.  It is exciting to be able to follow this success by offering this tour-de-force portrait of George Dyer which presents a powerful portrait of arguably one of Bacon’s greatest loves, painted in 1966, and one of the last full-size portraits of him to remain in private hands. In addition it was shown at Bacon’s Retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris adding emotional poignancy and importance. Alongside the renowned Black triptychs which mourn his tragic loss just before that retrospective, the small amount of works from this period represent the finest images of George Dyer.  We look forward to exhibiting the painting in the coming weeks in New York and London and to the auction in February, which will present a fantastic opportunity at a time when we congregate collectors from all around the world.”

An off the wall online auction of Irish art runs at Morgan O’Driscoll from January 16 to January 27.  This first online sale of 2014 at O’Driscolls features a variety of art to suit varying tastes.  Here is a small selection.

Ciaran Lennon (b.1947)
Red Lens (800-1,200).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 900

Stella Steyn (1907-1987)
The Seasons I (2,000-3,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200

Basil Ivan Rakoczi (1908-1979) Apple Pickers (600-900).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 700

Markey Robinson (1918-1999) Watching the Boats (1,000-1,500).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,800

Kenneth Webb RWA FRSA RUA (b.1927)
Cottages Atlantic Drive, Co Donegal, watercolour (600-900). UPDATE: THIS MADE 700

Arthur Armstrong RHA (1924-1996) West of Ireland Seascape (700-1,000).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 320

Lucian Freud Head on a Green Sofa (1960-61)

A Freud portrait exceptional for its intimacy of Belinda, Lady Lambton, is estimated to make £2.5-3.5 million at Sotheby’s evening sale of contemporary art in London on February 12. Bindy Lambton featured large in the artist’s life for over 25 years.

This portrait, Head on a Green Sofa (1960-61) was long considered by Freud to be among the best works he ever produced.  It has featured in many museum exhibiton and was last sen at the Freud retrospective at the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2012.  This exhibition subsequently travelled to the Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art in Texas.

Pablo Picasso Femme au costume turc dans un fauteuil courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014  UPDATE: THIS MADE £16.9 MILLION

A powerful Picasso portrait of Jacqueline Roque leads Christie’s evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in London on February 4.  It is the first time in over 55 years that Femme au costume turc dans un fauteuil, 1955 has come to the market. The estimate is £15-20 million.

The sale features a magnificent still life by Juan Gris and an iconic Composition No. 2 by Piet Mondrian (see post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 7, 2014) as well as Trois homes qui marchent I, oneof Alberto Giacometti’s multi-figure compositions which is being sold by New York’s MoMA to benefit its acquisitions fund.

Jay Vincze, International Director and Head of The Impressionist and Modern Art Department, Christie’s London said: “This stellar sale presents international collectors and institutions with rare opportunities to acquire exceptional works with illustrious provenance by key impressionist and modern masters. The global market for this category continues to expand and deepen year on year, underpinned by passion for the beauty of the period and an increasingly far reaching appreciation and understanding of the importance of late 19^th century and early 20^th century art movements.”

Alberto Giacometti Trois homes qui marchent I (£6.2-8 million). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £9 MILLION.