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Francis Bacon Head III, 1949 (£5-7 million). (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: IT MADE £10,442,500.

The first work Francis Bacon ever sold, from the legendary first commercial show at the Hanover Gallery in Mayfair in 1949, comes up at Sotheby’s in London on June 26.  Head III 1949 is now estimated at £5-7 million. In 1949 it cost £150.  Bacon’s three studies of Isabel Rawsthorne dating from 1966 are estimated at £10-15 million.  The sale of 69 works with a combined estimate of more than £66 million features a strong selection of Post-War European masters and major British names.  

Highlights include David Hockney’s paean to his home country, Double East Yorkshire and Bridget Riley’s powerful op art masterpiece of 1964, Stretch. The cover lot of the auction is the most important collection of Andreas Gursky “Stock Exchange” photographs in private or public hands, part of his iconic series of trading floor studies.

UPDATE:  The auction realized £75.8 million, with an average lot value of £1.43 million – one of the highest figures for this category in London. Francis Bacon’s 1966 triptych portrait of his friend, muse and lover Isabel Rawsthorne sold for £11,282,500.

Masterpieces by Jean Michael Basquiat and Peter Doig feature at Christie’s post war and contemporary art evening auction in London on June 25.  Both artists have recently achieved new world records at Christie’s.  The sale will feature iconic works by international post war masters including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Yves Klein and Nicolas de Stael.

Francis Outred, head of post war and contemporary art Europe said: “Following the huge success of the New York auctions in May when Christies achieved the highest total for any auction in history, the London sales follow with a rich choice of material, presenting a fabulous opportunity to see pivotal paintings from the 1950s to today. Beyond the top lots – masterpieces by Basquiat and Doig – we have Pop paintings from key moments in the careers of Lichtenstein and Warhol, as well as rare conceptual and minimalist works by Blinky Palermo and Brice Marden. From Europe, two important works by de Staël, hidden for years, show how he changed painting in the 1950’s”.  (Click on either image to enlarge).

UPDATE:  THE Post-War & Contemporary Art auction realised a total of £70,253,225, selling 90% by value and 80% by lot.  The Untitled work by Basquiat was the top lot.

Peter Doig (b. 1959) Jetty Painted in 1994 (£4-6 million). Courtesy Christie’s Images Lt.d, 2013.  UPDATE: THIS MADE £7,341,875

Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) Untitled 1982. (Christie’s Images Ltd., 2013).  UPDATE: THIS MADE £18,765,875

PIET MONDRIAN 1872 – 1944 COMPOSITION WITH RED, YELLOW AND BLUE oil on canvas in the artist’s original frame 1927 (£4,500,000-£6,500,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE £9,266,500.

The Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale at Sotheby’s in London on June 19 will feature works from a number of private collections and is expected to bring in more than £75 million.  A view of Venice by Monet from 1908 is estimated at £15-20 million.  There are paintings by works by Wassily Kandinsky, Joan Miró and Alexander Calder from the the collection of Branco Weiss alongside Modern, Surrealist and sculptural works.

Helena Newman chairman of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Department, Europe, said:

With the breadth of today’s global art market in mind, we have assembled a sale that responds to the taste and demand that have been driving the success of Sotheby’s recent sales. Our Impressionist & Modern Art Sale in New York this May saw clients compete for high-calibre estate property, and our June  sale in London maintains the continuity, bringing together an extremely strong selection of works, many of which are from private collections and now come to the market for the first time in decades. We are thrilled that Claude Monet’s view of Venice will lead the sale. With its ravishing palette and modern aesthetic – which is what many of today’s top collectors are looking for – this is a work of timeless appeal. Looking at the sale in broader terms, we are offering works that span the 1870s through to 1982, supreme Impressionist works through to Modern masterpieces, from Monet to Mondrian.”

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May 31, 2013).