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20th/21st Century London and Online Sales now Online for Browsing

Post-War & Contemporary Art
London EMEA 18 June 2021

• Contemporary artworks by Laura Owens, Damien Hirst, Banksy, Grayson Perry, Antony Gormley, David Hockney, Tony Cragg and Tracey Emin in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale
• Works by 20th Century masters, including Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Hannah Höch, Joan Miró, Albert Gleizes, Kurt Schwitters and Leonard Foujita in the Impressionist and Modern Art Day and Works on Paper Sale
• A selection of works by preeminent artists from the Middle East and North Africa including Mohammed Melehi, Samia Halaby, Rokhni Haerizadeh and Hussein Shariffe together with works by Chantal Joffe, Nicole Eisenman and Wolfgang Tillmans in the First Open: Post-War and Contemporary Art Online Sale

Impressionist and Modern Art Day and Works on Paper Sale

The Impressionist and Modern Art Day and Works on Paper Sale on 1 July brings together a wide range of works by 20th century masters, including Hannah Höch, who opens the sale with three works including Der Jahresablauf (1939, estimate: £100,000-150,000, illustrated page one left).  Der Jahresablauf examines the universal and timeless theme of the cycle of life, a subject which greatly intrigued the artist at this time. Leading the sale is an ethereal work on paper by Marc Chagall, Coucher de soleil et coq au double-profil ou Le souvenir de la ville (1971, estimate: £400,000-600,000, illustrated below left). The colouring of this artwork evokes the South of France and the composition employs some of Chagall's favourite artistic subjects. Further highlights include Joan Miró’s Nocturne (1942, estimate: £120,000-180,000) and Leonard Tsuguharu Foujita’s, Maternité (1954, estimate: £120,000-180,000). Foujita developed a type of doll-like portraiture in the early 1950s, which is exemplified in Maternité.


Further masterpieces from the 20th century include paintings by Albert Gleizes with Paysage à Meudon (1911, estimate: £250,000-350,000), Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s La prairie (1880, estimate: £180,000-250,000), painted during a time in his career when he was experimenting with landscape painting, as well as with light and colour. Works on paper by Pablo Picasso Buste (1972, estimate: £150,000-200,000), and a sculpture by Henry Moore Rocking Chair No. 4: Miniature, (1950, estimate: £200,000-300,000) are all presented.  Wassily Kandinsky’s Blau in Rund und Spitz, (1933, estimate: £80,000-120,000) is part of a group focusing on German works, together with Kurt Schwitters, Mz 259 Zeichnung Campendonk (1921, estimate: £120,000-180,000), which incorporates scrap elements such as leaflets cut outs, receipts, and a 30-pfennig 1920 stamp, fully demonstrating Schwitters’ creative process.  Walter Dexel’s 1922 VIII A (1922, estimate: £120,000-180,000), is a superb example of Dexel’s distinct Constructivist style and dates from a key period when the artist came into close contact with a network of influential figures of the early 20th century art circuit.  There are two other Walter Dexel works offered in the sale Der Schwarzhändler or Der Ganster, Der (1930, estimate: £20,000-25,000) and Ohne Titel (1969, estimate: £10,000-15,000).

Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale

The Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale on 2 July brings together contemporary artworks highlighted by Laura Owens’ Untitled (2009, estimate: £300,000-500,000, illustrated page one right).  Her work has been in exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, the Vienna Secession, and Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art, where she was the youngest artist ever to be awarded a solo presentation.  Pioneering British creativity is showcased with London New York Bristol (Monkey) (2000, estimate: £500,000-700,000) and Nola AP (Green to Blue Rain) (2008, estimate: £200,000-300,000 illustrated above right) by Banksy, Quo Vadis (2005, estimate: £150,000-200,000) by Damien Hirst from the collection of Jasper Morrison, and Grayson Perry’s self-portrait I was an angry working-class man (2001, estimate: £100,000-150,000). Lucian Freud’s Annie (1961, estimate: £180,000-250,000) is offered alongside Frank Auerbach’s Head of William Feaver (2008, estimate: £200,000-350,000), Leon Kossoff’s Head of George Thompson (1975,  estimate: £120,000-180,000) and David Hockney’s Still Life with Flowers and Lobster at Odin's Restaurant (circa 1980, estimate: £300,000-500,000), previously in the collection of Peter Langan, depicting a table scene from the iconic Odin’s restaurant in Marylebone, in London. David Hockney originally co-designed the menus at Odin’s with fellow artist Patrick Procktor. Günther Förg’s Untitled, (2006, estimate: £280,000-350,000) is part of Forg’s celebrated ‘Gitterbilder’ or ‘Grid Paintings’ series. It evokes the energy of an urban landscape and exemplifies Förg’s ability to construct space within a flat picture plane. A further focal point of the is contemporary figurative paintings, including Salman Toor’s Visitation (2016, estimate: £120,000-180,000), Claire Tabouret’s  Les Masques (Tess), Fleur du désert jaune (2015, estimate: £50,000-70,000), Jammie Holmes’s Frozen Cup (2019, estimate: £20,000-30,000) and Issy Wood’s The lie-in (2017, estimate: £25,000-35,000).

From the Studio: Part Two is the second such collaboration between Christie’s and amfAR, a selection of artworks that have been generously donated by artists for this initiative, exhibited publicly for the first time. They have been sourced with the help of Michael Nevin, director of The Journal Gallery, and include artworks by Michael Kagan with The Action Is The Juice (2021, estimate: £40,000-60,000) a new painting created especially for this sale. A number of unique figurative paintings are also included: Jenna Gribbon’s Beach Glory (2020, estimate: £4,000-6,000), Christina Quarles, My God I Need a Break Today (2021, estimate: £8,000-12,000), Eleanor Swordy’s Contact (2021, estimate: £3,000-5,000), Cristina BanBan’s Dos Modelos (Two Models) (2021, estimate: £3,000-5,000) and Jonathan Chapline’s Untitled (Swimmers) (2021, estimate: £10,000-15,000).

A number of works will be offered with proceeds supporting The Walk with Little Amal, a charity supporting of refugees.  Antony Gormley’s, LIFT 6 (MEME) III (2018, estimate: £65,000-85,000) is presented alongside Shirin Neshat’s, Passage Series (2001, estimate: £7,000-10,000), Rachel Harrison’s Voyage of the Beagle, Three (Sixth Set, #40-51) (2010, estimate: £7,000-10,000), Cyprien Gaillard’s Gates (2013, estimate: £6,000-8,000) and Wilhelm Sasnal’s Palms (2005, estimate: £6,000-8,000).

First Open: Post-War and Contemporary Art Online

First Open: Post-War and Contemporary Art Online sale opens for bidding from the 24 June to 7 July with a selection of works by international artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. A curated selection of works by artists from the Middle East and North Africa include Mohammed Melehi’s Untitled (2020, estimate: £40,000-60,000, illustrated above left). Melehi is regarded as a major figure of postcolonial Moroccan art and Global South modernism; a multi-faceted painter, photographer, muralist, graphic and urban designer, art teacher and cultural activist. This is presented alongside Samia Halaby’s Untitled (No. 426) (1987, estimate: £25,000-30,000), Rokhni Haerizadeh’s Homage to Matisse (2006, estimate: £8,000-12,000) and Hussein Shariffe’s Untitled (circa 1990s, estimate: £4,000-6,000).

The sale also includes works from the collection of Diana Metcalf Stainow, an American art collector who lived in London, Paris, Hong Kong and New York. Her collection embodies her eye for colour and pattern and profound interest in non-western cultures. Among the works from her collection is Sam Gilliam’s Were (recto); Ohio 2 (verso) (1974, estimate: £15,000-20,000 illustrated above right). Further highlights include, a number of works by sought after contemporary artists: Caroline Walker’s Barricade (2012, estimate: £6,000-8,000), Chantal Joffe’s Untitled (1996, estimate: £4,000-6,000), Wolfgang Tillmans’s Smokin’Jo, window (1995, estimate: £5,000-7,000) and Nicole Eisenman’s 14 Hickies, 8 Girls, 1.6 Hickies per Person (1996, estimate: £5,000-7,000).

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* Please note when quoting estimates above that other fees will apply in addition to the hammer price - see Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of the sale catalogue. *Estimates do not include buyer’s premium. Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium.

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