The post-war and contemporary art collection was the most incredible thing i've ever seen. One painting after another with an estimated value of a million pounds or more. here are some of my favourites:
This self-portrait of Andy Warhol gave me the chills. Painted in 1967 (acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas 72x72in) it belonged to a private american collection. now the estimated value is at 3-5million GBP, but at auction the final strike price can sometimes far out reach estimates. Just the other day a new record was reached with a bid of circa 25million GBP for a Picasso original.
Lucio Fontana's "Conceto Spaziale - Attesa" (i.e. Spatial Consept - Expectation) looked effortless - quiet and dramatic. The way the light projected onto the canvas allowed it to fill the whole room, my eyes were drawn to it and dwarfed anything else in its vicinity. My mother said she could decorate an entire room with just this one painting, and stare at it for hours. I had never seen his work before, and now i know what i've been missing! price estimate: 1 to 1.5 million GBP. Fontana was Italian but lived and worked in Argentina - renowned as one of the first avant-garde artists to understand art as gesture or performance.
I saw many more that i liked, but i won't bore you with all that! just this last glimpse at my absolute favourite of the day. I could've spent the rest of the day on that bench, in the middle of the room, watching her. Art always has this magical ability to make me feel inspired. something about being surrounded by all those creative minds, the thoughts, passions, genius behind each piece... my thoughts go to another level - outside of my little corner of the world.
She was created by Martial Raysse (B. 1936) "L'Annee Derniere a Capri", he was born in Golf Juan (south of France) - that's just ten minutes from where i grew up... i knew it was meant to be....
This was one of Raysse's most important works. "Dating from 1962, it represents the moment when the ground-breaking European art movement which he helped to pioneer in 1960, Noveau Realisme, met head on with the very dawn of the Pop Art movement which it foreshadowed in America" (www.christies.com). Such a vibrant piece, and at the same time the melancholy in her eyes was hypnotic.
Estimated price: 1 to 1.5million... SOLD!!!!
The auction takes place Wednesday 16th Feb in the evening. It'll be very interesting to see what they go for.... Right, enough dreaming, gotta get packing... off to Waterford in the morning to see the horses!
