NEW YORK, NY.- Christies presents the sale of Prints & Multiples taking place October 23-24. The two day sale features 292 lots, with a superb selection of Post-War and Contemporary editions as well as a strong group of classic Modern and Impressionist prints. Highlights from the sale include prints by Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Henri Matisse, Mary Cassatt and Richard Diebenkorn among others.
The sale offers a true comprehensive survey of Pablo Picasso print masterpieces. Françoise Gilot, Picasso's lover and muse from 1943- 1953, was the subject of many of his finest prints. Femme à la fenêtre, a monumental portrait of Gilot, is among the most compelling and powerful portraits in Picasso's graphic work.
In Femme à la fenêtre, Picasso uses aquatint generating a mournful atmosphere as Françoise looks out of the window, her hands pressed against the glass, yearning for escape. This great work was one of Picasso's last portraits of Gilot before the relationship foundered in the autumn of 1953.
The Post-War and Contemporary section is anchored by a vibrant selection of prints by Roy Lichtenstein. Leading the group is his classic late work Nude with Blue Hair from the Nudes series created at Tyler Graphics. The Nudes group was Lichtenstein's first comic book style, full body depictions of the female nude subject and they bare little relation to natural form, instead embodying Lichtenstein's iconic motifs with bright pattern and bold lines.
The most iconic image from this series, Lichtenstein's Nude with Blue Hair, is an example of this technique in its most advanced monumental state, mobilizing not only Lichtenstein's visual language, but also the full technical expertise of Kenneth Tyler's print workshop.
Mirós large scale monotype, Composition, is another major highlight of the Modern section. The monotype technique has long been favored by modern artists, from Edgar Degas to Henri Matisse, for its unique blend of original and printed imagery. In the process, one (mono) image is rendered in ink or paint directly onto another surface and printed. In Composition Miró worked the transferred plane over extensively, using oil, ink and charcoal to achieve its vibrantly layered effect.
For much of the 1940s and early 1950s Richard Diebenkorn was committed to abstract expressionism. In the mid-50s, however, his style underwent one of several dramatic shifts and he began to adopt a more figurative approach. Together with his contemporaries, Diebenkorn became part of a renaissance of figurative painting known as the Bay Area Figurative Movement.
The Ocean Park series became his most famous work and resulted in over 150 paintings and etchings. Based on the aerial landscape and perhaps the view from his studio window, Green has come to be seen as the most important graphic work by the artist. A fine example of the print will be offered in the October 23-24 sale.
Prints & Multiples New York will also present an additional sale this November during the Post-War & Contemporary day sales. Leading the afternoon session on November 13 will be Warhol 10x10. This sale comprises Andy Warhols ten most iconic screenprint series, including Marilyn (illustrated below; estimate: $1,200,000-1,800,000), Mao, Campbells Soup and Flowers. Each is a set of ten and the sale, the only one to devote itself entirely to Warhols screenprint portfolios, will offer collectors an unprecedented opportunity to acquire some of the most important images of 20th Century art.