LONDON.- An eclectic selection of artwork will comprise
Roseberys latest auction of paintings, pictures and prints. Due to be held at their London saleroom on Tuesday 9 December. The auction will include a magnificent oil on canvas entitled Home from the Market, Venice, by the Austrian born artist, Eugen Alfons von Blaas.
Also known as Eugene von Blaas, Eugen de Blaas, Eugene de Blaas and Eugenio de Blaas, von Blaas was born in 1843, the son and student of the Austrian painter and scholar Karl von Blaas. He and his family moved to Italy from Austria when his father accepted a post as Professor at the Academy of Venice. As a young man von Blaas aligned himself with the academic classic school, establishing himself as a leading painter of the Venetian genre and gaining acclaim for his colourful and theatrical scenes of daily life in his home town of Venice.
Painting in the realist and romantic styles his work has had a particular appeal to collectors throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Von Blaas is known to have exhibited widely with 12 works shown at the Royal Academy in-between 1875 and 1891, as well as exhibitions at the Fine art Society, New Gallery Arthur Tooth and Sons and The Grosvenor Gallery in London. His work is represented in the UK in collections of: Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Leicester Arts & Museum Service, Nottingham City Museum Galleries, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Museums Sheffield, V&A, National Portrait Gallery, Lytham Art Collection, Newstead Abbey and Brighton & Hove Museum and Art Gallery.
Thought to be part of the permanent exhibition entitled Largest Collection of Modern Works in Painting and Sculpture in the National Association of Artists, Florence in 1928, this stunning artwork is estimated to sell for £50,000 70,000. [Lot 588]
Elsewhere in the sale, a selection of 16 large-scale paintings and studies, created exclusively for a corporate collection by the contemporary artist Andrew Hewkin M.A., draw inspiration from the artists extensive world travel.
Over the 40 years Hewkin has been painting he has encapsulated the people and landscapes of nearly 70 countries in his works. His ability to capture a moment, and the vibrancy of his artwork, has ensured he is collected widely by private buyers and public institutions alike. Commissions by international companies include Cartier, British Airways and Baring Securities, and his work hangs in the private collections of celebrities such as David Bowie, Brian May, Jack Nicolson, Sir Michael Caine and the Royal Family.
His unique style draws on the principles of pop culture and abstraction to create modern, surreal and captivating paintings. In the suite of works featured in the sale he draws on influences from the East, predominantly experienced on his travels in Japan and the Far East, and infuses elements of Western art from the last century.
The fusion is illustrated in the painting, Osaka Serendipity, Japan, (pictured above), where influences of the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian are noticeable both in elements of composition and colour. A modern twist on the traditional European still life and landscape compositions fuses the painting is estimated to sell for £1,000 1,500. [Lot 758]
Operating at the forefront of the contemporary pop art scene contemporary British artist Stuart Semple adds a dynamic touch to the sale with the mixed technique artwork, Stars Under Your Feet. Semple draws on popular culture as well as the techniques of pop art and layered abstraction to produce thought provoking art that communicates clear social, cultural and political messages about the fears of the current generation.
Best known for his 2009 installation Happy Clouds which saw the artist release smiley faced clouds into the sky over Tate Modern, Semple also has works in some of the worlds largest and most influential collections including The Getty, David Roberts, Niarchos and Langen Foundations. In addition his paintings hang in the private collections of some of the UKs most interesting celebrities, such as Debbie Harry, Sienna Miller, Uri Geller & Noel Gallagher.
Signed and dated 05 by the artist, this painting is estimated to sell for £4,000 6,000. [Lot 608]
Held at Roseberys saleroom in south London on the 9 December the sale will be exhibited prior to the auction on Friday 5 Monday 8 December.