LONDON.- Phillips Evening and Day Editions auctions in London will present a strong offering of museum-quality original prints and multiples by celebrated masters of the 20th and 21st centuries. The two auctions will include over 240 lots, carrying a pre-sale estimate of £1.6 to £2.4 million, and showcasing works by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Lee Ufan, Sigmar Polke, Damien Hirst, Julian Opie and Tony Cragg.
An iconic selection of screenprints by Andy Warhol are amongst the top lots in the Evening portion of the auction, including several unique works: The Scream (after Munch) (acquired directly from the artist’s studio in 1987), Shadows V, and Apple, from Ads - as well as a group of familiar faces: Marilyn, Mick Jagger (currently the subject of the Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones exhibition at Saatchi Gallery, London), Lenin, and Queen Elizabeth II, who is gracing the front cover of the auction catalogue in the year of her 90th birthday.
A charming and witty group of ceramics by Pablo Picasso opens the Modern section of the Evening auction, followed by two of the most iconic works from his famous 1930s Vollard Suite: Minotaure aveugle guidé par Marie-Thérèse au pigeon dans une nuit étoilée and Faune dévoilant une Femme. These two etchings demonstrate Picasso’s superlative talent as a printmaker, specifically the technique of sugar-lift aquatint that he perfected under the tutelage of master printer Roger Lacourière. Their compositions exemplify the intense symbolism and mythical power of The Vollard Suite, casting the artist himself as both Faun and Minotaur alongside instantly recognizable portraits of Picasso’s young lover, Marie-Thérése Walter.
Other important highlights include a portfolio of drypoint etchings and a carborundum print by the Korean minimalist artist, Lee Ufan (neither of which have been offered at auction before), Tony Cragg’s Grenze weg, produced to celebrate the 25th anniversary of German reunification, and Damien Hirst’s All You Need is Love, Love, Love, which is being sold to benefit the National Austistic Society.
