1931
See also : Tabletop US painting < 1940 Central and South Americas Sanyu Cats Cars II Cars 1930s US cars Duesenberg French cars
1931 The Forbidden Portrait
2018 SOLD for $ 30M including premium
In 1930 Picasso buys Boisgeloup to install a sculpture workshop where he will not disturb the neighbors and which he will use as a nest of love for his young muse Marie-Thérèse, away from peeping eyes. Their affair is secret and Pablo does not take the risk that Olga identifies the girl by his painted portraits of her. With cubist sculpture based on the proportions of volumes, realism is not obvious.
While he waited to stabilize his situation, we can imagine the feverishness of the artist. La Lampe, oil on canvas 162 x 130 cm, is dated January 21, 1931 and June 8, 1931. It is estimated $ 25M for sale by Christie's in New York on November 11, lot 22 A.
The theme of the artwork is not the young woman but her bust in white plaster, seen in profile. The stems and leaves of the philodendron create a pattern like a church window which makes even less easy the identification of the model. The oil lamp hanging from an invisible ceiling provides a moon shaped golden light that can be interpreted as the model's ponytail.
In the months that follow, Picasso is emboldened. On March 8, 1932 Marie-Thérèse introduces herself as a nude sleeper amidst the same statue and plant. The profile of the head becomes recognizable. This painting was sold for $ 106M including premium by Christie's on May 4, 2010.
The next day, March 9, 1932, Picasso painted the same sleeper in the Nu au Fauteuil Noir. The philodendron, symbol of vitality, is still there. The bust has been removed : it is no longer useful beside the real model. This painting was sold for $ 45M including premium by Christie's on November 9, 1999.
While he waited to stabilize his situation, we can imagine the feverishness of the artist. La Lampe, oil on canvas 162 x 130 cm, is dated January 21, 1931 and June 8, 1931. It is estimated $ 25M for sale by Christie's in New York on November 11, lot 22 A.
The theme of the artwork is not the young woman but her bust in white plaster, seen in profile. The stems and leaves of the philodendron create a pattern like a church window which makes even less easy the identification of the model. The oil lamp hanging from an invisible ceiling provides a moon shaped golden light that can be interpreted as the model's ponytail.
In the months that follow, Picasso is emboldened. On March 8, 1932 Marie-Thérèse introduces herself as a nude sleeper amidst the same statue and plant. The profile of the head becomes recognizable. This painting was sold for $ 106M including premium by Christie's on May 4, 2010.
The next day, March 9, 1932, Picasso painted the same sleeper in the Nu au Fauteuil Noir. The philodendron, symbol of vitality, is still there. The bust has been removed : it is no longer useful beside the real model. This painting was sold for $ 45M including premium by Christie's on November 9, 1999.
1931 The Trusting Leopard
2017 SOLD for HK$ 80M including premium
Born in a family of wealthy silk industrialists, Sanyu had early skills for black ink and calligraphy. He developed his personal art in Paris by drawing the nude bodies of the women with a minimalist undulating line that accentuated the erotic invitation.
Supported by Henri-Pierre Roché from 1929 to 1932, Sanyu perfected his oil painting, experienced the drypoint engraving and found other themes.
On September 30 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells as lot 1018Léopard, an oil on canvas 93 x 116 cm painted in 1931 which had originally belonged to Roché. The near life size leopard is sketched by the white lines delineating the body and by the circles of the spots in a figure that hardly stands out from a black background interspersed with irregular white stripes.
The four legs and the tail upwards, the wild animal offers its belly in the attitude of a trusting cat requesting a caress. At that time of crisis when financial difficulties arise for Sanyu, this artwork transposes his desire for a cosy well-being.
Accumulating the originality of the camouflaged line, the large size, the attitude of joy, the joint inspiration from classical China and modern Art Déco and the minimalism of black and white, this nice feline has few equivalents in the art of Sanyu. The auction house does not reveal the estimate.
Please watch the short video shared by Sotheby's.
Supported by Henri-Pierre Roché from 1929 to 1932, Sanyu perfected his oil painting, experienced the drypoint engraving and found other themes.
On September 30 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells as lot 1018Léopard, an oil on canvas 93 x 116 cm painted in 1931 which had originally belonged to Roché. The near life size leopard is sketched by the white lines delineating the body and by the circles of the spots in a figure that hardly stands out from a black background interspersed with irregular white stripes.
The four legs and the tail upwards, the wild animal offers its belly in the attitude of a trusting cat requesting a caress. At that time of crisis when financial difficulties arise for Sanyu, this artwork transposes his desire for a cosy well-being.
Accumulating the originality of the camouflaged line, the large size, the attitude of joy, the joint inspiration from classical China and modern Art Déco and the minimalism of black and white, this nice feline has few equivalents in the art of Sanyu. The auction house does not reveal the estimate.
Please watch the short video shared by Sotheby's.
1931 The Long Wheelbase Duesenberg
2011 SOLD 10.3 M$ including premium
Captain Whittell was an exuberant American who had preserved his immense fortune by selling his shares just a few days before the financial crash of 1929. Such a character would have some Duesenbergs: he owned no less than six model J's.
At that time, customers bought the chassis and selected the body shop. The choice was great, which gives an infinite variety to Duesenberg vehicles.
The high end was the lengthened Model J chassis (long wheelbase). This huge machine 3.90 m long exceeded by 30 cm the standard (short wheelbase) Model J.
Whittell bought a long wheelbase in 1931 and made it equipped as a coupe by the stylist Franklin Hershey. The result is a surprising example of American Art Deco, including a folding roof that makes this car look like a convertible. The general shape is aerodynamic, anticipating the trend of the automotive design of the later 1930s.
It comes in the sale held in Pebble Beach on 20 and 21 August by Gooding. Totaling less than 20,000 km, it is in perfect working order.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold $ 10.3 million including premium, this car has certainly exceeded the most optimistic hopes. The press release issued before sale had been particularly enthusiastic.
At that time, customers bought the chassis and selected the body shop. The choice was great, which gives an infinite variety to Duesenberg vehicles.
The high end was the lengthened Model J chassis (long wheelbase). This huge machine 3.90 m long exceeded by 30 cm the standard (short wheelbase) Model J.
Whittell bought a long wheelbase in 1931 and made it equipped as a coupe by the stylist Franklin Hershey. The result is a surprising example of American Art Deco, including a folding roof that makes this car look like a convertible. The general shape is aerodynamic, anticipating the trend of the automotive design of the later 1930s.
It comes in the sale held in Pebble Beach on 20 and 21 August by Gooding. Totaling less than 20,000 km, it is in perfect working order.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold $ 10.3 million including premium, this car has certainly exceeded the most optimistic hopes. The press release issued before sale had been particularly enthusiastic.
1931 Mexican Revolution in New York City
2018 SOLD for $ 9.8M including premium
The Mexican muralism was born in 1921 from an observation by Vasconcelos : the people are mostly illiterate but the public image can be as suitable as a writing for propagating the fervor of the Revolution. Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros and Tamayo create a new art adapted to the socialist ideas.
Out of standards in every meaning of that wording, Diego Rivera is uncompromising. His artistic message is communist and anticlerical and he will not change it even under the pressure generated by his provocations.
In New York City, Abby Rockefeller begins in 1925 a collection of modern European art which is not so much supported by her husband but she moves forward. The creation of the Museum of Modern Art in 1929 comes mainly from her personal initiative. She multiplies the actions, including a first solo exhibition which is dedicated to Matisse.
Mexican art shows mostly the people, even if they are confronted with the abuses from the bourgeoisie. Abby, who was also collecting folk art, devotes the second solo exhibition of the MoMA to Rivera in 1931. The thunderous artist had been accused of anti-Soviet activities while working in Moscow and the Mexican Communist Party had fired him. Some recent activities in California showed his interest to the United States.
John D. Rockefeller Jr, Abby's husband, does not see the political trap. In 1933 he commissions some murals for the Rockefeller Center to Rivera. Without warning, Rivera introduces into the picture a portrait of Lenin and categorically refuses to withdraw it despite an attempted negotiation by the young Nelson Rockefeller. The fresco is scrapped but Rivera has achieved his goal of ridiculing the capitalists.
With the invitation of 1931 Abby Rockefeller had commissioned an artwork to Rivera. He completed it during the boat journey to New York. The Rivals, oil on canvas 152 x 127 cm, is about a celebration in Oaxaca. The composition is animated at various distances by groups of characters in traditional clothing, with the shimmering exotic colors that pleased Abby.
The Rivals was given as a wedding present to David and Peggy Rockefeller in 1941. It is estimated $ 5M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 9, lot 424.
Out of standards in every meaning of that wording, Diego Rivera is uncompromising. His artistic message is communist and anticlerical and he will not change it even under the pressure generated by his provocations.
In New York City, Abby Rockefeller begins in 1925 a collection of modern European art which is not so much supported by her husband but she moves forward. The creation of the Museum of Modern Art in 1929 comes mainly from her personal initiative. She multiplies the actions, including a first solo exhibition which is dedicated to Matisse.
Mexican art shows mostly the people, even if they are confronted with the abuses from the bourgeoisie. Abby, who was also collecting folk art, devotes the second solo exhibition of the MoMA to Rivera in 1931. The thunderous artist had been accused of anti-Soviet activities while working in Moscow and the Mexican Communist Party had fired him. Some recent activities in California showed his interest to the United States.
John D. Rockefeller Jr, Abby's husband, does not see the political trap. In 1933 he commissions some murals for the Rockefeller Center to Rivera. Without warning, Rivera introduces into the picture a portrait of Lenin and categorically refuses to withdraw it despite an attempted negotiation by the young Nelson Rockefeller. The fresco is scrapped but Rivera has achieved his goal of ridiculing the capitalists.
With the invitation of 1931 Abby Rockefeller had commissioned an artwork to Rivera. He completed it during the boat journey to New York. The Rivals, oil on canvas 152 x 127 cm, is about a celebration in Oaxaca. The composition is animated at various distances by groups of characters in traditional clothing, with the shimmering exotic colors that pleased Abby.
The Rivals was given as a wedding present to David and Peggy Rockefeller in 1941. It is estimated $ 5M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 9, lot 424.
1931 The Sacred Mountain of Georgia O'Keeffe
2018 SOLD for $ 8.4M including premium
The art by Georgia O'Keeffe explores new paths. She begins by being a pioneer of abstract art but that does not satisfy her. This daughter of a dairy farmer from Wisconsin wants to be close to nature. She develops two opposing themes during her stays in Lake George, both in architectural compositions : the grand landscape and the intimate detail of the flower.
During a tour of the west Rebecca Strand has an intuition : her friend Georgia will be able to express the wild power of the rolling hills of New Mexico. In 1929 the two women leave New York City and their husbands for a first long stay in Taos where they will return for several consecutive summers.
Georgia is immediately seduced by these pure landscapes that are not soiled by vegetation. In a spontaneously Humboldtian vision, she finds the biomorphic dimension of these dry lands flooded by sunlight.
Her first paintings in Taos highlight this formal discovery without altering the colors. On the Old Santa Fe Road, oil on canvas 41 x 76 cm painted in 1930-1931, was sold for $ 5.1M including premium by Sotheby's on November 20, 2014 over a lower estimate of $ 2M.
In a style of similar purity a view of sandy hills near Taos, oil on canvas laid down on board 45 x 61 cm painted in 1929, is estimated $ 2M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 9, lot 406 .
In the same sale the lot 404 estimated $ 3M is a panoramic view of the mountain range near Abiquiu, oil on canvas 41 x 91 cm painted in 1931. Returning later Georgia is so delighted that she will install permanently in this site. She will say with a great deal of humor : "It's my private mountain, it belongs to me, God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it".
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM
Near Abiquiu : $ 8.4M
Near Taos : $ 2.65M
During a tour of the west Rebecca Strand has an intuition : her friend Georgia will be able to express the wild power of the rolling hills of New Mexico. In 1929 the two women leave New York City and their husbands for a first long stay in Taos where they will return for several consecutive summers.
Georgia is immediately seduced by these pure landscapes that are not soiled by vegetation. In a spontaneously Humboldtian vision, she finds the biomorphic dimension of these dry lands flooded by sunlight.
Her first paintings in Taos highlight this formal discovery without altering the colors. On the Old Santa Fe Road, oil on canvas 41 x 76 cm painted in 1930-1931, was sold for $ 5.1M including premium by Sotheby's on November 20, 2014 over a lower estimate of $ 2M.
In a style of similar purity a view of sandy hills near Taos, oil on canvas laid down on board 45 x 61 cm painted in 1929, is estimated $ 2M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 9, lot 406 .
In the same sale the lot 404 estimated $ 3M is a panoramic view of the mountain range near Abiquiu, oil on canvas 41 x 91 cm painted in 1931. Returning later Georgia is so delighted that she will install permanently in this site. She will say with a great deal of humor : "It's my private mountain, it belongs to me, God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it".
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM
Near Abiquiu : $ 8.4M
Near Taos : $ 2.65M
1931 Bugatti 41 La Royale coachworked by Kellner
1987 SOLD 5.5 M£ including premium by Christie's
The image is shared by Wikimedia with attribution : Arnaud 25 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
1931 Bouquets in Montparnasse
2017 SOLD for HK$ 51M including premium
During his studies at La Grande Chaumière, Sanyu tirelessly took sketches from the naked bodies of women. Despite his very good understanding of both Asian and Western arts, his approach was highly original : the emotion can come from the balance between the surfaces delimited by the lines. Figurative details, proportions and perspectives are subsidiary. Cézanne was right : art cannot copy nature.
The meeting with the flamboyant collector Henri-Pierre Roché in 1929 is decisive for Sanyu. A friend of Leo and Gertrude Stein, Roché plays a role of discoverer of talents in the avant-garde communities of Montparnasse. He promises Sanyu to buy him all his future works.
Liberated from material constraints, the young Chinese gives free impulse to his creativity. He adds colors according to Roché's recommendation to practice the oil painting. With this technique then new for him, Sanyu explores other artistic possibilities in a three centuries old theme : the bouquet of flowers in a vase.
Once again Sanyu goes against all the artistic conventions. His colors are very little contrasting either in pastel or dark hues. His favorite color is pink in a similarity between still life and nude that could have led him to the abstract expressionism. The vase is reduced to its outline without color and texture.
On November 22, 2014 in Hong Kong, Christie's sold for HK $ 47M including premium a Bouquet de roses dans un vase blanc, oil on canvas 81 x 50 cm dated April 10, 1931. The vase draws attention only by a slight angular tilting. A better visibility on the leaves than on the flowers is in opposition with all the academics.
On November 25 in the same auction house, a Bouquet de marguerites dated January 1931 is estimated HK $ 50M, lot 21.
This oil on canvas 81 x 45 cm appears as a bold study of asymmetry. The white edges at bottom and right simulate a window that decenters the vase in an optical trick. The flowers are in two groups separated by bare stems. The upper group leaning to the left is counterbalanced by the distribution of the flowers below it. In this composition without perspective the stylized vase is either posed or floating.
The meeting with the flamboyant collector Henri-Pierre Roché in 1929 is decisive for Sanyu. A friend of Leo and Gertrude Stein, Roché plays a role of discoverer of talents in the avant-garde communities of Montparnasse. He promises Sanyu to buy him all his future works.
Liberated from material constraints, the young Chinese gives free impulse to his creativity. He adds colors according to Roché's recommendation to practice the oil painting. With this technique then new for him, Sanyu explores other artistic possibilities in a three centuries old theme : the bouquet of flowers in a vase.
Once again Sanyu goes against all the artistic conventions. His colors are very little contrasting either in pastel or dark hues. His favorite color is pink in a similarity between still life and nude that could have led him to the abstract expressionism. The vase is reduced to its outline without color and texture.
On November 22, 2014 in Hong Kong, Christie's sold for HK $ 47M including premium a Bouquet de roses dans un vase blanc, oil on canvas 81 x 50 cm dated April 10, 1931. The vase draws attention only by a slight angular tilting. A better visibility on the leaves than on the flowers is in opposition with all the academics.
On November 25 in the same auction house, a Bouquet de marguerites dated January 1931 is estimated HK $ 50M, lot 21.
This oil on canvas 81 x 45 cm appears as a bold study of asymmetry. The white edges at bottom and right simulate a window that decenters the vase in an optical trick. The flowers are in two groups separated by bare stems. The upper group leaning to the left is counterbalanced by the distribution of the flowers below it. In this composition without perspective the stylized vase is either posed or floating.
1931 Bentley was too fast
2013 SOLD 4.6 M$ including premium
A new era began in 1926 for Bentley Motors when Barnato acquired the financial control of that British brand of luxury cars created in 1919.
For sport and specially to win at Le Mans, two concepts were clashing. The founder W.O. Bentley is in favor of huge engines like his 6 1/2 liter model to get more power by an extension of the mechanical movements.
Pushed by the flamboyant team of the Bentley Boys, Barnato prefers overloading the engine of the 4 1/2 liter model. So starts the Blower Bentley in 1929. Unfortunately the new car, capable of outstanding speed performance, is not yet reliable enough to win endurance races.
A Blower Bentley manufactured in 1931 is estimated $ 4M, for sale by Bonhams at Quail Lodge (Carmel) on August 16. Here is the link to the catalog.
Its outstanding feature is its original Le Mans-type chassis, consistent with the rules of the time for this endurance race. Its original bodywork had been made by Vanden Plas also in a Le Mans configuration. It was replaced in 1938, probably due to wear, with a nice Brooklands-type racing body with which it is still equipped today.
Bentley was too fast. The Blower had not won at Le Mans against the other models of the brand. The Blower Bentley for sale was one of the last to carry the hopes of this model that the crisis was to wipe out: in 1931, Bentley was bought by Rolls-Royce.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result is consistent with the expectation for this interesting Bentley: $ 4.6M including premium.
For sport and specially to win at Le Mans, two concepts were clashing. The founder W.O. Bentley is in favor of huge engines like his 6 1/2 liter model to get more power by an extension of the mechanical movements.
Pushed by the flamboyant team of the Bentley Boys, Barnato prefers overloading the engine of the 4 1/2 liter model. So starts the Blower Bentley in 1929. Unfortunately the new car, capable of outstanding speed performance, is not yet reliable enough to win endurance races.
A Blower Bentley manufactured in 1931 is estimated $ 4M, for sale by Bonhams at Quail Lodge (Carmel) on August 16. Here is the link to the catalog.
Its outstanding feature is its original Le Mans-type chassis, consistent with the rules of the time for this endurance race. Its original bodywork had been made by Vanden Plas also in a Le Mans configuration. It was replaced in 1938, probably due to wear, with a nice Brooklands-type racing body with which it is still equipped today.
Bentley was too fast. The Blower had not won at Le Mans against the other models of the brand. The Blower Bentley for sale was one of the last to carry the hopes of this model that the crisis was to wipe out: in 1931, Bentley was bought by Rolls-Royce.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result is consistent with the expectation for this interesting Bentley: $ 4.6M including premium.
1931 The Ideal Bentley according to Barnato
2007 SOLD 4.5 M$ including premium by Gooding
2012 UNSOLD
PRE 2012 SALE DISCUSSION
Barnato was the chairman of Bentley and the sponsor of the Bentley Boys. His high-end model was the Bentley 4.5 liter Blower.
Within eight decades, most cars have been repaired and transformed. One of them however, bodied in boat-tail shape in 1931 by Gurney Nutting, has been preserved in its original state and is considered as the closest copy of what Barnato was wishing. It has even kept its original fabric covering, probably somehow worn.
This car is known by the friendly nickname Green Hornet which was given to it by one of its former owners. It was sold $ 4.5 million including premium by Gooding on August 19, 2007.
It comes back at auction on August 19 in Monterey, also by Gooding. Here is the link to the catalog.
Its estimate, $ 8M, may seem ambitious. However, it is in the same range as the excellent result obtained by Bonhams on June 29 on a single-seater racing car built on the same chassis model: £ 5M including premium.
Some observers used to say that racing cars are more appreciated than other units. In today's market of vintage cars, I am tempted to doubt this assertion. The sale of the Green Hornet is a good opportunity to check the trend.
POST 2012 SALE COMMENT
Unsold. I am not surprised: the expected gain above the 2007 result was exaggerated.
The day before by the same auction house, a very rare 1928 Bentley in Bobtail shape was sold $ 6M including premium.
Barnato was the chairman of Bentley and the sponsor of the Bentley Boys. His high-end model was the Bentley 4.5 liter Blower.
Within eight decades, most cars have been repaired and transformed. One of them however, bodied in boat-tail shape in 1931 by Gurney Nutting, has been preserved in its original state and is considered as the closest copy of what Barnato was wishing. It has even kept its original fabric covering, probably somehow worn.
This car is known by the friendly nickname Green Hornet which was given to it by one of its former owners. It was sold $ 4.5 million including premium by Gooding on August 19, 2007.
It comes back at auction on August 19 in Monterey, also by Gooding. Here is the link to the catalog.
Its estimate, $ 8M, may seem ambitious. However, it is in the same range as the excellent result obtained by Bonhams on June 29 on a single-seater racing car built on the same chassis model: £ 5M including premium.
Some observers used to say that racing cars are more appreciated than other units. In today's market of vintage cars, I am tempted to doubt this assertion. The sale of the Green Hornet is a good opportunity to check the trend.
POST 2012 SALE COMMENT
Unsold. I am not surprised: the expected gain above the 2007 result was exaggerated.
The day before by the same auction house, a very rare 1928 Bentley in Bobtail shape was sold $ 6M including premium.
1931 Early Expectations for the Bugatti Type 51
2016 SOLD for $ 4M including premium
Introduced in 1924, the Bugatti Type 35 had been the king of the circuits. By cumulating works cars and private teams, it recorded no less than 2,000 wins within a few years.
At all times, an automobile supremacy is necessarily short lived. The technical progress of Alfa Romeo and Mercedes-Benz is forcing Bugatti to look for new solutions. It is too late. Despite some early successes, the new models Types 51, 53 and 54 introduced in 1931 and 1932 will not match the ambitions of the French brand.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the Miller 91 achieves great results in competition with its small supercharged engine reduced in volume to adapt to new rules, even at that time ! Bugatti indirectly obtains the Miller 91 patterns and creates its own Type 51 by plagiarizing the camshaft from its American competitor. The external features of the new car are almost unchanged from Type 35.
One of the first Bugatti Type 51 was sold in 1931 to Lord Howe, an outstanding personality of British motor racing who won in the same year the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a driving partnership with Henry Birkin on an Alfa Romeo 8C-2300.
Lord Howe intensely used his Bugatti Type 51, entering it four times at the Monaco Grand Prix. Tazio Nuvolari was once seen driving this car in the same time range, but only for practices. Lord Howe sold it in 1935. The later story is less glorious : the Bugatti overturned to kill its second owner in 1937.
Despite its rebuilding performed around its original chassis after the accident, Lord Howe's Bugatti remains one of the most desirable Type 51 in existence. It is for sale on August 19 by Bonhams at Quail Lodge, Carmel CA, lot 36.
Please watch the video shared by Bonhams.
At all times, an automobile supremacy is necessarily short lived. The technical progress of Alfa Romeo and Mercedes-Benz is forcing Bugatti to look for new solutions. It is too late. Despite some early successes, the new models Types 51, 53 and 54 introduced in 1931 and 1932 will not match the ambitions of the French brand.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the Miller 91 achieves great results in competition with its small supercharged engine reduced in volume to adapt to new rules, even at that time ! Bugatti indirectly obtains the Miller 91 patterns and creates its own Type 51 by plagiarizing the camshaft from its American competitor. The external features of the new car are almost unchanged from Type 35.
One of the first Bugatti Type 51 was sold in 1931 to Lord Howe, an outstanding personality of British motor racing who won in the same year the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a driving partnership with Henry Birkin on an Alfa Romeo 8C-2300.
Lord Howe intensely used his Bugatti Type 51, entering it four times at the Monaco Grand Prix. Tazio Nuvolari was once seen driving this car in the same time range, but only for practices. Lord Howe sold it in 1935. The later story is less glorious : the Bugatti overturned to kill its second owner in 1937.
Despite its rebuilding performed around its original chassis after the accident, Lord Howe's Bugatti remains one of the most desirable Type 51 in existence. It is for sale on August 19 by Bonhams at Quail Lodge, Carmel CA, lot 36.
Please watch the video shared by Bonhams.
1931 Grand Prix with Wimille
2018 SOLD for $ 3.74M including premium
After a full decade of domination in competitions, the Bugatti 35 became obsolete in 1931. To stay in the running against the growing ambitions of Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz and Bentley, Bugatticreated a new model, the Type 51 Grand Prix.
The 51 retains the 2.3 liter volume of the 35 B while increasing its power with an engine layout copied from Miller. Intended for competition, this model is divided between the factory team and private owners.
One of them began its race history in July 1931 as a factory car at the Belgian Grand Prix. At the end of that year, it was sold to the young driver Jean-Pierre Wimille for 80,000 francs, a large sum for the time. In 1932 Wimille ran it in two Grand Prix in North Africa, winning the Algerian Grand Prix in Oran.
Before Wimille sells it a few months later, Bugatti reinstalls its equipment on a new frame without changing the chassis number. I guess this was a simple service after its short African career : satisfied with its condition, Bugatti has assembled another body on the original chassis.
The 51 ex Wimille is used intensively in Grand Prix in 1933 and 1934 before becoming the only Type 51 to enter American competitions, without much success.
Like most racing cars of its time, this Bugatti had several crashes and incidents as well as equipment substitutions. This second chassis is currently equipped with its original body, its original engine returned to operation and reinstalled around 1986 and its original gearbox retrieved in 1989 by its owner of that time in an auction of spare equipment.
It is estimated $ 3.2M for sale by Gooding at Pebble Beach on August 24, lot 48. I had discussed it in this column before it passed at RM Auctions on August 14, 2010. Meanwhile the Bugatti Type 51 ex Lord Howe was sold for $ 4M including premium by Bonhams on August 19, 2016.
The 51 retains the 2.3 liter volume of the 35 B while increasing its power with an engine layout copied from Miller. Intended for competition, this model is divided between the factory team and private owners.
One of them began its race history in July 1931 as a factory car at the Belgian Grand Prix. At the end of that year, it was sold to the young driver Jean-Pierre Wimille for 80,000 francs, a large sum for the time. In 1932 Wimille ran it in two Grand Prix in North Africa, winning the Algerian Grand Prix in Oran.
Before Wimille sells it a few months later, Bugatti reinstalls its equipment on a new frame without changing the chassis number. I guess this was a simple service after its short African career : satisfied with its condition, Bugatti has assembled another body on the original chassis.
The 51 ex Wimille is used intensively in Grand Prix in 1933 and 1934 before becoming the only Type 51 to enter American competitions, without much success.
Like most racing cars of its time, this Bugatti had several crashes and incidents as well as equipment substitutions. This second chassis is currently equipped with its original body, its original engine returned to operation and reinstalled around 1986 and its original gearbox retrieved in 1989 by its owner of that time in an auction of spare equipment.
It is estimated $ 3.2M for sale by Gooding at Pebble Beach on August 24, lot 48. I had discussed it in this column before it passed at RM Auctions on August 14, 2010. Meanwhile the Bugatti Type 51 ex Lord Howe was sold for $ 4M including premium by Bonhams on August 19, 2016.
1931 The Inaccessible Desire
2018 SOLD for £ 2.7M including premium
In 1929 Dali just joined surrealism. Paul and Gala Eluard visit him in Figueres. Gala who is also Max Ernst's mistress is known for her sexual freedom. Dali claims his impotence linked to a physical phobia of the female genitals. They leave together and will never part from one another.
Gala is for Dali the personification of the inaccessible desire. He nicknames her Gradiva from a Pompeian statue passionately loved by an archaeologist in a novel by Jensen. Meanwhile Dali's family is upset. The father takes under the name Guillaume Tell the role of the castrator in Dali's exacerbated complex of Oedipus. Sigmund Freud will be delighted by this case of obsessive psychiatry. Gala's sudden and lasting infatuation with Dali would also deserve a psychoanalytic explanation.
In 1930 Dali and Gala settle in Paris. He paints Guillaume Tell, oil and collage on canvas 113 x 87 cm acquired in 2002 by the Centre Pompidou. The castrator has a knee placed on a stele decorated with the Dalinian Gradiva next to a phallus as high as her.
In 1931 two oils on copper build the story of Gradiva illustrated by Dali as a resurgence of Andromeda chained to the rock. Gradiva is Gala, the sole object of Dali's worship, with no remaining reference to Jensen.
That first opus titled Gradiva, 21 x 16 cm, is estimated £ 1.2M for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 28, lot 33. The body of the woman is twisted in the sufferings of a St. Sebastian which have here an orgasmic dimension. The shredded tunic reveals the breasts and especially the sex centered by the appealing lips of a mouth. A drop of blood flows on the thigh.
The same sale includes also as lot 34 a study for Gradiva of similar size and same provenance which is probably the final preparatory drawing for the painting above. It is estimated £ 60K.
The final image 30 x 24 cm in the same rocky surrounding is titled Guillaume Tell et Gradiva. It was acquired in 1996 by the Dali Museum in Figueres. The woman remains in a similar position but is now completely naked. Beside her an ithyphallic humanoid once again prevents the lover from accessing his desire.
Please watch the video of Gradiva shared by Sotheby's.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM
Painting : £ 2.7M
Preparatory drawing : £ 100K
Gala is for Dali the personification of the inaccessible desire. He nicknames her Gradiva from a Pompeian statue passionately loved by an archaeologist in a novel by Jensen. Meanwhile Dali's family is upset. The father takes under the name Guillaume Tell the role of the castrator in Dali's exacerbated complex of Oedipus. Sigmund Freud will be delighted by this case of obsessive psychiatry. Gala's sudden and lasting infatuation with Dali would also deserve a psychoanalytic explanation.
In 1930 Dali and Gala settle in Paris. He paints Guillaume Tell, oil and collage on canvas 113 x 87 cm acquired in 2002 by the Centre Pompidou. The castrator has a knee placed on a stele decorated with the Dalinian Gradiva next to a phallus as high as her.
In 1931 two oils on copper build the story of Gradiva illustrated by Dali as a resurgence of Andromeda chained to the rock. Gradiva is Gala, the sole object of Dali's worship, with no remaining reference to Jensen.
That first opus titled Gradiva, 21 x 16 cm, is estimated £ 1.2M for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 28, lot 33. The body of the woman is twisted in the sufferings of a St. Sebastian which have here an orgasmic dimension. The shredded tunic reveals the breasts and especially the sex centered by the appealing lips of a mouth. A drop of blood flows on the thigh.
The same sale includes also as lot 34 a study for Gradiva of similar size and same provenance which is probably the final preparatory drawing for the painting above. It is estimated £ 60K.
The final image 30 x 24 cm in the same rocky surrounding is titled Guillaume Tell et Gradiva. It was acquired in 1996 by the Dali Museum in Figueres. The woman remains in a similar position but is now completely naked. Beside her an ithyphallic humanoid once again prevents the lover from accessing his desire.
Please watch the video of Gradiva shared by Sotheby's.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM
Painting : £ 2.7M
Preparatory drawing : £ 100K
