1943
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Self portrait II Picasso 1940-1960 Germany II Central and South Americas Chagall Calder Zhang Daqian < 1965 Time pieces Patek Philippe Perpetual calendar
See also : Self portrait II Picasso 1940-1960 Germany II Central and South Americas Chagall Calder Zhang Daqian < 1965 Time pieces Patek Philippe Perpetual calendar
1943 PICASSO
1
July 11 Buste de Femme au Chapeau à Fleurs
2025 SOLD for € 32M by Lucien (Paris)
Buste de Femme au Chapeau à Fleurs, featuring Dora, was painted by Picasso on July 11, 1943. This oil on canvas 81 x 60 cm is estimated € 8M for sale by Lucien (Paris) on October 24, 2025, lot 1.
Grok thoughts :
Immediate post sale
Quote
Drouot @Drouot
Présentée aux enchères par la maison de ventes Lucien Paris, La “femme au chapeau à fleurs (Dora Maar)” a été adjugée 32 millions d’euros ce vendredi 24 octobre à l’Hôtel Drouot au terme d’une longue bataille d’enchères entre 18 enchérisseurs internationaux.
Pre sale
Quote
Artnet @artnet Sep 20
#ArtnetNews: A Pablo Picasso portrait of his lover, artist Dora Maar, is going on public view for the first time and is headed to the auction block after eight decades in the collection of the same family that purchased it in 1944. Painted under German occupation in 1943 Paris,
Grok thoughts :
Immediate post sale
Quote
Drouot @Drouot
Présentée aux enchères par la maison de ventes Lucien Paris, La “femme au chapeau à fleurs (Dora Maar)” a été adjugée 32 millions d’euros ce vendredi 24 octobre à l’Hôtel Drouot au terme d’une longue bataille d’enchères entre 18 enchérisseurs internationaux.
- The X post announces the sale of Pablo Picasso's 1943 oil painting "Buste de femme au chapeau à fleurs (Dora Maar)" for a record 32 million euros at Drouot auction house, the highest price for any artwork in France in 2025.
- Painted during the Nazi occupation of Paris, the cubist portrait of Picasso's muse Dora Maar features her in a vibrant floral hat and had remained in private hands, unseen publicly for over 80 years until this rediscovery.
- The intense bidding war among 18 international participants, culminating in a foreign buyer's victory, underscores the global appetite for rare wartime Picassos, with the piece's provenance enhancing its value amid a competitive art market.
Pre sale
Quote
Artnet @artnet Sep 20
#ArtnetNews: A Pablo Picasso portrait of his lover, artist Dora Maar, is going on public view for the first time and is headed to the auction block after eight decades in the collection of the same family that purchased it in 1944. Painted under German occupation in 1943 Paris,
- Painted in 1943 amid Nazi-occupied Paris, Picasso's Buste de femme au chapeau à fleurs (Dora Maar) captures his muse in a vibrant Cubist style, symbolizing personal turmoil and wartime grief as their abusive relationship ended that year.
- Acquired by a private family in 1944 shortly after completion, the portrait remained unseen publicly for 80 years, known only via a studio photo in Picasso's catalogue raisonné, until its debut view ahead of auction.
- Estimated at €8 million ($9.4 million), it headlines Lucien Paris's October 24 sale at Hôtel Drouot, highlighting Dora Maar's overlooked Surrealist legacy, including her Guernica photography and recent exhibitions reclaiming her artistic influence.
2
masterpiece
October 28 Le Marin
Wynn collection
Everything goes wrong for Picasso in the fall of 1943 in Paris under the German Occupation. Guernica's message against totalitarianisms was clear and he will never deny it. His choice to stay in Paris is daring. In September an administrative letter requests him to prepare for the Service du Travail Obligatoire which is a deportation in Germany.
During that year Picasso is very busy with sculpture. When Brassaï enters his studio to take pictures, he is amazed by a large Tête de Mort. The skull looks almost alive with its empty orbits and its flattened nose. This theme expresses the sinister mood of the artist. Maybe even it is a self-portrait.
Le Marin, oil on canvas 129 x 81 cm dated October 28, 1943, was listed as lot 8A by Christie's on May 15, 2018 with an estimate in the region of $ 70M.
Once past the ambitions of his youth, Picasso generally left doubt about the identity of his characters. However he soon acknowledged that this sailor is a self-portrait.
The larger than life man in mid-length is dressed in a sailor's jersey, which is not a mere description of his signature dress habits : Pablo stuck in Paris is yearning for his beloved Mediterranean sea that he may never see again. All his attitude is sad, reinforced by the darkness around the eyes.
One year later Paris has just been liberated. Le Marin, a great symbol of wartime art, is highlighted in the Salon d'Automne. Belonging to the Ganz collection, it was sold for $ 8M by Christie's on November 10, 1997. In that sale the O version of Les Femmes d'Alger was sold for $ 32M including premium.
Le Marin was withdrawn by Christie's after a damage during the preparation of the sale. Here is the statement issued by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Artnet @artnet May 30, 2020
A paint roller tore a $20 million hole in a Picasso painting that casino mogul Steve Wynn planned to sell at Christie's. Now, the insurance company is suing the contractor to pay for it: https://bit.ly/36zdOJP
During that year Picasso is very busy with sculpture. When Brassaï enters his studio to take pictures, he is amazed by a large Tête de Mort. The skull looks almost alive with its empty orbits and its flattened nose. This theme expresses the sinister mood of the artist. Maybe even it is a self-portrait.
Le Marin, oil on canvas 129 x 81 cm dated October 28, 1943, was listed as lot 8A by Christie's on May 15, 2018 with an estimate in the region of $ 70M.
Once past the ambitions of his youth, Picasso generally left doubt about the identity of his characters. However he soon acknowledged that this sailor is a self-portrait.
The larger than life man in mid-length is dressed in a sailor's jersey, which is not a mere description of his signature dress habits : Pablo stuck in Paris is yearning for his beloved Mediterranean sea that he may never see again. All his attitude is sad, reinforced by the darkness around the eyes.
One year later Paris has just been liberated. Le Marin, a great symbol of wartime art, is highlighted in the Salon d'Automne. Belonging to the Ganz collection, it was sold for $ 8M by Christie's on November 10, 1997. In that sale the O version of Les Femmes d'Alger was sold for $ 32M including premium.
Le Marin was withdrawn by Christie's after a damage during the preparation of the sale. Here is the statement issued by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Artnet @artnet May 30, 2020
A paint roller tore a $20 million hole in a Picasso painting that casino mogul Steve Wynn planned to sell at Christie's. Now, the insurance company is suing the contractor to pay for it: https://bit.ly/36zdOJP
- In 2018, during renovations at Steve Wynn's Las Vegas office, an unsecured paint roller from contractor T.F. Nugent fell and tore a 6-inch hole in Picasso's 1943 self-portrait "Le Marin," valued at $20 million and slated for Christie's auction.
- Steadfast Insurance Co. covered $18.4 million in repairs for Wynn, prompting a 2020 lawsuit against the contractor to recover costs, highlighting risks in handling high-value art during construction.
- This marks Wynn's second Picasso mishap, following his 2006 elbow puncture of "Le Rêve"—a $139 million sale that became a repaired asset later listed for $110 million—underscoring the vulnerabilities of billionaire art collections.
1943 Self Portrait Yellow Rose by Beckmann
2022 SOLD for € 23M by Grisebach
Throughout his career, Max Beckmann exercised the mid length self portrait, illustrating his mood with no complacency and often with derision. In a gaudy attire, he brandishes some symbol that expresses his reprobation of the world. Photo portraits of himself reveal the same unappealing attitude.
Max Beckmann does not accept that his art is described as degenerate by Hitler. Painted in 1936, his self-portrait with a crystal ball is a poignant message : he would like to react but does not have the solution. He is only 52 but he certainly appreciates that his premature aging and his surly attitude will not help him. The shadow over the eyes does not encourage dialogue. This oil on canvas 110 x 65 cm was sold for $ 16.8M by Sotheby's on May 3, 2005.
In 1937 it is much worse. The Nazis confiscate 500 of his works from museums and include several in the Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich. Threatened with imprisonment and castration, Beckmann flees Germany and settles in his sister-in-law's home in Amsterdam where he fears that his life becomes devoid of meaning.
His works mark then a desire for revenge, now with a scathing criticism of the Nazi regime. Hölle der Vögel, oil on canvas 120 x 160 cm completed in 1938, was sold for £ 36M by Christie's in 2017.
On May 10, 2001 Sotheby's sold for $ 22.5M a Self-portrait with horn, oil on canvas 110 x 100 cm painted in 1938. The instrument is not played but brandished at the height of the closed mouth like a helpless challenge. The sullen mouth expresses anxiety and once again the eyes are in the shade. The striped jacket resembles the coat of a convict or a Harlequin.
Selbstbildnis gelb-rosa, oil on canvas 95 x 56 cm painted in bright colors in 1943 in Amsterdam, was conceived for presentation to his wife Quappi. It is typical of his selfie style excepted for his unexpected absence of gloom, the hint of a smile and the crossed arms and flat hands of a meditation.
It was sold for € 23M on December 1, 2022 by Grisebach, lot 19. It is shared by the auction house in a pre sale release published by Barnebys.
Max Beckmann does not accept that his art is described as degenerate by Hitler. Painted in 1936, his self-portrait with a crystal ball is a poignant message : he would like to react but does not have the solution. He is only 52 but he certainly appreciates that his premature aging and his surly attitude will not help him. The shadow over the eyes does not encourage dialogue. This oil on canvas 110 x 65 cm was sold for $ 16.8M by Sotheby's on May 3, 2005.
In 1937 it is much worse. The Nazis confiscate 500 of his works from museums and include several in the Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich. Threatened with imprisonment and castration, Beckmann flees Germany and settles in his sister-in-law's home in Amsterdam where he fears that his life becomes devoid of meaning.
His works mark then a desire for revenge, now with a scathing criticism of the Nazi regime. Hölle der Vögel, oil on canvas 120 x 160 cm completed in 1938, was sold for £ 36M by Christie's in 2017.
On May 10, 2001 Sotheby's sold for $ 22.5M a Self-portrait with horn, oil on canvas 110 x 100 cm painted in 1938. The instrument is not played but brandished at the height of the closed mouth like a helpless challenge. The sullen mouth expresses anxiety and once again the eyes are in the shade. The striped jacket resembles the coat of a convict or a Harlequin.
Selbstbildnis gelb-rosa, oil on canvas 95 x 56 cm painted in bright colors in 1943 in Amsterdam, was conceived for presentation to his wife Quappi. It is typical of his selfie style excepted for his unexpected absence of gloom, the hint of a smile and the crossed arms and flat hands of a meditation.
It was sold for € 23M on December 1, 2022 by Grisebach, lot 19. It is shared by the auction house in a pre sale release published by Barnebys.
Compare three self portraits by Beckmann : With a crystal ball (1936, sold in 2005 by Sotheby's), with horn (1938, sold in 2001 by Sotheby's), Yellow Rose (1943, sold in 2022 by Grisebach)
Max Beckmann, a prominent German Expressionist artist, created numerous self-portraits throughout his career, often reflecting his inner turmoil, exile from Nazi Germany, and existential themes. The three works in question--Self-Portrait with Crystal Ball (1936), Self-Portrait with Horn (1938), and Self-Portrait Yellow-Pink (also known as Self-Portrait with Yellow Rose) (1943)—span a pivotal period in his life, from the eve of exile to his time in Amsterdam during World War II. All are oil on canvas and showcase his bold, angular style, distorted forms, and psychological intensity. Below, I'll compare them across key aspects, drawing on historical context, artistic elements, and auction details.
Comparison Table
Year and Context
with Crystal Ball : Painted in Berlin just before Beckmann fled Nazi Germany in 1937, amid rising persecution of "degenerate" artists. Reflects pre-exile anxiety.
with Horn : Created in Amsterdam during early exile after Nazis labeled him degenerate; captures isolation post-1937 flight.
with Yellow Rose : Produced in Amsterdam amid WWII hardships, including bombing raids and personal health issues; symbolizes resilience in exile.
Composition and Pose
with Crystal Ball : Beckmann depicted frontally, staring intently at a glass sphere in his hand; somber, introspective pose with a dark background emphasizing solitude.
with Horn : Seated figure in profile, holding a horn to his ear as if listening; tense, ambiguous gesture with compressed space and stark lighting.
with Yellow Rose : Frontal view with Beckmann holding a yellow rose; more relaxed yet defiant stance, with a cigarette in mouth and direct gaze.
Symbolism
with Crystal Ball : The crystal ball suggests foresight, fate, or uncertainty about the future, evoking a "brooding sooth-sayer" amid political turmoil.
with Horn : The horn may represent alarm, music as escape, or a call to awareness; ambiguous, possibly alluding to exile's disorientation.
with Yellow Rose : The yellow rose (or pink-yellow tones) evokes beauty, fragility, or hope amid war; cigarette adds a touch of casual defiance.
Color and Style
with Crystal Ball : Muted, dark palette with earthy tones; angular forms and distorted perspective typical of Beckmann's Expressionism, heightening emotional weight.
with Horn : Cool blues and grays dominate, with sharp contrasts; compressed composition creates claustrophobia, amplifying exile's psychological strain.
with Yellow Rose : Vivid yellows and pinks provide warmth and contrast; bolder colors suggest a shift toward optimism or irony in later exile works.
Dimensions
with Crystal Ball : Approximately 110 x 90 cm (exact varies by source).1
with Horn : 10 x 101 cm.
with Yellow Rose : Around 100 x 80 cm (based on auction descriptions).
Auction Details
with Crystal Ball : Sold at Sotheby's New York in 2005 for $16.8 million (hammer price), a strong result in a thin market.
with Horn : Sold at Sotheby's New York in 2001 for $22.5 million, setting a then-record for the artist and highlighting demand for his exile works.
with Yellow Rose : Sold at Grisebach Berlin in 2022 for €20 million ($20.7 million) hammer, or €23.2 million ($24.4 million) with fees; broke German auction records.
Current/Provenance Notes
with Crystal Ball : Private collection post-sale; smuggled into Berlin despite Nazi bans.
with Horn : Acquired by Neue Galerie, New York, in 2001; from private collectors linked to Beckmann's circle.
with Yellow Rose : Entered a private collection after 2022 sale; remained in family hands for decades prior.
Detailed Analysis
These self-portraits trace Beckmann's evolution during a tumultuous era. The 1936 work feels prophetic, with the crystal ball symbolizing impending doom as the Nazis intensified their cultural purge—Beckmann's art was soon exhibited in the infamous "Degenerate Art" show. By 1938, in Self-Portrait with Horn, the mood shifts to haunted vigilance; the horn could evoke a warning signal or jazz influences from his Amsterdam surroundings, but the overall compression conveys entrapment. The 1943 piece, created deeper into exile, introduces brighter hues and a floral motif, possibly hinting at fleeting beauty or personal solace amid global chaos—Beckmann was ill and facing rationing at the time.
Stylistically, all embody Expressionism's emotional distortion, but the earlier pieces are darker and more introspective, while the 1943 portrait shows a subtle warming, perhaps reflecting adaptation to exile. Auction-wise, prices reflect growing appreciation: the 2001 sale set a benchmark, 2005 maintained momentum, and 2022's record underscores Beckmann's rising status in German art markets. Overall, they highlight his self-scrutiny as a tool for processing trauma, with each prop (ball, horn, rose) adding layers of personal allegory.
Max Beckmann, a prominent German Expressionist artist, created numerous self-portraits throughout his career, often reflecting his inner turmoil, exile from Nazi Germany, and existential themes. The three works in question--Self-Portrait with Crystal Ball (1936), Self-Portrait with Horn (1938), and Self-Portrait Yellow-Pink (also known as Self-Portrait with Yellow Rose) (1943)—span a pivotal period in his life, from the eve of exile to his time in Amsterdam during World War II. All are oil on canvas and showcase his bold, angular style, distorted forms, and psychological intensity. Below, I'll compare them across key aspects, drawing on historical context, artistic elements, and auction details.
Comparison Table
Year and Context
with Crystal Ball : Painted in Berlin just before Beckmann fled Nazi Germany in 1937, amid rising persecution of "degenerate" artists. Reflects pre-exile anxiety.
with Horn : Created in Amsterdam during early exile after Nazis labeled him degenerate; captures isolation post-1937 flight.
with Yellow Rose : Produced in Amsterdam amid WWII hardships, including bombing raids and personal health issues; symbolizes resilience in exile.
Composition and Pose
with Crystal Ball : Beckmann depicted frontally, staring intently at a glass sphere in his hand; somber, introspective pose with a dark background emphasizing solitude.
with Horn : Seated figure in profile, holding a horn to his ear as if listening; tense, ambiguous gesture with compressed space and stark lighting.
with Yellow Rose : Frontal view with Beckmann holding a yellow rose; more relaxed yet defiant stance, with a cigarette in mouth and direct gaze.
Symbolism
with Crystal Ball : The crystal ball suggests foresight, fate, or uncertainty about the future, evoking a "brooding sooth-sayer" amid political turmoil.
with Horn : The horn may represent alarm, music as escape, or a call to awareness; ambiguous, possibly alluding to exile's disorientation.
with Yellow Rose : The yellow rose (or pink-yellow tones) evokes beauty, fragility, or hope amid war; cigarette adds a touch of casual defiance.
Color and Style
with Crystal Ball : Muted, dark palette with earthy tones; angular forms and distorted perspective typical of Beckmann's Expressionism, heightening emotional weight.
with Horn : Cool blues and grays dominate, with sharp contrasts; compressed composition creates claustrophobia, amplifying exile's psychological strain.
with Yellow Rose : Vivid yellows and pinks provide warmth and contrast; bolder colors suggest a shift toward optimism or irony in later exile works.
Dimensions
with Crystal Ball : Approximately 110 x 90 cm (exact varies by source).1
with Horn : 10 x 101 cm.
with Yellow Rose : Around 100 x 80 cm (based on auction descriptions).
Auction Details
with Crystal Ball : Sold at Sotheby's New York in 2005 for $16.8 million (hammer price), a strong result in a thin market.
with Horn : Sold at Sotheby's New York in 2001 for $22.5 million, setting a then-record for the artist and highlighting demand for his exile works.
with Yellow Rose : Sold at Grisebach Berlin in 2022 for €20 million ($20.7 million) hammer, or €23.2 million ($24.4 million) with fees; broke German auction records.
Current/Provenance Notes
with Crystal Ball : Private collection post-sale; smuggled into Berlin despite Nazi bans.
with Horn : Acquired by Neue Galerie, New York, in 2001; from private collectors linked to Beckmann's circle.
with Yellow Rose : Entered a private collection after 2022 sale; remained in family hands for decades prior.
Detailed Analysis
These self-portraits trace Beckmann's evolution during a tumultuous era. The 1936 work feels prophetic, with the crystal ball symbolizing impending doom as the Nazis intensified their cultural purge—Beckmann's art was soon exhibited in the infamous "Degenerate Art" show. By 1938, in Self-Portrait with Horn, the mood shifts to haunted vigilance; the horn could evoke a warning signal or jazz influences from his Amsterdam surroundings, but the overall compression conveys entrapment. The 1943 piece, created deeper into exile, introduces brighter hues and a floral motif, possibly hinting at fleeting beauty or personal solace amid global chaos—Beckmann was ill and facing rationing at the time.
Stylistically, all embody Expressionism's emotional distortion, but the earlier pieces are darker and more introspective, while the 1943 portrait shows a subtle warming, perhaps reflecting adaptation to exile. Auction-wise, prices reflect growing appreciation: the 2001 sale set a benchmark, 2005 maintained momentum, and 2022's record underscores Beckmann's rising status in German art markets. Overall, they highlight his self-scrutiny as a tool for processing trauma, with each prop (ball, horn, rose) adding layers of personal allegory.
1943 Constellation by Calder
2025 SOLD for $ 20.4M by Christie's
Painted Wood is a hanging mobile 200 x 190 x 11.5 cm from the Constellation series, executed in 1943 by Calder in wood, string, wire and paint. It was sold for $ 20.4M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Christie's on November 17, 2025, lot 28A.
Asking Grok the evolution of Calder's hanging mobiles from the seminal MoMA's Lobster trap and Fish tail to the Painted Wood.
Grok thought :
Alexander Calder's hanging mobiles represent a groundbreaking innovation in 20th-century sculpture, introducing kinetic elements that respond to air currents and transform static art into dynamic experiences. His works evolved from early motorized abstractions in the 1930s to wind-driven pieces, with a notable shift in materials and forms during World War II. This progression is exemplified by the transition from his 1939 seminal work Lobster Trap and Fish Tail—a metal-based mobile in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) collection—to Painted Wood (1943), a rare wooden mobile set for auction at Christie's on November 17, 2025, as lot 28A in the 20th Century Evening Sale.
Calder's early mobiles in the 1930s drew from his engineering background and encounters with abstract artists like Piet Mondrian and Marcel Duchamp, who coined the term "mobile" in 1931 to describe Calder's motorized wire and wood constructions. Initially, these pieces featured geometric shapes and mechanical movement, but by the mid-1930s, Calder abandoned motors in favor of natural air flow, allowing for unpredictable, graceful motion that emphasized balance, space, and chance. This air-driven approach became a hallmark, with mobiles suspended from ceilings to create shifting spatial relationships and shadows.
Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, created in 1939, marks a high point in this pre-war phase. Commissioned by MoMA's Advisory Committee for the stairwell of the museum's new building on West 53rd Street in New York, it measures approximately 102 × 114 inches (8'6" high × 9'6" wide) and is constructed from painted steel wire and sheet aluminum. The mobile features nine black organic lobes that gently pivot around a red central shaft, with arched wires extending outward to hold mobile aluminum shapes evoking marine forms like a lobster trap and a fish tail. Its biomorphic elements—curved, nature-inspired forms—reflect Calder's growing interest in organic abstraction, influenced by surrealists like Joan Miró. Suspended in MoMA's stairwell since its installation, the work exemplifies Calder's mastery of industrial materials like sheet metal, which he cut, bent, and painted to achieve delicate equilibrium and motion. It was a critical success, embodying the mobile's potential to "draw in space" and interact with its environment.
The outbreak of World War II in 1939 disrupted Calder's practice, as aluminum and sheet metal became scarce due to their prioritization for military production, such as airplanes. By 1942, facing these shortages at his Roxbury, Connecticut studio, Calder adapted by turning to readily available organic materials like wood (including ebony, walnut, oak, purpleheart, and lignum vitae), string, and found objects such as shards of glass, ceramics, and tin cans. This material pivot not only solved practical constraints but also enriched his aesthetic, introducing warmer, textured elements that contrasted with the cool precision of metal. He began carving and smoothing wood, sometimes leaving natural grains visible alongside painted surfaces, which added a more tactile, earthly quality to his abstractions. This era birthed the "Constellations" series in 1943—clusters of wooden forms connected by wire and thread, blending static and kinetic elements in a "supreme form" of movement and color, as suggested by Duchamp and curator James Johnson Sweeney.
Painted Wood (1943) epitomizes this wartime evolution. Executed in wood, string, wire, and paint, it spans 78 × 74½ × 4½ inches and consists of 11 biomorphic and abstract forms—some vibrantly painted in colors, others in natural wood tones—suspended in a monumental, interactive configuration nearly seven feet wide. Unlike the sleek, industrial Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, this piece incorporates carved wood for a more organic, handcrafted feel, reflecting Calder's experimentation with wartime alternatives while maintaining the mobile's core principles of balance and air-driven motion. It was prominently featured in Calder's landmark 1943 MoMA retrospective, Alexander Calder: Sculptures and Constructions (September 29, 1943–January 16, 1944), where it hung as a highlight, allowing visitors to interact by blowing on it to activate its movement. The exhibition, Calder's first major retrospective at age 45, cemented his status and showcased the Constellations as a bold advancement. In 1948, Calder gifted Painted Wood to Brazilian architect Henrique Mindlin after a successful exhibition in Rio de Janeiro; it later entered a private collection for 32 years before its auction debut.
This shift from metal to wood in works like Painted Wood not only demonstrated Calder's resourcefulness but also deepened the mobiles' dialogue with nature, foreshadowing his post-war return to larger-scale metal pieces while expanding the medium's expressive range. Estimated at $15 million–$20 million, the highest ever for a Calder work at auction, Painted Wood underscores the enduring value of this evolutionary phase.
Pre sale Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Oct 17
Alexander Calder’s ‘Painted Wood’ will be offered in our 20th Century Evening Sale in New York this November. https://christies.com/en/stories/calder-painted-wood-mobile-d94e5671fbfe4bbc85c6492247353d48?cid=EM_SM_O_TW_Inc_CON_______Multi____…
Asking Grok the evolution of Calder's hanging mobiles from the seminal MoMA's Lobster trap and Fish tail to the Painted Wood.
Grok thought :
Alexander Calder's hanging mobiles represent a groundbreaking innovation in 20th-century sculpture, introducing kinetic elements that respond to air currents and transform static art into dynamic experiences. His works evolved from early motorized abstractions in the 1930s to wind-driven pieces, with a notable shift in materials and forms during World War II. This progression is exemplified by the transition from his 1939 seminal work Lobster Trap and Fish Tail—a metal-based mobile in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) collection—to Painted Wood (1943), a rare wooden mobile set for auction at Christie's on November 17, 2025, as lot 28A in the 20th Century Evening Sale.
Calder's early mobiles in the 1930s drew from his engineering background and encounters with abstract artists like Piet Mondrian and Marcel Duchamp, who coined the term "mobile" in 1931 to describe Calder's motorized wire and wood constructions. Initially, these pieces featured geometric shapes and mechanical movement, but by the mid-1930s, Calder abandoned motors in favor of natural air flow, allowing for unpredictable, graceful motion that emphasized balance, space, and chance. This air-driven approach became a hallmark, with mobiles suspended from ceilings to create shifting spatial relationships and shadows.
Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, created in 1939, marks a high point in this pre-war phase. Commissioned by MoMA's Advisory Committee for the stairwell of the museum's new building on West 53rd Street in New York, it measures approximately 102 × 114 inches (8'6" high × 9'6" wide) and is constructed from painted steel wire and sheet aluminum. The mobile features nine black organic lobes that gently pivot around a red central shaft, with arched wires extending outward to hold mobile aluminum shapes evoking marine forms like a lobster trap and a fish tail. Its biomorphic elements—curved, nature-inspired forms—reflect Calder's growing interest in organic abstraction, influenced by surrealists like Joan Miró. Suspended in MoMA's stairwell since its installation, the work exemplifies Calder's mastery of industrial materials like sheet metal, which he cut, bent, and painted to achieve delicate equilibrium and motion. It was a critical success, embodying the mobile's potential to "draw in space" and interact with its environment.
The outbreak of World War II in 1939 disrupted Calder's practice, as aluminum and sheet metal became scarce due to their prioritization for military production, such as airplanes. By 1942, facing these shortages at his Roxbury, Connecticut studio, Calder adapted by turning to readily available organic materials like wood (including ebony, walnut, oak, purpleheart, and lignum vitae), string, and found objects such as shards of glass, ceramics, and tin cans. This material pivot not only solved practical constraints but also enriched his aesthetic, introducing warmer, textured elements that contrasted with the cool precision of metal. He began carving and smoothing wood, sometimes leaving natural grains visible alongside painted surfaces, which added a more tactile, earthly quality to his abstractions. This era birthed the "Constellations" series in 1943—clusters of wooden forms connected by wire and thread, blending static and kinetic elements in a "supreme form" of movement and color, as suggested by Duchamp and curator James Johnson Sweeney.
Painted Wood (1943) epitomizes this wartime evolution. Executed in wood, string, wire, and paint, it spans 78 × 74½ × 4½ inches and consists of 11 biomorphic and abstract forms—some vibrantly painted in colors, others in natural wood tones—suspended in a monumental, interactive configuration nearly seven feet wide. Unlike the sleek, industrial Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, this piece incorporates carved wood for a more organic, handcrafted feel, reflecting Calder's experimentation with wartime alternatives while maintaining the mobile's core principles of balance and air-driven motion. It was prominently featured in Calder's landmark 1943 MoMA retrospective, Alexander Calder: Sculptures and Constructions (September 29, 1943–January 16, 1944), where it hung as a highlight, allowing visitors to interact by blowing on it to activate its movement. The exhibition, Calder's first major retrospective at age 45, cemented his status and showcased the Constellations as a bold advancement. In 1948, Calder gifted Painted Wood to Brazilian architect Henrique Mindlin after a successful exhibition in Rio de Janeiro; it later entered a private collection for 32 years before its auction debut.
This shift from metal to wood in works like Painted Wood not only demonstrated Calder's resourcefulness but also deepened the mobiles' dialogue with nature, foreshadowing his post-war return to larger-scale metal pieces while expanding the medium's expressive range. Estimated at $15 million–$20 million, the highest ever for a Calder work at auction, Painted Wood underscores the enduring value of this evolutionary phase.
Pre sale Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Oct 17
Alexander Calder’s ‘Painted Wood’ will be offered in our 20th Century Evening Sale in New York this November. https://christies.com/en/stories/calder-painted-wood-mobile-d94e5671fbfe4bbc85c6492247353d48?cid=EM_SM_O_TW_Inc_CON_______Multi____…
- Alexander Calder's Painted Wood (1943), a rare wooden mobile from his Constellation series measuring nearly seven feet wide with eleven hand-carved, painted biomorphic forms, headlines Christie's 20th Century Evening Sale on November 17, 2025, in New York, with an estimate of $15–20 million.
- Created during World War II material shortages, it shifted Calder from metal to woods like walnut and purpleheart; it debuted at his groundbreaking 1943 MoMA retrospective—the youngest artist ever honored there—and was later gifted to Brazilian architect Henrique Mindlin after a 1948 Rio exhibition.
- As the largest wooden Constellation mobile at auction, it exemplifies Calder's kinetic innovation, inspiring Albert Einstein's quip, "I wish I'd thought of that," and approaches his $25.9 million auction record set by Poisson volant in 2014.
1943 La Patience by Balthus
2023 SOLD for $ 14.7M by Sotheby's
Balthus observes the pre-adolescent teenagers, at the transition age when growth and mind are still in development.
They still have a carefree flexibility of the limbs, taking weird position when the mind is elsewhere. The figures of Thérèse, painted from 1936 to 1939 when the girl was 11 to 14 years old, is typical. Thérèse sur une banquette, oil on board 73 x 92 cm painted in 1939, was sold for $ 19M by Christie's on May 13, 2019, lot 8A.
The observation of the mind may be made by staging a solitary fortune-telling card game known as patience or réussite. Jeannette holds with frenzy the last card to win or lose the game. Her arm is bent on the table in the shadow while the other arm maintains a horizontal position of the body. One on the legs is resting on a stool while the other leg is pushing the carpet away. Also the head is in the shadow, turned to some daydream of the outside world.
La Patience, oil on canvas 160 x 164 cm, was painted by Balthus in 1943 in Fribourg. He reworked it in 1946-1948 to improve the half light half shadow balance. It was acquired from him by Pierre Matisse in 1948. It was sold for $ 14.7M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2023, lot 8.
They still have a carefree flexibility of the limbs, taking weird position when the mind is elsewhere. The figures of Thérèse, painted from 1936 to 1939 when the girl was 11 to 14 years old, is typical. Thérèse sur une banquette, oil on board 73 x 92 cm painted in 1939, was sold for $ 19M by Christie's on May 13, 2019, lot 8A.
The observation of the mind may be made by staging a solitary fortune-telling card game known as patience or réussite. Jeannette holds with frenzy the last card to win or lose the game. Her arm is bent on the table in the shadow while the other arm maintains a horizontal position of the body. One on the legs is resting on a stool while the other leg is pushing the carpet away. Also the head is in the shadow, turned to some daydream of the outside world.
La Patience, oil on canvas 160 x 164 cm, was painted by Balthus in 1943 in Fribourg. He reworked it in 1946-1948 to improve the half light half shadow balance. It was acquired from him by Pierre Matisse in 1948. It was sold for $ 14.7M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2023, lot 8.
ZHANG DAQIAN from Dunhuang
1
1943 Water Moon Guanyin
2017 SOLD for RMB 101M by China Guardian
The Gobi desert was a major ordeal in the Silk Road. The city of Dunhuang was developed under the Han to offer the rest for travelers coming from the desert and courage and goods to those who were to enter it.
This particular situation has generated a very strong Buddhist spirituality. For a millennium, from the Wei to the Yuan, pilgrims have dug shrines into the cliff to worship Buddhism. 492 man-made caves have been counted, some of them no larger than a coffin. Away from the civilization centers, quite in the middle of the vast Asia, Dunhuang offers the most extraordinary testimony of ancient Buddhist sculpture and painting.
In modern times, Zhang Daqian permeates his art with the best Yuan, Ming and Qing pictorial traditions. This attitude will be vilified by Western observers after the second world war. Yet it fits perfectly in the spirit of continuity that governs the Chinese art for three millennia.
In 1941, Zhang decides to spend a few months studying the paintings of Dunhuang. Overwhelmed by the quality of the art of the ancients, he stayed two years and seven months. He copied therein on paper or silk 279 frescoes, on the site despite difficult climatic conditions.
In Dunhuang, Tang paintings are wonderful. Zhang admires the variety of the psychological expression attributed to the different personalities of the Buddhist pantheon, necessary to offer to the pious travelers all the subtlety of the message.
During these sessions, Zhang visited also three times Yulin, 170 km away, whose 25 grottoes contain mural Buddhist paintings from Tang period.
The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is a favorite of the faithful in his role of relieving the humans from suffering and of showing the path. He can simultaneously take an unlimited number of appearances to perform the necessary actions for the happiness of the world.
The arrival of Buddhism in China generated important transformations of this bodhisattva who took the name Guanyin. After the Tang dynasty, Guanyin finally lost his mustache, became an androgynous figure and was revered as a female deity.
Under the Song, Buddhism is not dominant. It is contested by the Confucians and competes with Taoism. At this time of strong political power, the Chinese are wary against this foreign religion imported from India.
To fully exercise her vocation, Guanyin must be accessible. The Chinese located her personal paradise where she could be seen in meditation by the lucky ones. This drift no longer meets the Sanskrit canon but generates another one in which 33 main attitudes are described. The statues of the temples simulate the accessibility of Guanyin in her paradise.
The Shuiyue Guanyin in meditation (Guanyin on the reflection of the Moon in Water) is venerated since the transition period between the Tang and Song dynasties. It is indeed a symbol of the basic role of Guanyin of linking earth and sky.
Guanyin is serene and smiling in a posture of royal ease. She sits flexibly on a rock, her body very slightly leaning backwards, one leg bent up and the other resting or hanging.
Zhang Daqian made in or before 1943 a least three paintings copying a Guanyin of the water moon from the Western Xia dynasty, contemporary to the Song, whose original is located in Cave 2 of the Yulin grottoes.
A 1943 example, ink an color on special canvas 160 x 87 cm, was sold for RMB 101M from a lower estimate of RMB 80M by China Guardian on December 18, 2017, lot 428. The image is shared by ChinaDaily. Another one from the same year, hanging scroll in ink and color on paper 153 x 77 cm, passed at Bonhams on November 28, 2022, lot 164.
This particular situation has generated a very strong Buddhist spirituality. For a millennium, from the Wei to the Yuan, pilgrims have dug shrines into the cliff to worship Buddhism. 492 man-made caves have been counted, some of them no larger than a coffin. Away from the civilization centers, quite in the middle of the vast Asia, Dunhuang offers the most extraordinary testimony of ancient Buddhist sculpture and painting.
In modern times, Zhang Daqian permeates his art with the best Yuan, Ming and Qing pictorial traditions. This attitude will be vilified by Western observers after the second world war. Yet it fits perfectly in the spirit of continuity that governs the Chinese art for three millennia.
In 1941, Zhang decides to spend a few months studying the paintings of Dunhuang. Overwhelmed by the quality of the art of the ancients, he stayed two years and seven months. He copied therein on paper or silk 279 frescoes, on the site despite difficult climatic conditions.
In Dunhuang, Tang paintings are wonderful. Zhang admires the variety of the psychological expression attributed to the different personalities of the Buddhist pantheon, necessary to offer to the pious travelers all the subtlety of the message.
During these sessions, Zhang visited also three times Yulin, 170 km away, whose 25 grottoes contain mural Buddhist paintings from Tang period.
The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is a favorite of the faithful in his role of relieving the humans from suffering and of showing the path. He can simultaneously take an unlimited number of appearances to perform the necessary actions for the happiness of the world.
The arrival of Buddhism in China generated important transformations of this bodhisattva who took the name Guanyin. After the Tang dynasty, Guanyin finally lost his mustache, became an androgynous figure and was revered as a female deity.
Under the Song, Buddhism is not dominant. It is contested by the Confucians and competes with Taoism. At this time of strong political power, the Chinese are wary against this foreign religion imported from India.
To fully exercise her vocation, Guanyin must be accessible. The Chinese located her personal paradise where she could be seen in meditation by the lucky ones. This drift no longer meets the Sanskrit canon but generates another one in which 33 main attitudes are described. The statues of the temples simulate the accessibility of Guanyin in her paradise.
The Shuiyue Guanyin in meditation (Guanyin on the reflection of the Moon in Water) is venerated since the transition period between the Tang and Song dynasties. It is indeed a symbol of the basic role of Guanyin of linking earth and sky.
Guanyin is serene and smiling in a posture of royal ease. She sits flexibly on a rock, her body very slightly leaning backwards, one leg bent up and the other resting or hanging.
Zhang Daqian made in or before 1943 a least three paintings copying a Guanyin of the water moon from the Western Xia dynasty, contemporary to the Song, whose original is located in Cave 2 of the Yulin grottoes.
A 1943 example, ink an color on special canvas 160 x 87 cm, was sold for RMB 101M from a lower estimate of RMB 80M by China Guardian on December 18, 2017, lot 428. The image is shared by ChinaDaily. Another one from the same year, hanging scroll in ink and color on paper 153 x 77 cm, passed at Bonhams on November 28, 2022, lot 164.
2
1943 Avalokiteshvara
2024 SOLD for HK$ 78M by Sotheby's
An upright Avalokiteshvara in red robe from Yulin Cave 17 was copied in same size as the example above by Zhang, probably in 1943 during his last stay before leaving the region.
This human size hanging scroll in ink and color on a 188 x 91 cm fabric prepared by a lama monk was treasured by Zhang for four decades. The inscriptions were added by him before departing from it. It was sold for HK $ 78M from a lower estimate of HK $ 22M by Sotheby's on April 9, 2024, lot 121. Its colors remain very fresh.
Dated 1943, a smaller hanging scroll 128 x 66 cm of a Dunhuang Avalokiteshvara passed at Sotheby's on September 18, 2014, lot 967.
This human size hanging scroll in ink and color on a 188 x 91 cm fabric prepared by a lama monk was treasured by Zhang for four decades. The inscriptions were added by him before departing from it. It was sold for HK $ 78M from a lower estimate of HK $ 22M by Sotheby's on April 9, 2024, lot 121. Its colors remain very fresh.
Dated 1943, a smaller hanging scroll 128 x 66 cm of a Dunhuang Avalokiteshvara passed at Sotheby's on September 18, 2014, lot 967.
1943 Patek Philippe Reference 1518 in Stainless Steel
2025 SOLD for CHF 14.2M by Phillips
During the 1930s Patek Philippe masters all the complications and most of their combinations. The brand's effort to make new prototypes and to add new high-end references to its catalog is not interrupted by the war.
The reference 130, launched commercially in 1934, is a single-push chronograph using the calibre 13. It is equipped with two subsidiary dials, one indicating the seconds up to the minute and the other the minutes up to the half hour. Produced from 1940, the reference 1491 is a watch without chronograph with a more elegant design than the already classic Calatrava.
In production from 1941 to 1954, the reference 1518 is the first commercial wristwatch from any brand to offer altogether these two appealing complications which are the chronograph and the perpetual calendar, in addition to the moon phases.
281 watches are built in this reference which is an average of 20 per year. The list of customers includes the kings of Egypt, Jordan and Romania and the boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson, and also the all time top collector Henry Graves Jr.
Most 1518s are in yellow gold, plus an estimated 58 in pink gold.
Until the second world war and a little beyond, the use of stainless steel is exceptional in the high-end wristwatches made by Patek Philippe. Owners identify luxury with gold or platinum. Steel watches are produced on special request from customers who fear some wearing related to their own heavy use.
The 1518 in stainless steel is extremely rare : only four units are known. This rarity is logical : we must indeed recognize some contradiction between the need for a perpetual calendar and the fear of wear.
The first two 1518s in stainless steel were manufactured in 1943 and sold together in February 1944 to a Hungarian retailer who also imported later the No. 3. Their case was made by Croisier later known as Genevor and the dial by Stern Frères.
The No. 1 remaining in an immaculate condition had probably been intended as a spare by its unidentified first owner. It was sold by Phillips for CHF 11M on November 12, 2016, lot 38 and for CHF 14.2M on November 8, 2025, lot 23. The 2025 video is shared by the auction house and narrated by Aurel Bacs.
Grok thought :
Quote
Hodinkee @Hodinkee Nov 12, 2016
Breaking News Stainless Steel Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 Sells For Over $11,000,000 At Phillips Geneva http://bit.ly/2eSH6tN
additional information by Grok in an invited query from the above thought :
There are four known stainless steel examples of the Patek Philippe Reference 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph, out of 281 total examples produced across all metals from 1941 to the mid-1950s. All four were manufactured in 1943–1944 during World War II, measure 35mm in diameter, and feature manually wound movements based on a modified Valjoux ébauche finished by Patek Philippe. Three share sequential Genevor SA cases (numbers 508473, 508474, and 508475) with pierced lugs and are marked "1," "2," or "3" inside the casebacks, indicating their production order; these were originally sold to Hungarian retailer Joseph Lang in Budapest. The fourth has a distinct Wenger case (number 6335561) with wider, solid lugs. All have been handled at least once by prominent dealer Davide Parmegiani, and none are housed in the Patek Philippe Museum—contrary to some rumors—as they remain in private collections.
The reference 130, launched commercially in 1934, is a single-push chronograph using the calibre 13. It is equipped with two subsidiary dials, one indicating the seconds up to the minute and the other the minutes up to the half hour. Produced from 1940, the reference 1491 is a watch without chronograph with a more elegant design than the already classic Calatrava.
In production from 1941 to 1954, the reference 1518 is the first commercial wristwatch from any brand to offer altogether these two appealing complications which are the chronograph and the perpetual calendar, in addition to the moon phases.
281 watches are built in this reference which is an average of 20 per year. The list of customers includes the kings of Egypt, Jordan and Romania and the boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson, and also the all time top collector Henry Graves Jr.
Most 1518s are in yellow gold, plus an estimated 58 in pink gold.
Until the second world war and a little beyond, the use of stainless steel is exceptional in the high-end wristwatches made by Patek Philippe. Owners identify luxury with gold or platinum. Steel watches are produced on special request from customers who fear some wearing related to their own heavy use.
The 1518 in stainless steel is extremely rare : only four units are known. This rarity is logical : we must indeed recognize some contradiction between the need for a perpetual calendar and the fear of wear.
The first two 1518s in stainless steel were manufactured in 1943 and sold together in February 1944 to a Hungarian retailer who also imported later the No. 3. Their case was made by Croisier later known as Genevor and the dial by Stern Frères.
The No. 1 remaining in an immaculate condition had probably been intended as a spare by its unidentified first owner. It was sold by Phillips for CHF 11M on November 12, 2016, lot 38 and for CHF 14.2M on November 8, 2025, lot 23. The 2025 video is shared by the auction house and narrated by Aurel Bacs.
Grok thought :
Quote
Hodinkee @Hodinkee Nov 12, 2016
Breaking News Stainless Steel Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 Sells For Over $11,000,000 At Phillips Geneva http://bit.ly/2eSH6tN
- This 2016 Hodinkee post announces the record-breaking auction sale of a 1943 stainless steel Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph for CHF 11,002,000 at Phillips Geneva, marking the highest price for any wristwatch at auction at the time.
- The Ref. 1518, Patek's first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph from 1941-1950s, exists in just 281 examples total, with only four in stainless steel—rarer than gold or platinum versions, as steel was reserved for practical use by professionals.
- This specific watch, the first steel 1518 (stamped "1"), originally sold in 1944 to a Budapest buyer amid WWII, resurfaces for auction in November 2025 at Phillips with a CHF 8-16 million estimate, highlighting enduring collector demand.
additional information by Grok in an invited query from the above thought :
There are four known stainless steel examples of the Patek Philippe Reference 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph, out of 281 total examples produced across all metals from 1941 to the mid-1950s. All four were manufactured in 1943–1944 during World War II, measure 35mm in diameter, and feature manually wound movements based on a modified Valjoux ébauche finished by Patek Philippe. Three share sequential Genevor SA cases (numbers 508473, 508474, and 508475) with pierced lugs and are marked "1," "2," or "3" inside the casebacks, indicating their production order; these were originally sold to Hungarian retailer Joseph Lang in Budapest. The fourth has a distinct Wenger case (number 6335561) with wider, solid lugs. All have been handled at least once by prominent dealer Davide Parmegiani, and none are housed in the Patek Philippe Museum—contrary to some rumors—as they remain in private collections.
1943 Le Jongleur by Chagall
2022 SOLD for £ 8.9M by Christie's
Threatened by the anti-Jewish persecutions, Marc and Bella Chagall moved to New York City in 1941 after 18 years in France. Trying to escape his distress in a foreign country of which he did not speak the language, he lived close to the Jewish immigrant communities and entertained the most joyful of his themes, the circus.
Le Jongleur, painted in 1943, is an aggregation of scenes in various scales in Marc's signature style in bold colors.
The dominant figure is a winged juggler, dancing with a raised leg. He has the raised head of a rooster with a smiling beak and a friendly vivid gaze. The other characters include a ballerina in wedding dress, a woman riding a horse in the arena surrounded by the audience, and an equine head. A fiddler is cartouched on the jacket of the performer. The clock in the juggler's hand is a usual symbol of time which is nevertheless uncommon in Chagall's art.
This oil on canvas 110 x 79 cm was sold for £ 8.9M by Christie's on March 1, 2022, lot 55.
Marc painted in the same year his Yellow Crucifixion, a Jewish staging of Jesus's Passion amidst symbols of the Holocaust. Marc's distress went into despair in 1944 after Bella's untimely death in New York.
Le Jongleur, painted in 1943, is an aggregation of scenes in various scales in Marc's signature style in bold colors.
The dominant figure is a winged juggler, dancing with a raised leg. He has the raised head of a rooster with a smiling beak and a friendly vivid gaze. The other characters include a ballerina in wedding dress, a woman riding a horse in the arena surrounded by the audience, and an equine head. A fiddler is cartouched on the jacket of the performer. The clock in the juggler's hand is a usual symbol of time which is nevertheless uncommon in Chagall's art.
This oil on canvas 110 x 79 cm was sold for £ 8.9M by Christie's on March 1, 2022, lot 55.
Marc painted in the same year his Yellow Crucifixion, a Jewish staging of Jesus's Passion amidst symbols of the Holocaust. Marc's distress went into despair in 1944 after Bella's untimely death in New York.
1943 Marrakech by Churchill
2021 SOLD for £ 8.3M by Christie's
It was impossible for Winston Churchill to remain idle. In 1915, when he leaves the government on the occasion of a reshuffle, he decides to try pictorial creation. He has everything to learn and listens attentively to the advices by John Lavery and Walter Sickert.
The new artist is also eager for tourism and sun. In 1935 his first visit to Marrakech is a delight. He had many political allies to whom he liked to offer his best Neo-Impressionist paintings of Morocco.
In January 1943, in the midst of the war, the Anglo-American conference takes place in Casablanca. Churchill manages to persuade President Roosevelt to make a detour to Marrakech so that they can contemplate together the sunset on the snow-capped peaks of the Atlas. Churchill remains one more day to paint the view of Marrakech with the tower of the Koutoubia mosque, from the exact point of view he had chosen to please Roosevelt.
This oil on canvas 46 x 61 cm was immediately offered by Churchill to Roosevelt. It was sold for £ 8.3M from a lower estimate of £ 1.5M by Christie's on March 1, 2021, lot 9. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
In the same sale, the lot 3, sold for £ 1.9M, was a river scenery in Marrakech. This 60 x 92 cm oil on canvas was painted circa 1935 and was presented around 1950 to Lord Montgomery of Alamein.
A view of the Atlas at Tinherir (Tinghir), 64 x 76 cm, painted in 1951 and offered to General Marshall in 1953, was sold for £ 610K by Sotheby's on December 11, 2006.
A 51 x 61 cm replica of the view made for Roosevelt was painted by Churchill circa 1948 as a gift for President Truman. It was sold for £ 470K by Sotheby's on December 13, 2007.
The new artist is also eager for tourism and sun. In 1935 his first visit to Marrakech is a delight. He had many political allies to whom he liked to offer his best Neo-Impressionist paintings of Morocco.
In January 1943, in the midst of the war, the Anglo-American conference takes place in Casablanca. Churchill manages to persuade President Roosevelt to make a detour to Marrakech so that they can contemplate together the sunset on the snow-capped peaks of the Atlas. Churchill remains one more day to paint the view of Marrakech with the tower of the Koutoubia mosque, from the exact point of view he had chosen to please Roosevelt.
This oil on canvas 46 x 61 cm was immediately offered by Churchill to Roosevelt. It was sold for £ 8.3M from a lower estimate of £ 1.5M by Christie's on March 1, 2021, lot 9. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
In the same sale, the lot 3, sold for £ 1.9M, was a river scenery in Marrakech. This 60 x 92 cm oil on canvas was painted circa 1935 and was presented around 1950 to Lord Montgomery of Alamein.
A view of the Atlas at Tinherir (Tinghir), 64 x 76 cm, painted in 1951 and offered to General Marshall in 1953, was sold for £ 610K by Sotheby's on December 11, 2006.
A 51 x 61 cm replica of the view made for Roosevelt was painted by Churchill circa 1948 as a gift for President Truman. It was sold for £ 470K by Sotheby's on December 13, 2007.
1943 Omi Obini by Lam
2020 SOLD for $ 9.6M by Sotheby's
Wifredo Lam lived in Spain from 1923 to 1938. He felt close to Goya's social revolt and participated in the Spanish War. Between the defeat of the Republicans and the defeat of France in June 1940, he was in Paris where he appropriated the intense desire for freedom and poetry of the artistic avant-gardes. Picasso, who indeed did not like having rivals, openly approved the young artist.
Lam then decides to return to his native island, Cuba. He makes a stopover in Fort-de-France where his meeting with Aimé Césaire reinforces his rejection of colonialism and slavery.
The atheist Cuban with Chinese, Congolese and Spanish ancestry will now paint the freedom of the Third World. He stages his personal surrealist world in a dense jungle which he populates with gods of weird morphology. La Jungla, 240 x 230 cm gouache made in 1943, hides four dehumanized beings in a dense pattern of sugar canes.
On June 29, 2020, Sotheby's sold for $ 9.6M Omi Obini, oil on canvas 183 x 125 cm also painted in 1943, lot 1008. The title designates the Yoruba goddess of water entrusted for fertilizing the earth. Readability is not immediate, marking the influence of analytical cubism or futurism.
In the colored jungle, some paler areas appear, constituting an ethereal humanoid form. The head is a crescent moon and it will not be known whether the figure in the foreground is a pet or a chair. Two of the berries have each a pair of eyes that are threats or reflections.
Lam then decides to return to his native island, Cuba. He makes a stopover in Fort-de-France where his meeting with Aimé Césaire reinforces his rejection of colonialism and slavery.
The atheist Cuban with Chinese, Congolese and Spanish ancestry will now paint the freedom of the Third World. He stages his personal surrealist world in a dense jungle which he populates with gods of weird morphology. La Jungla, 240 x 230 cm gouache made in 1943, hides four dehumanized beings in a dense pattern of sugar canes.
On June 29, 2020, Sotheby's sold for $ 9.6M Omi Obini, oil on canvas 183 x 125 cm also painted in 1943, lot 1008. The title designates the Yoruba goddess of water entrusted for fertilizing the earth. Readability is not immediate, marking the influence of analytical cubism or futurism.
In the colored jungle, some paler areas appear, constituting an ethereal humanoid form. The head is a crescent moon and it will not be known whether the figure in the foreground is a pet or a chair. Two of the berries have each a pair of eyes that are threats or reflections.
