Australia
1834 A Wealthy Settler in Tasmania
2013 SOLD 1.74 M£ including premium
John Glover was a good English landscape painter, although he failed to be elected to the Royal Academy. Idealizing the landscape to make it more expressive, he was closer to classic artists than to Constable and enjoyed being compared to Claude Lorrain.
In 1829, three of his sons leave for Van Diemen's Land in a boat of convicts. They were free, assessed by the fact that they had acquired some grants of farmers' land. A lot of boldness was needed for moving into that large island whose main use was penitentiary, and which will become the Tasmania.
John follows them in 1831. His previous success as an artist and farmer allowed him to obtain in 1832 a very large estate on the slopes of Ben Lomond mountain. According to the practice of his time, he used his watercolor sketches to achieve more ambitious oil paintings.
The discovery of the undisclosed landscapes of his new country generated to Glover a great creativity. In 1834, he assembled 63 paintings including 38 local subjects for an exhibition to be held in London in the following year.
On September 26 in London, Christie's sells one of the paintings of the London exhibition. Ben Lomond is on the horizon as seen from the property of a neighbour of the artist. Four men are walking in the countryside. We are told that they are busy catching opossums.
The estimate of £ 1.8 million is ambitious. This painting is shown in the press release shared by ArtDaily.
Here is the link to the catalogue. The dimensions of this oil on canvas are 77 x 115 cm.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was ambitious because the early Australian painting is sometimes difficult to sell. Although the estimate has not been reached, I consider that the result £ 1.74 million including premium, is excellent.
In 1829, three of his sons leave for Van Diemen's Land in a boat of convicts. They were free, assessed by the fact that they had acquired some grants of farmers' land. A lot of boldness was needed for moving into that large island whose main use was penitentiary, and which will become the Tasmania.
John follows them in 1831. His previous success as an artist and farmer allowed him to obtain in 1832 a very large estate on the slopes of Ben Lomond mountain. According to the practice of his time, he used his watercolor sketches to achieve more ambitious oil paintings.
The discovery of the undisclosed landscapes of his new country generated to Glover a great creativity. In 1834, he assembled 63 paintings including 38 local subjects for an exhibition to be held in London in the following year.
On September 26 in London, Christie's sells one of the paintings of the London exhibition. Ben Lomond is on the horizon as seen from the property of a neighbour of the artist. Four men are walking in the countryside. We are told that they are busy catching opossums.
The estimate of £ 1.8 million is ambitious. This painting is shown in the press release shared by ArtDaily.
Here is the link to the catalogue. The dimensions of this oil on canvas are 77 x 115 cm.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was ambitious because the early Australian painting is sometimes difficult to sell. Although the estimate has not been reached, I consider that the result £ 1.74 million including premium, is excellent.
1893 How Australia joined the International Art
1998 SOLD for A$ 2.3M including premium by Christie's
2013 UNSOLD
PRE 2013 SALE DISCUSSION
Australia had lived its own way of life. Its convicts, rough peasants and gold diggers made its reputation. It is time to get back to the civilization as it is understood in old Europe.
The leader of this new artistic movement is Frederick McCubbin. Born in Melbourne, he is an authentic Australian. He has not yet visited Europe but his frenzy for reading inspires his art.
The term Impressionists used by his group in 1889 has generated a confusion that continues today on the real influences that applied onto these new pioneers.
By transposing into the Australian bush the gentle theme of pastoral scenes, they are mostly extending the classics, from Corot to Bouguereau through Bastien-Lepage. Later, when McCubbin will develop a more expressive painting, his model will be Turner.
Bush Idyll is one of his most famous paintings from this transition period. Amidst a plant surrounding typical of the bush, a young piper charms his girlfriend who is idly listening to him with a kindness worthy of Morisot.
This large oil on canvas 120 x 222 cm painted in 1893 was sold for A$ 2.3M including premium by Christie's on August 17, 1998. It is estimated £ 1.2M for sale by Christie's in London on September 26, 2013. The 1998 result is referred in the pre sale press release of 2013. The image is shared with attribution Source Material, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
Australia had lived its own way of life. Its convicts, rough peasants and gold diggers made its reputation. It is time to get back to the civilization as it is understood in old Europe.
The leader of this new artistic movement is Frederick McCubbin. Born in Melbourne, he is an authentic Australian. He has not yet visited Europe but his frenzy for reading inspires his art.
The term Impressionists used by his group in 1889 has generated a confusion that continues today on the real influences that applied onto these new pioneers.
By transposing into the Australian bush the gentle theme of pastoral scenes, they are mostly extending the classics, from Corot to Bouguereau through Bastien-Lepage. Later, when McCubbin will develop a more expressive painting, his model will be Turner.
Bush Idyll is one of his most famous paintings from this transition period. Amidst a plant surrounding typical of the bush, a young piper charms his girlfriend who is idly listening to him with a kindness worthy of Morisot.
This large oil on canvas 120 x 222 cm painted in 1893 was sold for A$ 2.3M including premium by Christie's on August 17, 1998. It is estimated £ 1.2M for sale by Christie's in London on September 26, 2013. The 1998 result is referred in the pre sale press release of 2013. The image is shared with attribution Source Material, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
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1941 Going to the Pictures by Drysdale
2020 SOLD for A$ 2.95M including premium by Deutscher and Hackett
narrated post sale in 2020
Born in Sussex, Russell Drysdale moved with his parents to Melbourne in 1923, at the age of 11. He entered Geelong Grammar School, where he had Peter Purves Smith as a classmate. The two young people will pioneer a new theme in pictorial art, describing the humble and harsh life in the outback, outdoors and indoors.
In 1940 Drysdale, almost blind, is not accepted for military service. To change his mind, he is going to shear the sheep. Returning to his studio in 1941, he renounces his previous style, too shimmering for the theme of rural desolation.
His characters are slim, with very elongated bodies and limbs in the proportions of Art Déco fashion illustrations. The landscapes with scattered dried trees are directly inspired by the Kangaroo Hunt painted in 1938 by Purves Smith.
On November 11, 2020, Deutscher and Hackett sold for A $ 2.95M including premium Going to the Pictures, oil on canvas 46 x 55 cm painted by Drysdale in 1941.
The whole family is in their Sunday best, the men with a tie and the woman with her handbag. They get ready to go to town in a pre-1914 roadster. In the foreground, the father turns his back to the scene for being admired, while holding the watering can with which he will refresh his vehicle from another age.
In 1944 the outback was devastated by the worst drought in its history. Going to the Pictures and its narrative following Sunday Evening had foreshadowed the artist's social awareness in favor of these disadvantaged but not discouraged families. Drysdale does not join the political demands of the Angry Penguins.
In 1940 Drysdale, almost blind, is not accepted for military service. To change his mind, he is going to shear the sheep. Returning to his studio in 1941, he renounces his previous style, too shimmering for the theme of rural desolation.
His characters are slim, with very elongated bodies and limbs in the proportions of Art Déco fashion illustrations. The landscapes with scattered dried trees are directly inspired by the Kangaroo Hunt painted in 1938 by Purves Smith.
On November 11, 2020, Deutscher and Hackett sold for A $ 2.95M including premium Going to the Pictures, oil on canvas 46 x 55 cm painted by Drysdale in 1941.
The whole family is in their Sunday best, the men with a tie and the woman with her handbag. They get ready to go to town in a pre-1914 roadster. In the foreground, the father turns his back to the scene for being admired, while holding the watering can with which he will refresh his vehicle from another age.
In 1944 the outback was devastated by the worst drought in its history. Going to the Pictures and its narrative following Sunday Evening had foreshadowed the artist's social awareness in favor of these disadvantaged but not discouraged families. Drysdale does not join the political demands of the Angry Penguins.
1946 Penguin in the Bush
2010 SOLD 5.4 MA$ including premium
If you like non-conformist art, just go to Australia. it is the right time, as the austral summer ends and the selling season begins.
That country reminds as a guarantee of originality its ancient past of prison. This isolated continent in the middle of the oceans has allowed to develop unimaginable animal species as the koala and echidna ... and a political art equally original in the mid-twentieth century.
Sidney Nolan had belonged to the group of Angry Penguins, a literary and artistic movement in the Surrealist following, whose one of the goals was to shock the bourgeoisie. He made several series of paintings on themes of epic history of his country, especially the disastrous expedition of Burke and Wills and the revolt of the bushranger (escaped convict) Ned Kelly.
In his 27 paintings made in 1946 on the theme of Ned Kelly, the hero is a robot with a dark black head of TV monitor (then!) pierced by a narrow horizontal slit revealing two terrible eyes.
In Sydney on March 25, one of them, a ripolin 91 x 121 cm, goes on sale at Menzies. Ned Kelly, in the hostile atmosphere of the bush, is brandishing a rifle. He looks like a scarecrow, and is estimated 3 M A$. Here is an illustration of this artwork, shared by Heraldsun.
The repetition of a recognizable character in a series of images was a common artistic language for some surrealists, including Ernst, Lam and Dominguez.
POST SALE COMMENT
The auction house knew that this strange work had all qualities to appeal to Australians: national theme, bush scenery, the main character out of any social or artistic conventions. Moreover, it belonged to a series in which all or almost all other elements are no longer available on the market.
The press is catching the outstanding result, even before it is published on the site of Menzies: 4.5 MA$ hammer price, 5.4 MA$ including premium.
That country reminds as a guarantee of originality its ancient past of prison. This isolated continent in the middle of the oceans has allowed to develop unimaginable animal species as the koala and echidna ... and a political art equally original in the mid-twentieth century.
Sidney Nolan had belonged to the group of Angry Penguins, a literary and artistic movement in the Surrealist following, whose one of the goals was to shock the bourgeoisie. He made several series of paintings on themes of epic history of his country, especially the disastrous expedition of Burke and Wills and the revolt of the bushranger (escaped convict) Ned Kelly.
In his 27 paintings made in 1946 on the theme of Ned Kelly, the hero is a robot with a dark black head of TV monitor (then!) pierced by a narrow horizontal slit revealing two terrible eyes.
In Sydney on March 25, one of them, a ripolin 91 x 121 cm, goes on sale at Menzies. Ned Kelly, in the hostile atmosphere of the bush, is brandishing a rifle. He looks like a scarecrow, and is estimated 3 M A$. Here is an illustration of this artwork, shared by Heraldsun.
The repetition of a recognizable character in a series of images was a common artistic language for some surrealists, including Ernst, Lam and Dominguez.
POST SALE COMMENT
The auction house knew that this strange work had all qualities to appeal to Australians: national theme, bush scenery, the main character out of any social or artistic conventions. Moreover, it belonged to a series in which all or almost all other elements are no longer available on the market.
The press is catching the outstanding result, even before it is published on the site of Menzies: 4.5 MA$ hammer price, 5.4 MA$ including premium.
1963 View of Australia from the Top of the Hill
2013 SOLD 2.3 MA$ including premium
Fred Williams interprets the land of Australia and the sparse vegetation of the bush. His paintings on this unique theme are however of great variety and show his passion for his country. The angle can vary and include or not the horizon, but the image is always unlimited.
His visit to You Yangs near Melbourne in 1963 was a turning point in his career. This aboriginal word is meaning Mountain in the middle of the plain. The arid landscape is a dream of prehistory.
You Yangs Landscape 1, oil on masonite 137 x 180 cm, is the masterpiece of this series in the etymological meaning of that word. Williams looks at the plain from the top of the hill. He sees rich shades of warm colors punctuated by scattered shrubs.
This painting is estimated Aus $ 1.5 million, for sale by Bonhams in Sydney on June 26. Here is the link to the catalog.
The result may look as abstract as the ground of Long Island reinterpreted by Pollock but ultimately remains more realistic. The lack of perspective of this image makes it like an aerial topography improved with beautiful colors.
The painting career of Williams began earlier than the revival of Aboriginal pictorial art and certainly influenced it.
POST SALE COMMENT
This abstract landscape is a key work in the art of Fred Williams. It was sold for Aus$ 2.3M including premium.
His visit to You Yangs near Melbourne in 1963 was a turning point in his career. This aboriginal word is meaning Mountain in the middle of the plain. The arid landscape is a dream of prehistory.
You Yangs Landscape 1, oil on masonite 137 x 180 cm, is the masterpiece of this series in the etymological meaning of that word. Williams looks at the plain from the top of the hill. He sees rich shades of warm colors punctuated by scattered shrubs.
This painting is estimated Aus $ 1.5 million, for sale by Bonhams in Sydney on June 26. Here is the link to the catalog.
The result may look as abstract as the ground of Long Island reinterpreted by Pollock but ultimately remains more realistic. The lack of perspective of this image makes it like an aerial topography improved with beautiful colors.
The painting career of Williams began earlier than the revival of Aboriginal pictorial art and certainly influenced it.
POST SALE COMMENT
This abstract landscape is a key work in the art of Fred Williams. It was sold for Aus$ 2.3M including premium.
1967 Art in the Bush
2020 SOLD for A$ 2.2M including premium
narrated in 2010 before its previous sale by Deutscher and Hackett (see below)
Horizon, color, and especially the ground tissue consisting of sparse but endless similar vegetation, such is the interpretation of the Australian bush by Fred Williams.
Hillside at Lysterfield II is one of his most subtle paintings, where the top of the hill is just matching the background. This oil on canvas 137 x 153 cm, painted in 1967, belongs to the best period of the artist. It was sold twice by Deutscher and Hackett : for A$ 1.2M including premium in Sydney on September 1, 2010, lot 15, and for A$ 2.2M including premium in Melbourne on November 11, 2020, lot 8.
The Australian critics have now discovered the originality of the work of Williams. In the antipodes of the suburbs of Melbourne, we may compare his art to the deserts of Agnes Martin, at the same time, where texture eventually eliminated shape and variety.
Hillside at Lysterfield II is one of his most subtle paintings, where the top of the hill is just matching the background. This oil on canvas 137 x 153 cm, painted in 1967, belongs to the best period of the artist. It was sold twice by Deutscher and Hackett : for A$ 1.2M including premium in Sydney on September 1, 2010, lot 15, and for A$ 2.2M including premium in Melbourne on November 11, 2020, lot 8.
The Australian critics have now discovered the originality of the work of Williams. In the antipodes of the suburbs of Melbourne, we may compare his art to the deserts of Agnes Martin, at the same time, where texture eventually eliminated shape and variety.
1972 Grandma's Sunday Walk by Russell Drysdale
2017 SOLD for A$ 2.97M including premium by Mossgreen
narrated in 2018 before the sale of another painting by Menzies (see below)
In the outback, the desert region beyond the Australian bush, families live in isolated houses as in pioneer times. Who are they ? What are they doing ? What are they waiting for ? They are the forgotten people of the planet, just like the father and his two sons photographed in 1936 by Rothstein in Oklahoma. In these terrible conditions their family life is incredibly normal. Children play and jump like all children in the world.
The drought was extreme during the Second World War. In 1944 the Sydney Morning Herald sends an investigative journalist to see the damage. He is accompanied by Russell Drysdale.
Deeply moved, Drysdale appreciates that his earlier paintings on Australian desert life will not be enough. He also becomes a portrait painter. His paintings of the chiseled faces of elderly Australians are unprecedented. Rocky McCormack, oil on canvas 111 x 86 cm painted in 1962-1963, was sold for A $ 1.9M including premium by Sotheby's on August 25, 2008.
In the 1970s the artist had almost completely lost his eyesight. He is re-focusing on his first theme of family life in the desert. Grandma's Sunday Walk, 75 x 126 cm painted in 1972, was sold for A $ 2.97M including premium by Mossgreen on June 25, 2017. Please read the post sale release by ABC News.
Evening on Stony Plains, oil on canvas 50 x 76 cm is undated but possibly one of the latest paintings by Drysdale. It had been bought by a Melbourne gallery in 1978 and had just resurfaced before being sold for A$ 980K including premium by Menzies on April 26, 2018.
The drought was extreme during the Second World War. In 1944 the Sydney Morning Herald sends an investigative journalist to see the damage. He is accompanied by Russell Drysdale.
Deeply moved, Drysdale appreciates that his earlier paintings on Australian desert life will not be enough. He also becomes a portrait painter. His paintings of the chiseled faces of elderly Australians are unprecedented. Rocky McCormack, oil on canvas 111 x 86 cm painted in 1962-1963, was sold for A $ 1.9M including premium by Sotheby's on August 25, 2008.
In the 1970s the artist had almost completely lost his eyesight. He is re-focusing on his first theme of family life in the desert. Grandma's Sunday Walk, 75 x 126 cm painted in 1972, was sold for A $ 2.97M including premium by Mossgreen on June 25, 2017. Please read the post sale release by ABC News.
Evening on Stony Plains, oil on canvas 50 x 76 cm is undated but possibly one of the latest paintings by Drysdale. It had been bought by a Melbourne gallery in 1978 and had just resurfaced before being sold for A$ 980K including premium by Menzies on April 26, 2018.
1974 With Matisse at Lavender Bay
2020 SOLD for A$ 6.25M including premium
Through the window of his studio in Sydney, Brett Whiteley has a view over Lavender Bay. The sea is blue, like Matisse's Méditerranée.
The modernist vision of Matisse had changed art, now differentiated from aesthetics. He wrote in 1908 :
« Ce que je rêve, c'est un art d'équilibre, de pureté, de tranquillité, sans sujet inquiétant ou préoccupant, qui soit, pour tout travailleur cérébral, pour l'homme d'affaires aussi bien que pour l'artiste des lettres, par exemple, un lénifiant, un calmant cérébral, quelque chose d'analogue à un bon fauteuil qui délasse de ses fatigues physiques. »
“My dream is for an art of balance, purity, tranquility, without worrying or depressing subject, which is, for any brain worker, for the businessman as well as for the literary artist, for example, a soothing, a cerebral calming, something analogous to a good armchair which relaxes from physical fatigue."
L'Atelier Rouge is a direct application of this promising theory. Exhibited at MoMA, this monumental oil on canvas 180 x 220 cm painted in 1911 considerably influenced Rothko in 1952.
In 1974 Whiteley paints in Matisse's way a view of his own studio home, with humor and subtlety. His oil, ink and charcoal on canvas 195 x 300 cm titled Henri's Armchair is an anthology of Matisse's themes and styles : the blue sea, the nude drawing, the disorder of the wall hangings, the bouquet on the table, the Cézannian deletion of perspective. He innovates by adding a television set to the illusion of windows and mirrors and by displaying in the foreground Wendy's bare legs by the fireside.
Henri's Armchair is estimated A $ 5M for sale by Menzies in Sydney on November 26, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Whiteley then painted three works in 1976 which confirmed the originality of his own vision and ensured his reputation : My Armchair, Self portrait in the studio, Interior with time past. My Armchair, oil on canvas 206 x 283 cm, was sold for A $ 3.9M including premium by Menzies on October 31, 2013.
The modernist vision of Matisse had changed art, now differentiated from aesthetics. He wrote in 1908 :
« Ce que je rêve, c'est un art d'équilibre, de pureté, de tranquillité, sans sujet inquiétant ou préoccupant, qui soit, pour tout travailleur cérébral, pour l'homme d'affaires aussi bien que pour l'artiste des lettres, par exemple, un lénifiant, un calmant cérébral, quelque chose d'analogue à un bon fauteuil qui délasse de ses fatigues physiques. »
“My dream is for an art of balance, purity, tranquility, without worrying or depressing subject, which is, for any brain worker, for the businessman as well as for the literary artist, for example, a soothing, a cerebral calming, something analogous to a good armchair which relaxes from physical fatigue."
L'Atelier Rouge is a direct application of this promising theory. Exhibited at MoMA, this monumental oil on canvas 180 x 220 cm painted in 1911 considerably influenced Rothko in 1952.
In 1974 Whiteley paints in Matisse's way a view of his own studio home, with humor and subtlety. His oil, ink and charcoal on canvas 195 x 300 cm titled Henri's Armchair is an anthology of Matisse's themes and styles : the blue sea, the nude drawing, the disorder of the wall hangings, the bouquet on the table, the Cézannian deletion of perspective. He innovates by adding a television set to the illusion of windows and mirrors and by displaying in the foreground Wendy's bare legs by the fireside.
Henri's Armchair is estimated A $ 5M for sale by Menzies in Sydney on November 26, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Whiteley then painted three works in 1976 which confirmed the originality of his own vision and ensured his reputation : My Armchair, Self portrait in the studio, Interior with time past. My Armchair, oil on canvas 206 x 283 cm, was sold for A $ 3.9M including premium by Menzies on October 31, 2013.
1976 My Armchair by Brett Whiteley
2013 SOLD for A$ 3.9M including premium by Menzies
Narrated above.
1985 The Olgas for Ernest Giles by Brett Whiteley
2007 SOLD for A$ 3.5M including premium by Menzies
1988 Furniture Art by Marc Newson
2010 SOLD 2.1 M$ including premium
The contemporary furniture is a geometrical study. Apart from the fact that its use is defined, there is no real difference between a piece of furniture and an abstract sculpture. The proof is made by a designer, a collector and an auctioneer in the catalog of a sale to be held in New York on May 13.
The auction house is Phillips de Pury, which is currently strengthening its position among the market leaders in contemporary art.
The collector is Halsey Minor. Among the 22 works from his collection for sale on that day, Marc Newson is neighbouring Richard Prince and Ed Ruscha.
Newson is the leader in contemporary furniture, considering the excellent results he gets so regularly at auction. The presence of three major works in aluminum will excite the specialists.
In October 2008, I had discussed the sale by Sotheby's at 420 K £ including premium of one of the two artist's proofs of the Orgone Stretch Lounge. The other artist's copy of this 1993 bench is now estimated $ 400 K by Phillips de Pury.
In that article, I chose for reference price a prototype of the Lockheed Lounge sold $ 970 K by Sotheby's in June 2006. The same copy of this 1988 deck chair is now estimated $ 1 million by Phillips de Pury. On April 30, 2009 in London, this auction house got £ 1.1 million including premium for another copy.
The other major lot is a 1987 prototype of the Pod of drawers, estimated $ 500K. A production model of this cabinet has reached $ 1.05 million including premium at Christie's in May 2007.
POST SALE COMMENT
Buyers are becoming more selective. This ensured the success of the prototype of Lockheed Lounge, sold $ 2.1 million including premium ($ 1.8 million hammer), but the other two top lots remained unsold.
Here are pictures of these three pieces on the catalog shared by LiveAuctioneers:
Prototype Lockheed Lounge
Pod of drawers prototype
Orgone Stretch Lounge
SECOND PART OF THE SALE :
BEFORE SALE :
I stated in my article that a series model of the Pod of Drawers cabinet has reached $ 1.05 million including premium at Christie's in May 2007. This copy is one of the top lots in the second part of the Halsey Minor sale by Phillips de Pury in New York on June 9. It is estimated $ 300K.
We can see that it is different from the prototype unsold on May 13: its feet are black, while the prototype has white feet.
AFTER SALE :
Pods of drawers by Newson are less esteemed than his seats. It was sold $ 290K hammer price, $ 350K including premium.
The catalog had been shared by LiveAuctioneers.
The auction house is Phillips de Pury, which is currently strengthening its position among the market leaders in contemporary art.
The collector is Halsey Minor. Among the 22 works from his collection for sale on that day, Marc Newson is neighbouring Richard Prince and Ed Ruscha.
Newson is the leader in contemporary furniture, considering the excellent results he gets so regularly at auction. The presence of three major works in aluminum will excite the specialists.
In October 2008, I had discussed the sale by Sotheby's at 420 K £ including premium of one of the two artist's proofs of the Orgone Stretch Lounge. The other artist's copy of this 1993 bench is now estimated $ 400 K by Phillips de Pury.
In that article, I chose for reference price a prototype of the Lockheed Lounge sold $ 970 K by Sotheby's in June 2006. The same copy of this 1988 deck chair is now estimated $ 1 million by Phillips de Pury. On April 30, 2009 in London, this auction house got £ 1.1 million including premium for another copy.
The other major lot is a 1987 prototype of the Pod of drawers, estimated $ 500K. A production model of this cabinet has reached $ 1.05 million including premium at Christie's in May 2007.
POST SALE COMMENT
Buyers are becoming more selective. This ensured the success of the prototype of Lockheed Lounge, sold $ 2.1 million including premium ($ 1.8 million hammer), but the other two top lots remained unsold.
Here are pictures of these three pieces on the catalog shared by LiveAuctioneers:
Prototype Lockheed Lounge
Pod of drawers prototype
Orgone Stretch Lounge
SECOND PART OF THE SALE :
BEFORE SALE :
I stated in my article that a series model of the Pod of Drawers cabinet has reached $ 1.05 million including premium at Christie's in May 2007. This copy is one of the top lots in the second part of the Halsey Minor sale by Phillips de Pury in New York on June 9. It is estimated $ 300K.
We can see that it is different from the prototype unsold on May 13: its feet are black, while the prototype has white feet.
AFTER SALE :
Pods of drawers by Newson are less esteemed than his seats. It was sold $ 290K hammer price, $ 350K including premium.
The catalog had been shared by LiveAuctioneers.
1990 A Social Breakthrough in a Lounge
2015 SOLD for £ 2.43M including premium
The lounges by Marc Newson are an important milestone in contemporary creation. Just out from his sculpture training, he executed in 1986 his first prototype named LC in homage to Le Corbusier.
Australians love surfing. Newson appreciates that the manufacturing techniques of the surfboards may be used for more complex and modern structures. The shape is achieved by covering the foam with fiberglass. Then comes the finish.
The sculptor Newson wishes a metallic finish. After various tests in his garden in Sydney, he manages to keep the convex and concave curves of the cast by hammering sheets of aluminum joined by many blind rivets. The texture is similar to an aircraft fuselage. The new model in 1988 is named Lockheed lounge without the involvement of that industrial company.
The Lockheed Lounge is abstract art applied to furniture, with unprecedented materials and techniques. In 1990, ten units plus four artist's proofs are edited, bringing their figure to a final fifteen.
We do not sit on a Lockheed lounge but may recline on it for a social activity. The new Madame Récamier is the entertainer Madonna. A Lockheed Lounge appears sporadically in 1993 in the video Rain, a song from her highly successful Erotica album. Newson's chair becomes an icon of contemporary lifestyle.
The 1988 prototype was sold for $ 2.1 million including premium by Phillips on May 13, 2010. The 10/10 unit from the 1990 edition is estimated £ 1.5M, for sale by the same auction house on April 28 in London, lot 226.
Australians love surfing. Newson appreciates that the manufacturing techniques of the surfboards may be used for more complex and modern structures. The shape is achieved by covering the foam with fiberglass. Then comes the finish.
The sculptor Newson wishes a metallic finish. After various tests in his garden in Sydney, he manages to keep the convex and concave curves of the cast by hammering sheets of aluminum joined by many blind rivets. The texture is similar to an aircraft fuselage. The new model in 1988 is named Lockheed lounge without the involvement of that industrial company.
The Lockheed Lounge is abstract art applied to furniture, with unprecedented materials and techniques. In 1990, ten units plus four artist's proofs are edited, bringing their figure to a final fifteen.
We do not sit on a Lockheed lounge but may recline on it for a social activity. The new Madame Récamier is the entertainer Madonna. A Lockheed Lounge appears sporadically in 1993 in the video Rain, a song from her highly successful Erotica album. Newson's chair becomes an icon of contemporary lifestyle.
The 1988 prototype was sold for $ 2.1 million including premium by Phillips on May 13, 2010. The 10/10 unit from the 1990 edition is estimated £ 1.5M, for sale by the same auction house on April 28 in London, lot 226.
