The upcoming ‘International Iconic’ auction by Mumbai-based auction house Astaguru will feature a mix of works from respected and distinguished global artists. The auction lineup for November 28-29 represents some of the most important moments in modern art history. All registered users, regardless of their geographical location, can bid in the online auction.
The collection focuses on the emergence and influence of modern art in the mid-twentieth century, including works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Fernand Léger, Bernard Buffett, Marc Chagall, and Salvador Dalí. Also available are one-of-a-kind works by renowned pop artist Andy Warhol. The collection also includes works by prominent contemporary artists such as Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, Robert Indiana, and Marc Cézanne.
Here are the top highlights:
Beigneuse Assis or Seated Bather by Pierre Auguste-Renoir; Estimated Rs 4,34,50,000 – 5,53,00,000
Leading the auction is No. 8 by French Impressionist master Pierre Auguste-Renoir, who created an extraordinary artistic legacy with his alluring canvases featuring sublime female nudes. Titled Bigneus Assis or Seated Bather, circa 1915, the oil on canvas creation depicts the sitter in profile with a softly defined figure against a warm abstraction dominating a brown and green background. The work was previously in the collection of English playwright and novelist W. Somerset Maugham, who was also an avid collector of impressionist and modern art. This painting also appeared on the cover of his book ‘Purely for My Pleasure’ published in 1962.
Pablo Picasso; Estimate Rs 2,37,00,000 – Rs 3,95,00,000
The reinterpretation of female nudity is one of the greatest legacies in the works of Pablo Picasso. A work by him executed in 1969 with colored wax crayons on paper, lot number 5 is also part of the auction. It was exhibited at the RS Johnson International Gallery in Chicago in 1971. With 2023 being the year of Picasso’s 50th death anniversary, galleries and museums around the world are gearing up to celebrate him. Added to his monumental fame, this has increased interest in his work.
Beautiful Hours Spin Painting IX by Damien Hirst; Estimate Rs 2,37,00,000 – Rs 3,95,00,000
Lot No 14, a work by Damien Hirst titled ‘Beautiful Hours Spin Painting IX’, was originally unveiled as the cover of the album ‘See the Light’ by British rock band ‘The Hours’. Impressive imagery rendered in psychedelic color compositions with high-gloss paint embodies the central theme of life and death, which has been a preoccupation and inspirational subject for the artist. Elements in the work, such as the skull, and the clock in the eye socket, become an allegory for the transience of life.
‘Love Sculptures’ by Robert Indiana; Estimated Rs.3,16,00,000 – 4,74,00,000
Lot No. 30 is a rendering of the famous ‘Love Sculptures’ by Robert Indiana. First executed as a painting in 1965 and displayed in a solo exhibition at New York’s Still Gallery, it became a career-defining piece of work for the artist. Indiana created stern images by stacking each letter on top of the other in an angular, slightly slanted manner. He would then use the image for various other mediums including iconic sculptures and stamps known around the world. The image was also chosen as the theme for the Museum of Modern Art’s Christmas card, which was becoming wildly popular. In 1970, he created a 12-foot-tall steel sculpture with the same word for the Indianapolis Museum of Art, followed by ‘Ahwa’ in Jerusalem and ‘Amor’ in Spain.
Poinsettia by Andy Warhol; Estimated Rs.1,10,60,000 – 1,89,60,000
Lot No. 33 is a unique work by iconic artist Andy Warhol entitled ‘Poinsettia’ and is a departure from his popular work focusing on the culture of consumerism. Poinsettia Flowers, often referred to as the unofficial flower of Christmas, the work is an ode to Warhol’s love for the theme of Christmas. Resembling the Star of Bethlehem, the ubiquitous flower traces its attachment to the Christmas holiday through a 16th-century Mexican legend about a poor girl who decorated a church altar with weeds that miraculously had grown into flowers. Sharing this festive joy with a large contingent of his friends in the early 1980s, Warhol executed over 20 paintings in various sizes featuring poinsettias. One of these, the work presented, was created by Warhol in 1983 and gifted to his friend, photographer Christopher Mako.
Universal Tarot by Salvador Dali; Estimate: Rs 19,75,000 – 27,65,000 Each
A collection of such unique works by Salvador Dali will be displayed along with Lots No. 2, 3 and 4. These works belong to a limited series of 78 custom decks of tarot cards known as Dali’s Universal Tarot. The work was first commissioned from him by Hollywood producer Albert Broccoli, and was meant to be used as a prop in a James Bond film. live and let die,
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