CHRISTIE’S THE EYE OF THE ARCHITECT:
A COLLECTION THAT CAPTURES THE SYNERGY BETWEEN PAINTING AND ARCHITECTURE
FRANCIS BACON’S THREE STUDIES FOR A PORTRAIT WILL LEAD THE GROUP
FURTHER ARTISTS INCLUDE PABLO PICASSO, GIORGIO DE CHIRICO,
FERNAND LÉGER, JOAN MIRÓ AND GIORGIO MORANDI
London – Christie’s will offer The Eye of the Architect, a diverse collection of Modern and Post-War art, during ‘20th Century at Christie’s’, a series of sales that will take place in London from 20 February to 7 March 2018: Impressionist and Modern Art and The Art of the Surreal Evening Sales (both 27 February), Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale (28 February) and Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale (6 March). Focusing primarily on figurative compositions, this tightly curated group of works not only reveals the collector’s discerning eye and architectural mind, but also a passion for artists who continuously sought to push the boundaries of tradition in their art. Including works by some of the most celebrated masters of the twentieth century avant-garde, from Pablo Picasso to Francis Bacon, Giorgio de Chirico to Joan Miró, and Fernand Léger to Giorgio Morandi, this varied group is united in their intimate scale and exploration of similar thematic concerns.
The group will be led by Francis Bacon’s Three Studies for a Portrait (1976, estimate: £10,000,000-15,000,000), the artist’s penultimate ode to his great muse Henrietta Moraes, whose stark depiction of facial features and realist palette reveal the influence of Picasso on Bacon’s work. Further highlights include Pablo Picasso’s Figure (1930, estimate: £3,000,000-5,000,000), a portrait that plays with form to give the face a sculptural quality reflected in Bacon’s deconstruction of human form in Three Studies for a Portrait. These are offered alongside Giorgio de Chirico’s rare and early, melancholic mannequin-figure portrait Testa di manichino (1916-17, estimate: £800,000-1,200,000), Fernand Léger’s visionary, machine-inspired portrait L’usine (Motif pour le moteur) (1918, estimate: £900,000-1,200,000), Giorgio Morandi’s highly subtle, architectural still life Natura morta (1942, estimate: £600,000-900,000), and Joan Miró’s sharply defined geometric painting Tête d’homme (1931, estimate: £700,000 – 1,000,000). The works will be on view in Hong Kong (5 to 8 February 2018) and New York (8 to 15 February 2018) before being exhibited in London from 20 February to 6 March 2018.
