Holly Brackenbury selects Three Studies of Isabel Rawsthorne by Francis Bacon.

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abstraction, Alberto Giacometti, and artistic contemporary, André Derain, Bacon Rawsthorne, Berlin, Consultant, figuration, Francis Bacon, Hanover Gallery, Holly Brackenbury, London, male-dominated paintings, mistress, model, muse, oil on canvas, Pablo Picasso, Paris and the National Galerie, Parisian avant-garde, portrait canvases, Soho clique, sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Sale, Sotheby’s London, Tate Gallery, the Pompidou Centre, Three Studies of Isabel Rawsthorne, Three Studies of Isabel Rawsthorne by Francis Bacon, triptych portrait

   Three Studies of Isabel Rawsthorne (1966)
By Francis Bacon
Oil on canvas
Estimated price:
£10-15 million

At the end of this month, Sotheby’s London will be offering an important painting by Francis Bacon. Three Studies of Isabel Rawsthorne is a portrait of Bacon’s great friend, muse and artistic contemporary.

Painted in 1966, the portrait marks the second great peak in
Bacon’s career. The triptych portrait demonstrates how the artist navigated the threshold of abstraction and figuration.

Holly Brackenbury selects The Wardrobe by Naiza Khan

Tags

acrylic, Aisha Khalid, art sale, Charcoal, Conte, Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Fabriano paper, Farida Batool, hijabs, Holly Brackenbury, Imran Qureshi, Islamabad, Lal Masjid, Michigan, Naiza Khan, New York, religious beliefs, Sotheby’s London, South Asian art, Talha Rathore, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Skin She Wears, The Wardrobe, Under The Hammer At Sotheby’s, US

The Wardrobe
By Naiza Khan
Charcoal, conté and acrylic on Fabriano paper
Estimated price: £6,000-8,000

Holly Brackenbury selects Onement VI by Barnett Newman.

Tags

1953, 1961, 8.5 by 10 feet canvas, Abstract Expressionist movement, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Annalee, Barnett Newman, Frederick and Marcia Weisman Collection, Guggenheim Museum, Hartford, Holly Brackenbury, masterwork, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Ohio, Onement VI, photograph, Sotheby’s London, Sotheby’s sale of Contemporary Art, vertical ‘zip’, vibrant blue, Vogue, Wadsworth Atheneum

Onement VI (1953)
By Barnett Newman
Size: 8.5 x 10 feet
Estimated price: $30-40 million

Sotheby’s next sale of Contemporary Art is to include the most important painting by Barnett Newman ever to appear at auction. Onement VI from 1953 stands as a masterwork not only of Newman’s artistic enterprise but of the entire Abstract Expressionist movement.

Holly Brackenbury,Consultant, Sotheby’s London, selects a Wooden Model of the Dome of the Rock by Dr Conrad Schick.

Tags

1873, Abd al-Aziz, Arts of the Islamic World Sale, Dr Conrad Schick, Haram al-Sharif, Holly Brackenbury, Holy Land, Jerusalem, landmark, sacred sites in Islam, Sotheby’s London, Vienna Ottoman Sultan, wooden model of the Dome of the Rock, World Fair

A Wooden Model of the Dome of the Rock (1872-3)
By Dr Conrad Schick
Estimated price: £250,000-300,000
Price realised: £242,500

A highlight of Sotheby’s forthcoming Arts of the Islamic World Sale is a monumental model of the Dome of the Rock made in 1873 for the World Fair in Vienna by the architect and archaeologist Dr Conrad Schick (1822-1901).

Holly Brackenberry Selects Liebespaar (Selbstdarstellung Mit Wally)/Lovers (Self-portrait With Wally)

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confrontational composition, Egon Schiele, February, Gustav Klimt. Wally, Holly Brackenbury, intense relationship, Leopold Museum, Liebespaar (Selbstdarstellung Mit Wally), Sotheby’s London, strong sexuality, vibrant palette, Vienna, Wallburga Neuzil

Liebespaar (Selbstdarstellung Mit Wally)
Lovers (Self-portrait With Wally)
By Egon Schiele
Gouache, watercolour and pencil on paper (1914/15)
Estimated price: £6.5-8.5 million

In February, Sotheby’s London will be offering for sale some of the most important works on paper by Egon Schiele (1890-1918) ever to have come to the market. These three exceptional drawings come from the Leopold Museum in Vienna, home to the most comprehensive Schiele collection in the world. The drawings represent a critical period in the artist’s career (1914-1918) both professionally and personally.

The first drawing, titled Liebespaar (Selbstdarstellung Mit Wally), was produced in 1914/15 and is a highly emotional portrait of Schiele with his muse and lover Wallburga Neuzil who was introduced to the artist by Gustav Klimt. Wallburga Neuzil (or ‘Wally’ as she was known) is depicted with her striking auburn hair and blue-green eyes, the confrontational composition and vibrant palette representing their intense relationship.

The second drawing from the same period is a powerfully intimate self-portrait, showing the artist dressed in green, his eyes closed and anxiously wringing his hands.
The third drawing of a girl lying on her back is one of Schiele’s final works and belongs to a series of line drawings of semi-nude female figures which combine a strong sexuality with a novel sense of perspective.

Together, these three incredible drawings provide an overview of the dynamic and expressive quality of Schiele’s work.

Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale will be held in London on February 5, 2013.

First published in the Adbuzzzz Section of The DAWN National Weekend Advertiser on December 16, 2012.

Holly Brackenbury, Consultant, Sotheby’s London, selects the original collage of the inner sleeve insert of the Beatles’ album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

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1967, 50th anniversary, album, badge, Blake, Consultant, dealer, famous figures, first single, Holly Brackenbury, John Lennon cut-out, Kenneth Clark, left-hand opening, Love Me Do, moustache, November 13., October 2012, original collage of the inner sleeve insert of the Beatles’ album, Paul McCartney, Peter Blake, Robert Fraser, Sgt. Pepper, Sgt. Pepper Insert Collage, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Sir Peter Blake, Sotheby’s London, Sotheby’s Modern & Post-War British Art Sale, stripes, The Beatles

Sgt. Pepper Insert Collage (1967)
By Sir Peter Blake, RA
Size: (30.5 x 30.5 centimetres) 12 x 12 inches
Estimated price: £50,000-80,000

It won’t have escaped the notice of music fans that October 2012 is the 50th anniversary of the release of The Beatles’ first single, Love Me Do. Next month, Sotheby’s London will be offering a slice of musical history, in the form of the original collage of the inner sleeve insert of the band’s ground-breaking 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.