Art And Culture
0

Christie’s 250th Anniversary

Christie’s 250th Anniversary
Christie’s 250th Anniversary

From Joshua Reynolds to Lucian Freud, works spanning several centuries of British art will go under the hammer in June as part of a sale celebrating 250 years since auction house Christie’s was founded.

The highlights are three major works, led by ‘Ib and her Husband’, a 1992 portrait by Freud of his daughter and her partner estimated at around $26.24 million.

Joining it is Reynolds’ 1778 ‘Portrait of Lucy Long, Mrs George Hardinge’, which has never previously been publicly offered for sale and has been described as “one of the finest works by the artist to come to the market in a generation,” Reuters reported.

Said to be in “remarkable” condition, the portrait is estimated at around $3-$4.5 million.

The third major work is ‘Golden Hours’, painted in 1864 by Frederic Leighton, which goes to auction for the first time in 100 years and is estimated at $4.5-$7.5 million.

“All of the pictures are exemplary of their type,” Orlando Rock, chairman of Christie’s UK, told Reuters.

“I think from a quality point of view, they ... all epitomize the periods they were created in.”

The works are set to go on tour at Christie’s in New York and Hong Kong this month before the June “Defining British Art” sale, which will be launched alongside an exhibition of British art works handled by Christie’s.

 

Financialtribune.com