LONDON.- Prints by Banksy were the leading lots at
Bonhams Prints and Multiples sale on 18 December in a sale that made 1,148,750 with 92% of lots sold by value.
In total, the 12 prints by Banksy made 279,000 – the top lot, Nola (Blue and Green Rain) sold for 75,000 against an estimate of 40,000-60,0000.
Other highlights of the sale included:
• Six linocuts by Cyril Power that achieved a total of 126,625. The Sunshine Roof was the top lot from his works, achieving an impressive 37,500 against an estimate of 25,000-35,000. The work depicts the Green Line bus from London to Hereford, driven by Power’s son, Cyril Arthur Power. Another linocut from Power, Tube Station achieved 27,500 in which the work displays the characteristic, curved platform of Bank Station in London.
• Marc Chagall’s Cirque Portfolio was the top lot of the sale at 118,750. The portfolio is a series of 38 lithographs that depicts vibrant and joyful scenes of clowns, acrobats and horses.
• Andy Warhol’s screenprint of Alexander the Great sold for 60,000. This unique screenprint was based on the Hellenistic bust of Attalus I King of Pergamon and is from a singular series in which Warhol was inspired by classical sculpture.
• In the Old Master section, Rembrandt ‘s famous Self-portrait in a velvet cap and plume achieved 11,500, well exceeding the pre-auction estimate alongside other strong results for Albrecht Drer’s Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (15,000) and Goya’s famous Caprichos (6,875).
Bonhams Director of Prints and Multiples, Lucia Tro Santafe said: ‘We are extremely pleased with the strong results achieved in the London Prints & Multiple sale. The Banksy prints achieved a fantastic result – they are all in supreme condition and hold a satirical, subversive value that distinguishes the artist from many of his contemporaries. It was also great to see the success of prominent printmakers from Rembrandt, Chagall, Picasso, Warhol, Hockney and Banksy that highlight the sustained interest in the print market by towering figures of Old Master, Modern and Contemporary art.”
The next Prints & Multiples sale will take place on 28 March 2018 at the Knightsbridge saleroom and on 27 June 2018 at New Bond Street.
