LONDON.- Original prints by some of the most collected Modern and Contemporary artists will be featured at
Chiswick Auctions’ February 13 Prints and Multiples sale in West London. Signed and limited-edition works by Banksy, Henri Matisse, Laurence Stephen Lowry, Takashi Murakami, Sir Peter Blake, Tracey Emin and Sir Howard Hodgkin are entered with estimates ranging from £100 to £20,000 ($125-$25,395).
At the top end of expectations is a late Pop Art work by British artist Patrick Caulfield CBE RA (1936-2005) in which he pays homage to Pablo Picasso's renowned oil Les demoiselles d'Avignon. A visual pun on the screen-printing process, it depicts Picasso's painting from the reverse aspect, with the five women shown from behind. “I have been haunted by that painting [Les demoiselles d'Avignon] throughout my life, and I needed to exorcise the ghost,” Caulfield said after completing his playful version in 1998. Printed in a bold eight-color palette in 1999, the print was issued in an edition of 65 by Alan Cristea Gallery, London. The auction example, signed and numbered 41/65, is estimated at £15,000-£20,000 ($19,040-$25,395).
Other examples of British Pop include the 1968 Gerald Laing (1936-2011) screenprint Tracy from the well-known “Baby Baby Wild Things” series, numbered 81/200 in pencil; and the 2013 Peter Blake triptych 3D Circus, signed and numbered 44/60 in black ink. They are guided at £3,000-£5,000 ($3,810-$6,345) and £5,000-£7,000 ($6,345-$8,890), respectively.
Sir Howard Hodgkin CH CBE (1932-2017) intaglio etching Night Palm, from a series issued by Waddington Graphics in 1990-91, was inspired by the loud, brightly colored advertisements of French poster designers. The green-over-yellow brush stroke in Night Palm was applied by workshop assistant Jack Shirreff, who was instructed to let the paint drip “spontaneously.” One of 15 artist proofs created alongside the edition of 55, it is signed with initials, dated and inscribed AP 7/15 in pencil. With other copies of the edition notably at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and Tate, London, it carries an estimate £6,000-£8,000 ($7,615-$10,155).
The sale includes nine prints from the Henri Matisse (1869-1954) Jazz art book, commissioned by publisher Elf Teraide as Matisse recovered from surgery in 1942. Printed in 1947, they mark the beginning of the artist’s work with paper cutouts that was such a key part of his later practice. Each pochoir print from the book is estimated at £3,000-£5,000 ($3,810-$6,345). The works are in excellent condition and vibrantly showcase Matisse’s expert use of color. Of the nine selections, L'Enterrement de Pierrot (The Funeral of Pierrot) and L'Avaleur de sabres (The Sword-Swallower) are particularly charming in their depiction of lively yet violent circus performances.
Prints by Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA RA (1887-1976), many of them issued in the last years of the artist’s life, are another perennial collecting favorite. Market Scene in a Northern Town from an unnumbered edition of 750 published in 1972, is artist-signed in pencil. It has an estimate of £3,000-£5,000 ($3,810-$6,345).
Many “entry-level” lots will appeal to those who are just beginning their collecting journey or to interior-décor enthusiasts simply looking to buy a print as decoration. A good example is the 1983 linocut A Midnight Snack by Edward Bawden (1903-1989). Signed, titled and numbered 11/50 in pencil, it has an estimate £250-£350 ($315-$445).
