LONDON.- Four striking Maurits Cornelis Escher prints (estimated at between £12,000-18,000 and £10,000-15,000 each) will be auctioned alongside a star-studded line up that includes Twombly, Lichtenstein, Warhol and Hockney at Bonhams’ next Prints and Multiples sale at London New Bond Street on 16 November.

M.C. Escher (1898-1927) is widely celebrated as a master of graphic art. Born in the Netherlands, he drew inspiration from the towns and landscapes he encountered in travels across Europe. Drawing on an extensive knowledge of architecture and mathematics, he created lithographs and woodcuts that amaze viewers with mathematical distortions of space and perspective.

Celebrated as works of art as well as icons of popular culture, Escher’s work has been exhibited at museums and galleries across the world, and featured on stamps and album covers.

The four prints for auction at Bonhams’ forthcoming Prints and Multiples sale come to the market for the first time, bought directly from the artist by the vendor’s family. These avid collectors were in regular correspondence with Escher, four handwritten letters from the artist are included in the sale of the Day and Night (1938) woodcut (estimated at £12,000-18,000).

Bonhams’ Prints Specialist Suzanne Irvine said, “Archetypal of Escher’s best mathematical and optical work, these prints are particularly remarkable for their provenance. Coming to the market for the first time, just once removed from the artist himself, these are highly desirable pieces.”

OTHER WORKS INCLUDE:

Roy Lichtenstein, Crying Girl (1997), estimated at £30,000-50,000
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), one of the the darlings of American Pop Art, is widely fêted for his comic-strip inspired designs. Crying Girl is a 1963 lithograph on wove. Printed in bold colour by Colorcraft, New York, this signed print was published by the pop art gallerist icon Leo Castelli.

Cy Twombly, Natural History, Part II: Some Trees of Italy, estimated at £40,000-60,000
The esteemed American artist Cy Twombly (1928-2011) worked extensively in various media. This complete set of his most celebrated graphic works, Natural History Part II: Some Trees of Italy (1975-1976) was printed by Matthieu Studio, Zürich-Dielsdorf, with their blindstamp, and published by Propyläen Verlag, Berlin. Each of the series’ eight coloured lithographs, granolithographs and collotypes are signed and numbered 55/98.

Andy Warhol, Liza Minelli (c.1978), estimated at £20,000-30,000
Renowned American Pop Artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was fascinated by the relationship between celebrity and artistic expression. During the ‘70s this interest inspired numerous portraits of the rich and famous such as this – a unique portrait of his friend and collector, the actress and singer Liza Minelli.

David Hockney, Illustrations for Fourteen Poems from C.P. Cavafy (1966), estimated at £15,000-20,000
One of the most influential British artists of the 20th century, David Hockney (b. 1937) has created several series of etchings. This series, based on the love poems of esteemed Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy, is made up of 13 etchings on vellum wove, each accompanied by a copy of the relevant poem. Each print is signed, dated and numbered; the set published in 1967 by Editions Alecto, London.