Tag Archives: Christie’s

Views: “L’Estaque Aux Toits Rouges” by Paul Cézanne

L’Estaque aux toits rouges by Paul Cézanne is one of the finest views of L’Estaque, the Provençal fishing village where the artist forged a radical new way of depicting the world around him.

Exhibited in 1936 and hidden away ever since, this remarkable piece will finally come back on view as part of The Cox Collection: The Story of Impressionism, taking place at Christie’s New York on 11 November.

While Cézanne is primarily associated with Aix-en-Provence, the village of L’Estaque near Marseille was a place that he returned to again and again when he sought sanctuary. His relationship with the village began when he holidayed there as a child with his mother. Then, in 1870, when Cézanne left Paris to avoid conscription into the army following the start of the Franco-Prussian War, he escaped to L’Estaque.

Learn More: https://www.christies.com/features/ce…

Artist Profile Video: Scottish Painter Peter Doig – ‘Boiler House’ (1994)

In 1991, the Scottish artist Peter Doig (b. 1959) visited Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in northeast France, a utopian housing project that had opened in 1961 in Briey-en-Fôret, then been abandoned.

To Doig, the project was a temple of hope laid to ruin, and the nine large-scale canvases it inspired — Doig’s seminal ‘Concrete Cabins’ series, the largest and most distinctive cycle in Doig’s oeuvre — became a meditation on the decay of Le Corbusier’s modernist vision of social cohesion.

Boiler House was first exhibited in Salzburg after Doig had won the Eliette von Karajan prize in 1994, and was included in Doig’s 2008 retrospective at Tate Britain. It stands alone within the cycle, an isolated building in the forest.

Depicting the building designed to house the estate’s coal boiler, it is rendered in fluid trails of impasto, and carries a stark anthropomorphic charge, the angular geometries looming large through a screen of trees, shifting in and out of focus like a memory or fragments from a movie reel.

Learn More: https://www.christies.com/features/Bo…

Art Videos: American Painter Cy Twombly’s ‘Apollo 11’ Homage (1969)

In the summer of 1969, Cy Twombly made a series of paintings inspired by the Apollo 11 space mission.

Born in Lexington, Virginia, in 1928, Edwin Parker ‘Cy’ Twombly studied art in Boston and at the avant-garde Black Mountain College in North Carolina. After graduating, he served as a cryptologist in the US Military — an experience that left a distinctive mark on his artistic style.

Learn more: https://www.christies.com/features/Mo…

Art: The ‘Dangerously Independent Women’ Of Italian Painter Vittorio Corcos (1859-1933)

He went on to become a highly respected portraitist, counting Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Benito Mussolini and opera star Lina Cavalieri among his subjects. In Coy’s view, however, his portraits were relatively conventional offerings — and Corcos’s ‘best work’ was his turn-of-the-century imagery of ‘dangerously independent women’.

Compare the biographies of Vittorio Corcos (1859-1933) and Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920), and a remarkable number of similarities become apparent. Both were born into Jewish families in the Italian port city of Livorno in the second half of the 19th century; both would settle — and artistically come of age — in Paris. Both would even excel at the same type of paintings: their provocative depictions of women.

Their reputations, however, have suffered widely different fates. Modigliani, who struggled to sell much work before his death at the age of 35, is today regarded as a master of Modernism. Corcos, by contrast, who enjoyed a long and prosperous international career, posthumously became a rather forgotten figure.

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Modern Art: ‘Shangri-La, 2017’ By Matthew Wong

An invitation into any artist’s imagined world involves an intimacy rarely encountered outside of portraiture, but Matthew Wong does this without fear by relying on our one nugget of shared understanding – Shangri-la. What is paradise after all but knowing and being known? “You sit in front of this painting, and it overwhelms you.” – reveals our specialist Isabella Lauria, –

“We get lots in our dreams, and this painting makes me feel lost in the best way.” Post-War and Contemporary Art Day sale, October 7 2020

View sale highlights: https://www.christies.com/features/Po..

Matthew Wong was a Canadian artist. Self-taught as a painter, Wong received critical acclaim for his work before his death in 2019 at the age of 35. Roberta Smith, co-chief art critic at The New York Times, has praised Wong as “one of the most talented painters of his generation.”

Paleontology: Largest And Most Complete “T-Rex” Skeleton To Be Auctioned

Watch how we installed STAN — one of the most complete T. rex skeletons ever found.

Unearthed in 1987, less than a century after the existence of Tyrannosaurus rex had first become known, STAN — named after his discoverer Stan Sacrison — represents one of the most complete fossil skeletons of the most famous dinosaur species ever to have lived.

Each individual fossil from STAN’s skeleton had to be prised carefully from the rock, then stored and recorded. Following more than 30,000 hours of labour, STAN was erected on a custom mount to reflect his former glory. He was given a public unveiling on Hill City’s Main Street in South Dakota, followed by his global ‘debut’ as the centrepiece of Japan’s T. rex World Exposition in 1995.

Artist Profiles: Abstract Expressionist Robert Motherwell (1915-1991)

September 2020

‘Motherwell was one of the finest American painters of the 20th century, most definitely,’ says Dedalus Foundation CEO Jack Flam. ‘His paintings mix raw energy with a spiritual gracefulness that sets them apart.’

Few artists were as intrinsically connected to Abstract Expressionism as Robert Motherwell (1915-1991). Unlike Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock, whose stars burned brightly but briefly, Motherwell remained prolific throughout his 50-year career. He was a searching artist whose output, though determinedly abstract, was also hugely varied.

Motherwell’s ‘Elegies to the Spanish Republic’ series is widely regarded as the high point of his career, with examples found in several major museum collections — they have consistently achieved the artist’s highest prices at auction too.

On Motherwell’s death in 1991, the eminent art critic Clement Greenberg wrote that ‘although underrated today… he was one of the very best of the Abstract Expressionist painters’.

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Top Homes & Estates: “Pyramid Point” In St. Croix, Virgin Islands

Stark-white exteriors elegantly enhanced by walls of glass and seven pyramid-shaped spires, inspired by the original owners’ travels to Egypt, define this visionary architectural design, not to mention the home’s name. Inside, the result is six soaring pyramidal vaulted ceilings of African mahogany with beautiful skylights at their peaks to welcome in the sun and starlit night skies, and a seventh creating and interior glasses atrium.

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The architectural theme begins at the stone and stainless-steel front gate, topped with a white pyramid frame. Proceeding down the palm-lined and landscaped gravel drive, the ocean vista remains partially hidden from view while continuing up the granite walkway passing a grand cylindrical stone structure, reminiscent of the sugar mills that once sustained the island economy, and the cottages on the estate grounds.

Minimalist interiors perfectly harmonize with its Caribbean island backdrop by allowing nature to lead the design. The living and dining rooms are surrounded on three sides by sliding walls of glass inviting in the ocean views and sea breezes.

Expansive Amenities
The property includes three additional cottages for guests. The Reef House, the Beach House, and the Tamarind House are ultimately private and offer a total of five additional bedroom suites, spacious living areas, kitchens, and private patios overlooking the water. Outside an oasis of serenity awaits with covered terraces off the living roomand three bedrooms overlooking the pool, another terrace off the dining room for alfresco entertaining, grassy expanses, native plantings, swaying palm trees, some connected by hammocks, and the blue-tiled circular pool on a deck of silver-white granite from Sicily. Shoys Beach, arguably one of the most beautiful in the Caribbean is directly accessed from the property.

The night views of the twinkling lights of the historic town of Christiansted and the more distant landfall are enchanting. There are two additional stone sugar mill buildings on the property, complementing the one at the entry. Two are used for equipment storage and one as a beach changing room with facilities. Golf, tennis, and fine dining are nearby in the adjacent Buccaneer Resort. Yacht owners can moor their vessels next to Pyramid Point at the Green Cay Marina.

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Sports & Apparel: The History Of The “Nike Air Jordan” Basketball Shoes

Christie's Logo‘Michael Jordan’s tremendous impact on basketball and sneakers is universally acknowledged, and it can be easy to think there aren’t any new stories to add to the legend,’ says John McPheters, co-founder and CEO of Stadium Goods. ‘But as we’ve seen with The Last Dance and now with our Original Air auction at Christie’s, there are still lesser-known narratives in the legacy that create great interest.’

‘The shoes span art, pop culture and sports history,’

 

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Michael Jordan ended his first season as a professional basketball player with the Chicago Bulls by being crowned Rookie of the Year. It was the summer of 1985 and Jordan was soon to become one of the most recognised people on the planet.

The New York Times described his debut performance as ‘phenomenal’, and Sports Illustrated declared ‘A Star Is Born’ when he made the front cover.

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Video Profiles: British Artist Hugo Wilson – “Old Masters Modernism”

Christie's LogoFormally trained as a classic painter, British artist Hugo Wilson borrows images and techniques from Old Masters to create dramatic new works.

‘A lot of historical references are simply practical. Others are more considered’ he explains. We visited Hugo in his London studio where he showed us the 8 meter wide charcoal drawing he’s been working on during lockdown, blending styles from classic to contemporary art.

In this video, Hugo discusses the influence of Old Masters on his own practice through works offered in Remastered, a curated sale exploring the dialogue between centuries.

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