First Look: Hockney, Fontana, Magritte & Dalí in LA

Salvador Dalí, Gradiva. Estimate: £1,200,000–1,800,000.

Painted in 1931, Gradiva is a jewel-like composition uniting Dalí’s unique painterly vision with the technical virtuosity characteristic of his early Surrealist art. Depicted with minute, painstakingly executed details, the iconography of the present work combines several major motifs from Dalí’s early – and most innovative – stage of Surrealism.

Surrealist Art Evening Sale
28 February 2018 | London

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Umberto Boccioni, Testa + luce + ambiente.
Estimate: £5,500,000–7,500,000.

An incredibly rare example of Futurist painting, Boccioni's Testa + luce + ambiente encompasses the energy, passion and audacity of this young group of Italian artists. One of the defining art movements of the twentieth century, it demanded a complete break with the art of the past; the Futurists proclaimed a desire to 're-enter life' through a focus on speed, change and violence. In this revolutionary spirit, Boccioni announced: "We will break open the figure and enclose it in its environment" and Testa + luce + ambiente illustrates the height of his achievements in this respect.

Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale
28 February 2018 | London

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René Magritte, Ciel-bouteille.
Estimate: £600,000–800,000.

Ciel-bouteille is one of three painted bottles that remained in the collection of the artist's widow Georgette Magritte until her death in 1986, and were auctioned as part of the sale of Magritte’s estate at Sotheby's London the following year. The image of a bright blue sky punctuated with white and grey clouds is one of the most iconic in Magritte’s œuvre, usually seen as part of a paradoxical landscape or superimposed onto various shapes such as a bird.

Surrealist Art Evening Sale
28 February 2018 | London

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René Magritte, Le jockey perdu.
Estimate: £1,000,000–1,500,000.

Le jockey perdu is one of Magritte’s most compelling and iconic subjects. Inspired by the fifteenth-century Renaissance master Paolo Uccello, it exemplifies Magritte's atmospheric juxtaposition of objects and settings. This gouache comes directly from the celebrated Surrealist collection of William N. Copley who was a patron and friend of René Magritte, as well as a philanthropist and an artist in his own right.

Surrealist Art Evening Sale
28 February 2018 | London

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Salvador Dalí, Maison pour érotomane.
Estimate: £1,200,000–1,800,000.

Dating from the height of Dalí’s engagement with Surrealism, Maison pour érotomane depicts a Catalan landscape, its rocks – a regular feature in the artist’s paintings of the period – metamorphosing in front of the viewer’s eyes into a fantastical, dream-like image.

Surrealist Art Evening Sale
28 February 2018 | London

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Lucio Fontana, Concetto Spaziale, Attese.
Estimate: £2,000,000–3,000,000.

Lucio Fontana's Concetto Spaziale, Attese, is an iconic work from the artist’s most celebrated series of slashed canvases. Executed in 1963, at the very height of the artist’s critically acclaimed career, the present work displays six vertical incisions that dramatically and violently perforate a smooth, seductive scarlet canvas.

Contemporary Art Evening Auction
7 March 2018 | London

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David Hockney, Different Kinds of Water Pouring into a Swimming Pool, Santa Monica, 1965.
Estimate: £6,000,000–8,000,000.

Executed in 1965, Different Kinds of Water Pouring into a Swimming Pool, Santa Monica, originates from a series of works in which Hockney explored swimming pools. The most famous of these paintings A Bigger Splash, is part of the Tate Collection. He became fascinated with the subject whilst based in Los Angeles, and made numerous works that celebrated their vibrant Californian exuberance.

Contemporary Art Evening Auction
7 March 2018 | London

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