Jacques Loysel, La Grande Névrose, circa 1896.
Sold for £1,868,750.
In an intense bidding battle, collectors clamoured to acquire Jacques Loysel’s
La Grande Névrose
, considered to be the sculptor’s definitive masterwork. This sensual marble, retained by Loysel in his Paris atelier until his death in 1925 and not seen on the market since, brought £1,868,750, soaring above its pre-sale estimate of £120,000-180,000 and setting a new auction record for the artist.
Pavel Tchelitchew, Bathers, 1938. Sold for £368,750.
Depicting the artist’s partner, the writer and publisher Charles Henri Ford, and the aggressively foreshortened figure of the New York City Ballet dancer Nicholas Magallanes,
this painting
once hung on the bedroom wall of one of the 20th-century’s most famous grands horizontals.
Antony Gormley, Pole II, 2012. Sold for £320,750.
This work
, one of the sculptor’s ‘Blockworks’, achieved the highest price for a contemporary sculpture in the sale.
Sarah Bernhardt, Ophelia. Sold for £308,750.
This rare surviving work
by Sarah Bernhardt – a rediscovered marble relief of Ophelia – sparked frenzied bidding, driving the final sale price to £308,750, six times its pre-sale low estimate (£50,000-70,000) and a new auction record for the artist.
A Roman Marble Group of Two Lovers, circa 1st/2nd Century A.D. Sold for £236,750.
Dated circa 1st/2nd Century A.D., this is one of only four known examples of an ancient
Roman marble
depicting a couple engaged in lovemaking.
Egon Schiele, Akt (Nude), 1917. Sold for £224,750.
Schiele forged a new path in his fearless depictions of the naked figure and
Akt (Nude)
is a prime example of the artist’s late work.
Gustav Klimt, Liegender Halbakt Nach Rechts (Half-Nude Reclining to the Right), 1914-15.
Sold for £175,000.
Talking about Klimt's drawing, R. Metzger noted: 'In the drawings, Klimt gives pride of his own gaze, the gaze of the artist and expert, the male and the master which is directed at the woman that he sketches. Accordingly, these women do not return the gaze. ... Klimt became nothing but an eye, nothing but a hand, purely from the feeling that moved and enraptured him, was in love with the nature of his subject and he let himself be carried away without restraint' (Gustav Klimt, Drawings and Watercolours, London, 2005, p. 207).
Pablo Picasso, Nu (Nude), 1971. Sold for £118,750.
Powerfully visceral yet oddly sensual,
Nu (Nude)
was created as Pablo Picasso moved towards the end of his astonishingly productive creative life.
Alfred Kubin, Notzucht An Einer Mährischen Bäuerin (Violation of a Moravian Farmer), 1900.
Sold for £93,750.
This pen and ink work on paper
, which had a pre-sale estimate of £12,000–18,000, sold for £93,750.
Marc Quinn, Maquette for Siren, 2008.
Sold for £87,500.
Marc Quinn’s Siren series is one of the most recognisable examples of contemporary British sculpture, and brilliantly emblematic of Kate Moss’s renowned status as a supermodel and icon.
Bidders were left hot under the collar in London this week as Sotheby’s inaugural Erotic sale brought a total of £5,297,000, exceeding the combined pre-sale estimate of £3.1–4.6 million. The inaugural Erotic: Passion & Desire sale, featuring over 100 lots of fine art, photography, sculpture and design, saw almost half of the works sold achieve prices above the high estimate. The sale was led by two sculptural masterpieces - Jacques Loysel’s La Grande Névrose and a rare surviving work by Sarah Bernhardt, both of which established auction records.
Speaking after the auction, Constantine Frangos, Head of Sale, said: "We’ve seen unprecedented interest from collectors across the globe with bids flying in from eighteen countries. The auction has not only given us the opportunity to tell a story, with specialists from across the company bringing their own perspectives, but it has also been wonderful to witness the animated discussions that each work has sparked since the sale went on view." Click ahead to see the top ten highlights.
Erotic: Passion & Desire
London | 16 February 2017