Sotheby’s Evening Sale of Contemporary Art to bring major works to market

KOLKATA: February’s Evening Sale of Contemporary Art in London by Sotheby’s will bring to the market a number of major works, many of which have rarely, if ever, been seen at auction before. The sale will be led by an exceptional abstract painting by Gerhard Richter. Never before seen at auction, and estimated to realise in excess of £15 million ($25 million), Wand (Wall) was held by Richter to be a work of such importance that he chose to keep it in his personal collection for over fifteen years, singling it out as a keynote work for over 20 important museum exhibitions.

Wand (Wall) will be offered alongside some 58 other works, tracking the major schools and artists from the 1950s through to the present day. Among them will be a rare large-scale example of Andy Warhol’s iconic paintings of Chairman Mao from 1973 (£5.5-7.5 million), as well as Cy Twombly’s epic 1964 canvas Rome (£5-7 million) and a stunning example from Alberto Burri’s celebrated Plastiche series, Rosso Plastica (£2-3 million). The February sale will also bring to the market, for the first time ever, a painting Lucian Freud considered to be among his best – a mesmerising portrait of his long-time companion Belinda (‘Bindy’) Lambton. Estimated at £2.5-3.5 million, Head on a Green Sofa will be complemented by another fresh-to-the market British work - a vivid urban landscape by Frank Auerbach.