- Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Rare George Stubbs and Titian paintings in Sotheby's sale
- Date: 6th December 2010
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 3, 2010) (REUTERS) PAN ACROSS ROOM IN SOTHEBY'S SIGN READING: "BARB MARE & FOAL BY STUBBS"/ PAN UP TO PAINTING "BROOD MARES AND FOALS" BY GEORGE STUBBS HEAD OF DEPARTMENT FOR EARLY BRITISH PAINTINGS AND WATERCOLOURS, EMMELINE HALLMARK TALKING TO JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF DEPARTMENT FOR EARLY BRITISH PAINTINGS AND WATERCOLORS, EMMELINE HALLMARK SAYING: "It is incredibly rare to have a work by George Stubbs that has descended from the original owner and become available on the open market today. Stubbs is probably one of the most iconic British artists that we have and his works are instantly recognizable. Ironically although we think that you have seen this painting before it has actually been in a private collection for over 200 years." HALLMARK STANDING AND TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF DEPARTMENT FOR EARLY BRITISH PAINTINGS AND WATERCOLORS, EMMELINE HALLMARK, SAYING: "Stubbs is an incredibly careful artist, he only painted four hundred works. He was very selective about what he painted and who he painted for and this is a very rare example of the mare and foals theme and it is a beautiful composition. I think of the things about this composition is that aesthetically it is a beautiful painting, every single brush stroke is measured, it's deliberate, it's careful, it's delicate." PAN ACROSS HORSES IN STUBBS PAINTING HORSES HEADS PAINTING "BROOD MARES AND FOALS" BY GEORGE STUBBS HANGING ON WALL STUBBS SIGNATURE ON PAINTING (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF DEPARTMENT FOR EARLY BRITISH PAINTINGS AND WATERCOLORS, EMMELINE HALLMARK, SAYING: "Well if this painting sells between ten and fifteen million which is our estimate of what it is worth, it will break all the records for George Stubbs. So it will be a very exciting moment." PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH SOTHEBY'S GALLERY SIGN READING: "TITIAN, SACRA CONVERSAZIONE. TO BE SOLD IN NEW YORK 27 JANUARY 2011"/ PAN DOWN TO PAINTING, "SACRA CONVERSAZIONE" BY TITIAN PAN ACROSS TITIAN'S PAINTING JOINT INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT HEAD OF THE OLD MASTER DEPARTMENT IN SOTHEBY'S, ALEX BELL TALKING TO JOURNALIST/ PAN ACROSS TO "SACRA CONVERSAZIONE" ON WALL (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOINT INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT HEAD OF THE OLD MASTER DEPARTMENT IN SOTHEBY'S, ALEX BELL, SAYING: "There are relatively few multi-figure compositions by Titian left in private hands, it's really not much more than a dozen. So to have a picture of Titian of this type is a rare event in itself." BELL TALKING WITH JOURNALIST/ PAINTING CLOSEUP OF FIGURES IN "SACRA CONVERSAZIONE" (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOINT INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT HEAD OF THE OLD MASTER DEPARTMENT IN SOTHEBY'S, ALEX BELL, SAYING: "I think we are living through extraordinary times where everytime you open a newspaper you read about another record price. I know we have gone through difficult, challenging, economic times in recent years, but the art market seems to be remarkably resilient. In fact we seem to see higher and higher prices every time."
- Embargoed: 21st December 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
- Reuters ID: LVA9YB6JE4U4FGLD05VQW1FGRTF6
- Story Text: A painting by British master, George Stubbs entitled 'Brood Mares and Foals' is the highlight of Sotheby's Old Master and British paintings sale in London this month and is expected to fetch between 10-15 million British pounds (15 - 23 million US dollars).
Previously unseen on the market before, the painting has remained in the family collection until the Earl of Maccelsfield put it up for auction.
Emmeline Hallmark, Head of Department for Early British Paintings and Watercolours explained the importance and significance of the Stubbs painting available for sale.
"It is incredibly rare to have a work by George Stubbs that has descended from the original owner and become available on the open market today. Stubbs is probably one of the most iconic British artists that we have and his works are instantly recognizable. Ironically although we think that you have seen this painting before it has actually been in a private collection for over 200 years."
Hallmark said 'Brood Mares and Foals', placed by her in the top ten out of 400 works produced by Stubbs, was a beautiful composition.
"I think of the things about this composition is that aesthetically it is a beautiful painting, every single brush stroke is measured, it's deliberate, it's careful, it's delicate," she said.
Hallmark added if Stubb's painting reached it's estimated worth, it would be a record sale for one of his paintings.
"Well if this painting sells between ten and fifteen million which is our estimate of what it is worth, it will break all the records for George Stubbs. So it will be a very exciting moment," she added.
Other pieces for sale include, two portraits by Anthony Van Dyck; Sir John Mennes and George, Baron Goring, the first time these works are available for sale.
Renaissance master Titan's painting, 'A Sacra Conversazione: The Madonna and Chile with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria', is the undoubted highlight of the Sotheby's sale of 'Important Old Master Paintings' in New York in January 2011.
A stunning piece of art, the painting is one of only a handful of Titians that have remained in private collections and is considered to be the most important to appear at auction since 1991.
"There are relatively few multi-figure compositions by Titian left in private hands, it's really not much more than a dozen. So to have a picture of Titian of this type is a rare event in itself," Alex Bell, Joint International Department Head of the Old Master Department in Sotheby's said.
Painted in his later years, Titian's masterpiece is expected to fetch 15 -20 million US dollars in auction, with Bell saying the recession has not affected art sales.
"I think we are living through extraordinary times where every time you open a newspaper you read about another record price. I know we have gone through difficult, challenging economic times in recent years, but the art market seems to be remarkably resilient. In fact we seem to see higher and higher prices every time," Bell added.
Included in the New York sale is a newly discovered drawing by Sir Paul Rubens and a rare re-discovered drawing by the then young artist, Rembrandt van Rijn.
Rubens, 'Venus Nursing the Cupids', emerged recently from a private collection in France. The image was familiar to art specialists due to an engraving of the same subject, credited to Rubins by Cornelis Galle.
Head Of Old Master Drawings at Sotheby's, Greg Rubinstein explained why this drawing stood out.
"This one, is something of a one off because it's very finished but not painstaking, minute print drawing. It's got freedom, it's got life, it's got energy, it's got light in the drawing itself and so it adds a certain dimension to what we know, about what Ruben was doing at this time," he said.
Though small in size, Rembrandt's "Judas Returning the Thirty Pieces of Silver", shows a work in progress drawing of a finished piece by the same name.
Sotheby's New York collection of Old Master Drawings will go up for sale in January 2011 while Old Master and British Paintings will be auctioned in an evening sale on December 8th. The 45 lot sale is expected to bring in excess of 20 million British Pounds (approx 31.5 million US dollars). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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