The Day Sale features a broad span of genres and eras, beginning with Impressionist and Modern Art, including works by Odilon Redon, Paul Klee, Kees Van Dongen, and Édouard Vuillard. The 19th Century European art section is highlighted by works from Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and Édouard Manet. A fine selection of Post-War and Contemporary artists include Alexander Calder, Lucien Freud, Jasper Johns and Bridget Riley, underscoring the full breadth of David Rockefeller’s collecting, well into his later years.
Dorothea Tanning (1910-2012), The Temptation of St.
Anthony, painted in 1945-1946. Oil on canvas in the artist's painted
frame. 47⅞ x 35⅞ in (121.4 x 91.2 cm). Estimate: $400,000-600,000.
This work is offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale on 16
May at Christie’s in New York,
Vanessa Fusco, Head of Day & Works on Paper Sales:
‘Dorothea Tanning’s Surrealist vision of the Temptation of St. Anthony
is a fantastical painting, embodying the universal struggle between good
and evil. The subject of St. Anthony has a long tradition in the
history of art, from the medieval to modern era, and Tanning’s
representation exquisitely renders the cowering Saint and the nude
female bodies which emanate from his robes with expert precision.
‘In addition to the visual pleasure derived from this work, it has a fascinating history. Tanning entered her picture into an international competition in which artists were invited to submit paintings representing the Temptation of St. Anthony for inclusion in a film based upon Guy de Maupassant’s Bel-Ami. Fellow Surrealists Max Ernst, Salvador Dalí, Paul Delvaux, and Leonora Carrington all entered paintings into the contest, the jury for which included MoMA’s Alfred Barr, Jr., the collector and gallerist Sidney Janis and Marcel Duchamp.’
‘In addition to the visual pleasure derived from this work, it has a fascinating history. Tanning entered her picture into an international competition in which artists were invited to submit paintings representing the Temptation of St. Anthony for inclusion in a film based upon Guy de Maupassant’s Bel-Ami. Fellow Surrealists Max Ernst, Salvador Dalí, Paul Delvaux, and Leonora Carrington all entered paintings into the contest, the jury for which included MoMA’s Alfred Barr, Jr., the collector and gallerist Sidney Janis and Marcel Duchamp.’
Also:
