Art History News: Phillips 20th Century & Contemporary Artk Sales on 12 and 13 October in London

Evening Sale to Feature a Strong Selection of Young Emerging and Contemporary Artists Alongside Modern and Post War Masters

Luc Tuymans

Rome, 2007

Estimate: £1,200,000-1,800,000

Phillips is thrilled to present an extraordinary array of highlights from the upcoming Frieze Week auctions of 20th Century & Contemporary Art in London this October. Showcasing an eclectic mix of renowned masters, to the most cutting-edge contemporary artists of the moment. Comprised of 46 lots, the Evening Sale will take place on 13 October at 3pm, after the Day Sale on 12 October at 1pm.

A standout highlight is Luc Tuymans’ Rome, a luminous example from the artist’s Les Revenants series. Coming to auction for the first time, this work was on continuous long-term loan first to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and then the Kunstmuseum in The Hague. Only three of the nine works in the series have appeared at auction before, other examples being held in the esteemed Pinault Collection and the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich. Delving into the history of the Jesuit order, this large-scale painting depicts the interior of St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome and exemplifies the artist’s exquisite handling of paint and his distinctive treatment of images as instruments of power.

Also completely fresh to market, Banksy’s 2011 Forgive Us Our Trespassing is one of only two examples to feature the iconic motif of the praying child kneeling in front of a graffiti-scrawled Gothic window (estimate: £2,200,000-2,800,000). The motif of the kneeling child first appeared in Salt Lake City in 2010, and has been a feature of Banksy’s work since, notably used as the promotional image for the the artist’s film, Exit Through the Gift Shop.

Modern and Post-War Masters

Lucio Fontana’s Concetto spaziale, Attese hails from the artist’s iconic white Tagli series. This work was executed in 1964-1965, just prior to Fontana’s groundbreaking all-white installation Ambiente Spaziale at the 33rd Venice Biennale in 1966, which earned Fontana the Grand Prize for Paintings.

Other Modern Masters represented in the Evening Sale include Jean Dubuffet, with a spotlight on Lieu rouge au château. The Day Sale compliments this inclusion with three of Dubuffet’s late works, representing the shift towards abstraction in the later years of the artist’s life. These three works lead a group of ten lots coming from a Belgian private collection to be offered in the Day Sale.

Among the featured artists, Cy Twombly commands attention with two striking collages from 1974 and 1973 (estimate: £150,000-200,000). The Untitled work from 1973 is part of an exclusive suite of five collages — one of which is now held in the permanent collection of The Broad in Los Angeles.

Examples of earlier 20th century masterworks include Henri Matisse’s Grand Nu accroupi (Olga), conceived in 1909-1910 and cast in 1952. This sculpture is one of a numbered edition of 10, with distinguished examples held in some of the world’s most prestigious private and institutional collections, including the Kunsthaus Zurich. The present work is a powerful example of Matisse’s skill and strength as a sculptor. The model, Olga Meerson, herself an accomplished artist, shared a profound artistic connection with Matisse, their creative exchange immortalised through their respective works. This is complemented by other examples of Post-War sculpture including Polish artist Alina Szapocznikow’s Autoportret II.

From the esteemed Flammarion family collection comes a serene masterpiece by Balthus, titled Étude pour ‘Le Peintre et son modèle’. This work stands as one of two intricate studies for the painting Le peintre et son modèle, now housed in the Centre Pompidou, Paris.

Young Contemporary Voices

The sale spotlights a number of women artists who are forging new ground in abstraction. Among them, Michaela Yearwood-Dan’s The Summit of Beauty and Love, 2020 captivates with its bursts of swirling colour. Further highlights include Berlin-based artist Stefanie Heinze’s vibrant Median (Fin Fatale) and Jadé Fadojutimi’s Beneath the Petticoat. The latter was executed in 2018, the same year as the work acquired by the Tate in 2020, which earned Fadojutimi the distinction of being the youngest artist represented in their collection. The first auction house to offer works by Fadojutimi for sale, Phillips secured the auction record for the artist with Myths of Pleasure in October 2021. Other notable abstract works come from artists Pam Evelyn and Francesca Mollett.

Opening our strong run of ultra-contemporary artists is Iraqi-born Mohammed Sami’s Childhood (estimate: £80,000-120,000). This work sits alongside other trailblazers making their mark including Marina Perez Simão and Louise Giovanelli. Additionally, Christopher Hartmann’s luminous and hyperreal Still Looking, painted in 2021, marks the artist's debut at auction (estimate: £20,000-30,000).

Further Contemporary Highlights

Our offerings this season also include examples from established contemporary masters George Condo and Alex Katz, artists whose distinctive stylistic experiments have proved hugely influential to a generation of younger artists. Alongside the ultra-contemporary artists presented in this sale is a strong representation of critically acclaimed younger painters including Hernan Bas and Daniel Richter, who was the focus of a major presentation of new works alongside the 59th Venice Biennale.

20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale

The Day Sale will see the auction debuts of artists Alfie Caine and Klára Hosnedlová, along with standout works by Georg Baselitz, Mark Grotjahn and Damien Hirst. Among the strong selection of sculptural works, Phillips is thrilled to offer a 1989 piece by Louise Bourgeois, cast in 2007. Notably, the owner of Jadé Fadojutimi’s Bark held such admiration for this work that they commissioned Beneath the Petticoat from the artist in 2018, a piece that features in the Evening Sale.