June International Art Auction

By: Alec Kerr

including examples of enduring classics — to modern masters

The June International Art Auction is our opportunity to showcase the finest works consigned to Waddington’s over the course of the last six months with examples from enduring classics to modern masters. This spring’s selection is no different, and is filled with an exceptional selection of paintings, drawings, and sculpture from across the globe.  Artworks from 21 countries, with Western and Central European works sharing the block with examples from Central America, South Asia, India and the USA.

We are delighted to include a spectacular piece by St Ive’s sculptor Barbara Hepworth, the bronze Involute (lot 742). Cast in 1968 and based on the 1946 stone original, this is a stunning example of the artist’s use of form, movement, and abstraction. Purchased directly from the artist by the eminent Toronto art dealer G. Blair Laing, this offers a rare opportunity to bid on a pivotal figure of the mid-century with an unbeatable provenance.

Painting is, as ever, the star of the show, with excellent works from genre to landscape to portrait. Two oils by French artist Edouard Léon Cortès are vibrant depictions of Parisian street life, including a quietly noble view of Notre Dame, Les Bouquinistes lining the Seine (lot 769). British artist Edward Seago is well represented with four oils, including the bustling Quayside, Honfleur (lot 737). Abstract works are well-represented acquired directly from the artist or the artist’s dealer such as the three major canvases by American abstract painter Robert Natkin that command the room with wall-sized bursts of colour, including the absolutely massive God’s Way (lot 705); while a canvas by Yvaral (Jean-Pierre Vasarely) is a mesmerizing op-art strike to the senses (lot 766).

A significant example from Vietnamese painter Vũ Cao Đàm (lot 771), originally purchased at Eaton’s in Toronto, is a beautiful instance of synthesizing Asian influence with European painting. As well, we have several inclusions of top Indian artists, from painting to sculpture. B. Prabha presents a fantastic portrait of a rural girl (lot 776), an early work archetypal of her style. Maqbool Fida Husain, a founding member of the Bombay Progressive Group, demonstrates a fantastic dynamism in a watercolour of a horse (his best-known subject) acquired directly from the artist’s son (lot 778).

Works on paper are also well represented in the auction. A small sepia drawing by Thomas Girtin, a contemporary (and sometimes rival) of JMW Turner, depicts a view of the Pantheon over Paris (lot 719) and is an excellent opportunity to collect an important example of early watercolour. Likewise, a floral watercolour by Oskar Kokoschka, Delphinen, 1969 (lot 772), is a classic example of the artist’s bright Expressionism, and is one of several fantastic works from the Estate collection of Sonja Bata, Toronto.

Click Here to view the full Spring 2019 International Art Online Auction.

 


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