Tag: International Art

  • Andy Warhol: Father of the Pop Art Movement

    Cowley Abbott’s Fall International Art Auction Features Multiple Important Works by the Twentieth Century Icon

    Andy Warhol, Howdy Doody
    Auction Estimate: $55,000-75,000

    “Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art”.

    -Andy Warhol

    The candid Press Release from Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in 1981 for the exhibition of Warhol’s Myths Series, invites the public to the opening on Saturday, September 12th.  It goes onto state which characters are included in the series and that they were derived from original photographs Warhol took of actors he hired or acquaintances portraying each character. 

    The Press Release goes onto say “They represent fantasies, dreams, hopes and fears.”

    It is interesting that Warhol choose these characters and included himself as “The Shadow”, the last print in the series. The Myth Series is now one of the most discussed and written about collection of prints by Andy Warhol.

    Perry Tung discussing Howdy Doody

    Cowley Abbot is pleased to offer two works from this iconic series, both consigned from an Important Private Collection. Howdy Doody was one of the first television shows to be shown in colour and apparently the show was used to sell color television sets in the 1950s. Like the other characters from the series the image of Howdy Doody was not appropriated from the media but was based on a photograph that Warhol took of the puppet.

    Andy Warhol, Mammy
    Auction Estimate: $35,000-50,000

    The second work we are offering from Myths is Mammy. Not a character from a specific story, but she is a character that can be seen in various forms of popular culture. Warhol photographed Sylvia Williams, who was the former director of the National Museum of African American Art at the Smithsonian, in the role of the maternal figure.

    Perry Tung discussing Mammy
    Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe I Love Your Kiss Forever (1964)
    Auction Estimate: $1,000-1,500
    Perry Tung discussing Marilyn Monroe I Love Your Kiss Forever Forever 1964

    Also included in the auction are a further two works by Andy Warhol, both inspired by women he adored. Marilyn Monroe I Love Your Kiss Forever Forever 1964 is from the unsigned edition of 2000 issued in an unbound book entitled “1cent Life”. The book was compiled by Walasse Ting and Sam Francis. This work was adapted from a painting Warhol did of Marilyn Monroe’s lips in 1962 and incorporates the poem “Jade White Butterfly” by Walasse Ting.

    Cowley Abbott is pleased to have been entrusted with these renowned works for auction. The entire Fall Auction of International Art can be viewed by following this link.

    Literature: “Press Release for Andy Warhol’s ‘Myths’”, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, September 1st, 1981 [online publication]

  • An Exciting Selection of Prints, Photography & Multiples begins the Fall Auction Season

    The Prints, Photography and Multiples auction has been an extremely enjoyable sale to put together.  We started to curate the sale just after the close of the International Art auction in June and one of the early consignments was Brice Marden’s Ten Days Portfolio (lot 27). The eight etchings and aquatints in this portfolio were inspired by Marden’s travels in Greece.  Often described as a minimalist, these have the same characteristics of his larger works: rectangular formats and a subdued palette, only here on a more intimate level. The provenance is excellent, having been purchased in Toronto and remaining in the same private collection.

    Ten Days (Portfolio of 8) (Lewison 20) by Brice Marden
    Auction Estimate: $60,000-80,000h

    Our Senior International Art Specialist had the privilege of spending the afternoon with Christo and Jeanne-Claude in their studio in New York just after The Gates Project in Central Park had been realized in 2005. You realize the amount of work that goes into Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s projects, as some of the projects are not realized for several years.  When we got an email with images of the lithograph, Arc de Triompe Wrapped (A Project for Paris), we were very excited about having this work consigned. This is from the publisher’s edition of 20. Arc de Triompe Wrapped (A Project for Paris) was issued in an edition of 150 (lot 44). It is even more meaningful as the project is finally being realized in Paris.  From September 18 to October 3rd the Arc De Triomphe will be wrapped.  Here is the link for the live stream on their website.

    Arc De Triomphe Wrapped (Project for Paris) (Schellman 144) by Christo and Jeanne-Claude
    Auction Estimate: $12,000-16,000

    There is a fantastic selection of photography in the sale, including the iconic portrait of Winston Churchill by Yosuf Karsh (lot 64), an interesting series by Yuri Dojc titled the Last Folio (lot 7), which documents the preserved history in a school in Slovakia before World War II, as well as wonderful portraits by Arnold Newman of Pablo Picasso (lot 20), Georgia O’Keefe (lot 19) and Max Ernst (lot 18). The Max Ernst portrait is remarkable. The story behind the work, is that Ernst was drawing a lot of birds at this point in his career and when he saw the portrait, he was very excited, as just beside his face the plumes of smoke suggest the image of a bird.

    Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh
    Auction Estimate: $8,000-10,000
    The Last Folio Series (8) by Yuri Dojc
    Auction Estimate: $6,000-8,000
    Pablo Picasso, Vallauris, France by Arnold Newman
    Auction Estimate: $2,000-3,000
    Georgia O’Keefe, Outside of Ghost Ranch by Arnold Newman
    Auction Estimate: $2,000-3,000
    Max Ernst by Arnold Newman
    Auction Estimate: $800-1,200

    There are three very special lots that begin the auction, introducing our partnership with Casey House, a hospital in Toronto which specializes in HIV/AIDS care. American photographer Cara Barer starts the auction with a striking work entitled, Heart (lot 1). Characteristic of her manipulation of books into sculptural objects, this work attracted lots of interest as the previews commenced. Vancouver artist Damian Moppett’s playful image of pieces of Lego and a balloon constructs an interesting juxtaposition between the hard and soft qualities of these objects (lot 2). David Burdeny’s striking image, Sweepers, West Lake, Hangzhou China continues his exploration of Asia and its landscape (lot 3).

    Heart by Cara Barer
    Auction Estimate: $800-1,200
    Untitled (B&W Lego Pcs-Rubber Band) by Damian Moppett
    Auction Estimate: $1,000-1,500
    Sweepers, West Lake, Hangzhou, China by David Burdeny
    Auction Estimate: $1,500-2,000

    We are extremely pleased to partner with Casey House in offering these lots. All proceeds from their sale will benefit Casey House Ontario’s HIV/Aids Hospital. We hope there will be many more donations of fine art that we will be able to offer through our sales. As well, we very much look forward to hosting the Art with Heart Preview for Casey House this year and broadcasting the auction live from the Cowley Abbott gallery on Tuesday, October 19th.

  • Oh! You Pretty Thing: David Bowie Painting sets New Auction Record in Cowley Abbott International Art Auction

    David Bowie, D Head XLVI

    “If you come from art, you’ll always be art” – David Bowie

    Attracting attention from collectors around the globe, David Bowie’s DHead XLVI fetched $108,120 CAD during the Cowley Abbott Spring International Art Auction, which closed on Thursday, June 24th. The small portrait, which was purchased at a donation centre in Northern Ontario for $5, drew bids from clients located across Canada and well beyond our borders, finally selling for almost ten times the pre-sale auction estimate of $9,000-12,000, establishing a new global auction record for an artwork by David Bowie.

    David Robert Jones, known more commonly as David Bowie, was an icon of the music industry and of twentieth century pop culture. Like many musicians, Bowie studied art and design as a young man, which would foster a love of fine art throughout his lifetime. He was also a passionate collector and painter, heavily influenced by the modernist art trends of the twentieth century; his paintings possess the stylistic influences of the German expressionists, Francis Bacon and the London School of painters. Bowie’s own work rarely appears at auction, so when Cowley Abbott was contacted about a painting entitled D Head XLVI, there was a cautious excitement.

    D Head XLVI was found in the most unexpected place: a donation centre for household goods in South River, Ontario. The chance discovery of this treasure within a pile of discarded goods is quite remarkable. The consignor of the painting was astonished upon viewing a label which read “David Bowie” and realizing it was the signature of the artist inscribed on the reverse. After conducting thorough research, which included correspondence with a David Bowie specialist in the United Kingdom, we were able to confirm that the painting is indeed by the famous artist and part of a series that he completed in the 1990s. 

    Between 1995 and 1997 Bowie created a series of approximately forty-seven works on canvas which he entitled Dead Heads (or D Head). Each title included a non-sequential Roman numeral. The sitters ranged from band members, friends and acquaintances and there were also some self-portraits. It has been suggested that, for some of these important paintings, Bowie drew inspiration from the Ziggy Stardust era. With long hair and a pronounced profile, this energetic and enigmatic portrait is truly a rare representation from a celebrated artist (we can attempt to surmise who the sitter is, however, unfortunately the label does not confirm their identity.)

    Cowley Abbott was pleased to be entrusted with such an exciting artwork and delighted to share the painting and its story with collectors in the weeks leading to the auction. The story was carried by media outlets around the world, our firm’s excitement matched by Bowie fans and art collectors globally.

    Related Press:

    BBC (June 17, 2021)

    CNN.com (June 24, 2021)

    NPR (June 16, 2021)

    The Globe & Mail (June 25, 2021)

    The Daily Mail (June 25, 2021)

    Newsweek (June 16, 2021)

    CBC (June 24, 2021)

    Global News (June 15, 2021)

    National Post (June 28, 2021)

    BlogTO (June 11, 2021)

    Artnet News (June 24, 2021)

    Alan Cross: A Journal of Musical Things (June 24, 2021)