According to the David Bowie expert Andy Peters: “This artwork is another ‘DHead’ of Trent Reznor and includes part of the lyrics written in David’s hand at the foot to NINs big hit ‘Hurt’ which is a unique selling point. This painting never existed in his original inventory of 66 official DHead paintings most of which were made commercially available and was instead part of the rumoured extra 40+ ‘nonpublished’ DHeads he had also created in the period between 1994 and 1997.”
In 1995 Nine Inch Nails opened for David Bowie on his Outside Tour, where he sang ‘Hurt’ with Trent Reznor. During their time spent on tour together in the 1990s, a close friendship was born that lasted until Bowie’s death in 2016. Most famously, they collaborated on ‘I’m Afraid of Americans’, a single from Bowie’s album Earthling.
We would like to thank Andy Peters at davidbowieautograph.com for his assistance with researching this artwork.
Rob Cowley & Lydia Abbott visit CTV Morning Live Winnipeg’s Rachel Lagacé to discuss the Art Market and the Cowley Abbott Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art on June 8th, 2023. Artworks by Lawren Harris, Tom Thomson, David Bowie and Andy Warhol are discussed during the segment.
Fernando Botero is a celebrated Colombian artist renowned for his paintings and sculptures that explore and experiment with the proportion and size of humans and animals. The artist’s tactile and sensual approach to the representation of rotund, whimsical figures in his paintings is a hallmark of his singular style. Consistently manipulating space and perspective, Botero is influenced by his studies of the Italian Old Masters and discovery of modern artistic movements, such as Abstract Expressionism. Botero remains connected to the artistic culture of Latin America in his oeuvre, inspired by Spanish master painters and Mexican muralists, while exposure to modernist influences have expanded his painterly practice.
Fernando Botero The Kitchen
In “The Kitchen”, Fernando Botero has created a sense of unease with his placement of a lone female figure directly in the center of the composition. The expression on the figure’s face is unreadable. Botero has captured the figure in the middle of the simple culinary act of peeling a potato with knife in hand, frozen by the intrusion of the viewer’s gaze. She is one of the artist’s characteristic voluminous matronly figures and is depicted in one of the most important locations in a home, the kitchen.
The table behind the female figure presents an abundant still life, set against vibrant green tiles. Fresh sausages hang on a meat hook to dry just above a glass vase filled with knives, forks and a single spoon. A large bottle of wine and a collection of yellow dishes are stacked, ready to be used for serving. Two large, juicy onions and a perfectly ripe lemon that has been sliced in half complete the still life arrangement, all presented on top of a gathered blue tablecloth.
John Sillevis writes: “There is certainly a reference to the masterpieces of Dutch seventeenth-century still life in Botero’s predilection for ‘la nature morte’. Botero is able to create the most extraordinary effects in his still lifes. He inserts a sense of menace or uneasiness into an arrangement of fruits and flowers. In Dutch art of the Golden Age, still life painting also had different layers of meaning.” Dutch genre painting was not simply a depiction of ‘everyday life’, but incorporated elements to convey moral overtones, remarking upon the vanities of worldly pleasures and the dangers of vice.
Botero’s paintings of the 1990s were often explorations of the still life in various forms, employing painterly devices and drawing upon the thread of Dutch genre painting. The overt symbolism of “The Kitchen” is revealed through the various objects Botero has chosen to include. The sliced lemon can be read as sourness or bitterness, but it can also serve as a symbol of ephemerality or the passage of time. The word for onion comes from the Latin uniothat, meaning oneness or unity, and the bottle of wine, which is always associated with the divine, may also symbolize prestige, uniqueness, wealth, and integrity.
Botero’s quintessential use of flat, bright colours and boldly outlined forms in this painting are characteristic of his signature style, while the inclusion of foods found in a traditional Colombian kitchen add a layer of nostalgia to this monumental painting. “The Kitchen” captures Botero’s enduring fascination with the tradition of still life painting, presenting the art form as current and contemporary.
WAG-Qaumajuq Announces Sale to Build Endowment Fund for Contemporary Art
Acquisition funds raised will support more diverse representation in the permanent collection
Winnipeg, Manitoba, April 20, 2023:The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG)-Qaumajuq announced today details of a new endowment fund for art acquisitions to support more diverse representation in the permanent collection, beginning with contemporary Indigenous art. To help build the endowment, WAG-Qaumajuq has identified artworks from the collection where there is considerable depth and representation of the artist and field, or where the artwork is no longer aligned with the strategic direction of the Gallery’s collections policy.
To establish initial funds for
the endowment, WAG-Qaumajuq has deaccessioned four colour screen prints of Queen Elizabeth II from
Andy Warhol’s Reigning Queens series. These artworks being offered at auction were selected
by the WAG-Qaumajuq curatorial team and the directorate, in collaboration with
the Works of Art Committee and WAG-Qaumajuq Board of Directors, following an
extensive evaluation of the Gallery’s permanent collection. Funds raised for the endowment will support the Gallery’s interest in continuing to
build a more diverse and equitable collection, particularly in the areas of contemporary
Indigenous and Canadian art. The works will be sold by Cowley Abbott Auctioneers
this June through public auction. Cowley Abbott will donate their selling commission to
the WAG-Qaumajuq endowment fund as part of the sale.
WAG-Qaumajuq,
one of the oldest civic art museums in Canada, holds notable collections of
European and Canadian art spanning over five centuries, with strong
representation in 15th and 16th-century Northern European
painting, 19th and 20th-century British art, German
Expressionism, and Canadian art in all media and periods. In addition to the
collections of painting, sculpture, and works on paper, WAG-Qaumajuq has
extensive holdings in British, Canadian, and French decorative arts. The
Gallery also holds the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in
the world, now housed in Qaumajuq, the new Inuit art centre.
Quick Facts:
WAG-Qaumajuq announces the deaccessioning of four artworks to raise funds for an endowment to support more diverse representation in the permanent collection, beginning with contemporary Indigenous art.
These artworks were selected by the WAG-Qaumajuq curatorial team and the directorate, in collaboration with the Works of Art Committee, and supported by the WAG-Qaumajuq Board of Directors, following an extensive evaluation of the Gallery’s permanent collection.
The works will be sold by Cowley Abbott Auctioneers this summer through public auction.
WAG-Qaumajuq holds notable collections of European and Canadian art spanning over five centuries, with strong representation in 15th and 16th-century Northern European painting, 19th and 20th-century British art, German Expressionism, and Canadian art in all media and periods.
WAG-Qaumajuq has extensive holdings in British, Canadian, and French decorative arts. The Gallery also holds the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world, now housed in Qaumajuq, the new Inuit art centre.
Andy Warhol’s Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, from Reigning Queens (1985) will be featured as part of the two-session Cowley Abbott Spring Live Auction on Thursday, June 8th at Toronto’s Globe & Mail Centre, subject to a pre-sale auction estimate of $700,000-900,000 CAD.
Warhol’s Queen Elizabeth II prints are highly coveted and particularly rare to find offered as a complete set. This set of four silkscreens was assembled by a collector through two separate purchases before being donated to WAG-Qaumajuq.
Previewing of the auction will take place in Montreal (April 27th to 29th) and Toronto (May 8th to June 8th) in the weeks leading up to the auction.
“With the
opening of Qaumajuq, the Gallery has been more focused than ever on building an
organization that is welcoming to everyone and more representative of our
entire community. The important work of reconciliation and equity throughout
the organization, includes the ongoing development and strengthening of the
permanent collection. The initiative to establish a new endowed fund for the
acquisition of contemporary Indigenous and Canadian art will allow us to reach
more people and communities through the presentation and engagement with art
and artmaking. As we make meaningful
strides in creating a more equitable and representative collection, we hope to
inspire and inform audiences in real and tangible ways.”
— Dr. Stephen Borys, Director & CEO,
WAG-Qaumajuq
“The
WAG-Qaumajuq Board of Trustees is supportive of the Gallery’s commitment to
continue building and refining the permanent collection so that it reaches and
connects with more people and audiences. To support the vision for the Gallery,
we need to continue to allocate the necessary resources; and this endowment
will ensure that the future of the WAG-Qaumajuq permanent collection will better
reflect the community that it serves.”
— Lewis Rosenberg, Works of Art Committee Chair
“We are privileged to have the opportunity to offer
this rare set of Warhol Queen Elizabeth prints to benefit this important
endowment fund and are delighted to donate our selling commission as further
support of the initiative. We very much look forward to sharing these works with
clients internationally towards the live auction in June.”
— Rob Cowley, President, Cowley Abbott
For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Hanna Waswa Public Relations Officer Winnipeg Art Gallery 204.789.1295 hwaswa@wag.ca
The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG)-Qaumajuq is a cultural advocate using art to connect, inspire, and inform. Playing a dynamic role in the community, we are a place for learning, dialogue, and enjoyment through art. Opened in March 2021, Qaumajuq connects to the WAG on all levels, celebrating the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world. The new WAG-Qaumajuq cultural campus is now one of the largest art museums in Canada. To learn more visit wag.ca.
About Cowley Abbott: Since its inception in 2013, Cowley Abbott’s live and online
auctions have included headline-grabbing works that have regularly smashed
auction records. Cowley Abbott has rapidly grown to be a leader in today’s
competitive Canadian auction industry, with two galleries in downtown Toronto
and representatives across Canada. Cowley Abbott’s effective set of services
marry the traditional methods of promoting artwork with technology and
innovative means to connect collectors with artwork of rarity and quality.
On the 50th anniversary of Picasso’s death, we wish to commemorate the legacy of the Spanish artist, known as the founder of modern art, by presenting one of the highlights of our upcoming Spring Live Auction.
Pablo
Picasso began creating ceramic works in the late 1940s. At the time, he was
spending his summers in the Côte d’Azur, and in 1946 he visited Vallauris for
the annual pottery exhibition. The small coastal town was known for its
ceramics, and Picasso was particularly impressed by the quality of the works
from the Atelier Madoura.
He
was introduced to the owners, Suzanne and Georges Ramié, who welcomed him into
his workshop and provided him with all the tools so he could experiment in
ceramics himself. In exchange for this service, the Ramiés would produce and
sell Picasso’s work. This collaboration would span twenty-five years.
The
artist enjoyed working with clay, which he felt was a relaxing change from
painting. Picasso began with plates and bowls, then experimented with pitchers
and vases, all with creative and playful subject matter such as animals and
Greek mythological figures.
In
Visage de femme, dating to 1953, the
artist has incised a woman’s face with wavy hair in an oval platter. The clean,
fluid lines of the facial features recall Picasso’s line drawings as well as
his remarkable ability to create a big impact with a very simple design. The
elongated rectangle down the woman’s nose adds an element of Cubism to the
otherwise curvilinear portrait.
Picasso’s
experience at the Atelier Madoura was also a success on a personal level, as he
met Jacqueline Roque in 1953, who would become his second wife in 1961.
Visage de femme will make its auction debut with Cowley Abbott during the Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian and International Art on June 8th at the Globe and Mail Centre.
Pablo Picasso “Visage de femme” (A.R. 220), 1953 glazed and partially incised earthenware with coloured engobe platter 15.25 x 11.5 x 1 ins Estimate: $40,000 – $60,000
