Andy Warhol, Saint Apollonia (1984)
Evening & Day Editions, Phillips, London, 22-23 January
Estimate: £25,000 to £35,000
Andy Warhol borrowed this image from a 15th-century altarpiece painting of Saint Apollonia, who was tortured and killed for her Christian beliefs during an uprising in Alexandriain AD249, during the Roman rule of Egypt. Apollonia is shown holding a set of pliers, a reference to her teeth being pulled out as part of the torture (she is the patron saint of dentists). Warhol created the print in the mid-1980s, when much of his work was lifted from Renaissance religious imagery, using drastic cropping and flattened colours to make the ancient symbols look more mass-produced and contemporary. This set of four screenprints is part of an edition of 250.
Raden Saleh, Javanese Landscape: View of Merbabu and Merapi (1862) Courtesy Sotheby’s
Raden Saleh, Javanese Landscape: View of Merbabu and Merapi (1862)
Modern and Contemporary Art, Sotheby’s, Singapore, 18 January
Estimate: more than $745,000
A rare painting by one of Indonesia’s earliest Modern artists will be displayed to the public for the first time. Raden Saleh, an Arab Javanese artist born in the then-Dutch East Indies around 1811, was the first Asian artist to be professionally trained in Europe and to be recognised by the royal courts and institutions there, Sotheby’s says. The Sotheby’s sale marks the first time Javanese Landscape: View of Merbabu and Merapi appears at auction after remaining in the same European collection for the past 100 years. Fewer than 10 of Saleh’s late Javanese landscapes have appeared at auction in the past three decades. He remains an influential figure in Indonesia, and at last year’s Olympic opening ceremony in Paris, Indonesian athletes wore outfits inspired by his work.
John Singer Sargent, The Salute, Venice (1904-07)
Courtesy Christie’s
John Singer Sargent, The Salute, Venice (1904-07)
19th Century American and Western Art, Christie’s, New York, 23 January
Estimate: $250,000 to $350,000
A classic watercolour scene of Venice by John Singer Sargent is going up for sale for the first time in exactly a century, after it was last sold by Christie’s at the artist’s own estate sale. The Salute, Venice is one of a series of six paintings in which Sargent depicted the dome of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute. It is the last of those watercolours that remains in private hands, with the rest in institutional collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Maurits Cornelis Escher, Belvedere (1958)
Courtesy Bonhams
Maurits Cornelis Escher, Belvedere (1958)
Surrealist Treasures: The Urban S. Hirsch III Collection, Bonhams, Los Angeles, 7-17 January
Estimate: $25,000 to $35,000
This lithograph is a characteristically phantasmagorical scene from the Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher. The word Belvedere is derived from the Italian for “beautiful view”, but the building pictured in the work is a prime example of Escher’s paradoxical creations that appear to defy the laws of geometry. This lithograph was once in the collection of Urban S. Hirsch III, a printing ink manufacturer. Before his death earlier this year, Hirsch built a robust collection of works on paper, including Old Master prints and Surrealist art.
