Swann Auction Gallerie
Swann Auction Galleries will also offer engravings by Renaissance masters and George Stubbs at up to $150,000 each
A selection of colour prints by the internationally acclaimed Surrealist artist Joan Miró (1893-1983) is expected to make up to $200,000 at auction on May 2.
With a top estimate of $50,000 for a single print, the dozen works are part of an even bigger sale of Old Master Through Modern Printsat Swann Auction Galleries where etchings by leading artists of the Renaissance, as well as the outstanding British animal artists, George Stubbs, should fetch from $50,000 to $150,000 each.
Miró, who won the Grand Prize at the Venice Biennale in 1954, as well as the Guggenheim International Award in 1958 and the Gold Medal of Fine Arts in Spain in 1980, is hailed as one of the most important influences on the leading abstract expressionist artists of the 20thcentury.
Here, his signed and numbered 1978 colour aquatint and etching, Danseuse Créole, from a limited edition of 50, is estimated at $30,000 to $50,000. L’Etranglé, another etching and aquatint from 1974 in an edition of 50, and realised in a suite of colours, is estimated at $25,000 to $35,000. Souris Rouge à la Mantille, a colour aquatint from 1975, also from an edition of 50, is estimated at $20,000 to $30,000.
The broad range of subject matter, design and palette featured in the remaining prints show the artist’s development in this medium from the early 1960s to the late 1970s.
Other highlights in the sale include a fantastical engraving of The Tribulations of St Anthony, showing the saint besieged by demons and nightmarish beasts. Dating to circa 1469-73, this rare print is by Martin Schongauer (1430-91), one of the earliest known northern artists to fully embrace the art of engraving. It is estimated at $100,000 to $150,000.
Two etchings by George Stubbs (1724-1806), one showing a tiger, the other a leopard, are each expected to fetch $70,000 to $100,000.
All images courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
Captions
Miró A
Joan Miró, Danseuse Créole, colour aquatint and etching, 1978. Estimate $30,000 to $50,000.
Miró B
Joan Miró, L’Etranglé, colour aquatint and etching, 1974. Estimate $25,000 to $35,000
Miró C
Joan Miró, Souris Rouge à la Mantille, colour aquatint, 1975. Estimate $20,000 to $30,000.
Schongauer
Martin Schongauer, The Tribulations of St Anthony, engraving, circa 1469-73. Estimate $100,000 to $150,000.
Auction title: Old Master Through Modern Prints
Auction date: Thursday, May 2, at 10:30 (EDT)
Preview dates: April 27, 12-5; April 29 to May 1, 10-6
Specialist: Todd Weyman • tweyman@swanngalleries.com • 212-254-4710 x 32
Press: Alexandra Nelson • alexandra@swanngalleries.com • 212-254-4710 x 19
Social media: @swanngalleries
PRINTED CATALOGUE & ADDITIONAL DIGITAL IMAGES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
Swann Auction Galleries is a third-generation family business as well as the world’s largest auction house for works on paper. In the last 75 years, Swann has repeatedly revolutionized the trade with such innovations as the first U.S. auction dedicated to photographs and the world’s only department of African-American Fine Art. More than 30 auctions and previews are held annually in Swann Galleries’ two-floor exhibition space in Midtown Manhattan, and online worldwide. Visit swanngalleries.com for more information.
