Bonhams are delighted to announce the sale of a private collection of furniture by one of the UK’s leading design talents, Tom Dixon. The collection includes some of Dixon’s most iconic works as well as a series of fixtures and fittings privately commissioned for a London house. The collection will be offered in Bonhams’ Vision 21 sale on July 1st.

Tom Dixon, the former Creative Director of Habitat, began designing in his early twenties after having injured himself during a motorcycle accident. Dixon was self-taught and applied the welding skills he learnt from his passion with motorbikes to furniture design. His working methods were organic, and he preferred to develop and amend his designs in a hands-on way as opposed to working from a series of structured drawings.

In 1985 he formed `Creative Salvage’ alongside Mark Brazier-Jones and Nick Jones, and, focusing on recycling and transforming scrap metal into new functional sculptural forms. His furniture incorporated car parts, manhole covers, railings and pots and pans. His kitchen chair, which features in the present sale, with an estimate of £1,000 – 1,500, is constructed from a welded frying pan, fish skillets and Chinese ladles.

His work was maverick and anti-aesthetic, embodying the post-punk spirit. His bathroom furniture, radiators and heating pipes from this private commission are spontaneous rather than slick and polished. Also included are four of his early ‘S’ chairs, estimated at £3,000- 5,000, and made from welded steel and woven rush. This design helped establish Dixon and was later put into production by Italian furniture manufacturer Cappellini. Other Iconic works include his Pylon table and chair, estimated at £2,000-3,000 and £1,500- 2,500. Dixon’s designs have become recognised classics, inspiring many others in this field.

http://www.bonhams.com/vision21

Bloomsbury’s summer sale of Books, Manuscripts, Prints & Original Artwork on 9th July, caters for all interests and all pockets.

Amongst the English manuscripts are fascinating letters as well travelogues; lot 59 for example is a charming manuscript of 1849 with ‘naive’ pen and ink sketches of a husband and wife’s journey around the English lakes and Scottish lochs (estimate £200-300). A good set of 18 original pen over watercolour illustrations of Dickens characters (lot 143) is expected to fetch £600-800.

Nelson material is always in demand and this sale has a letter signed Nelson & Bronte to the Commissioner of Malta, in which they discuss the strength of cable (lot 49) and this has an of estimate £600-800. Of particular interest is a collection of letters by and mostly relating to William and May Morris (lot 81). In one of the letters he enquires after his eldest daughter on hearing that she had had another epileptic seizure; there is also correspondence mentioning the philosopher and playwright Bernard Shaw, with whom May had a romantic attachment in 1890 (estimate £1000-1500).

There are two completely different Middle Eastern items on offer; one particularly interesting album of watercolours of Middle and Far Eastern Views dating from the turn of the last century (lot133) is estimated at £400-600 while an excellent set of the very rare hand coloured Malerische Ansichten Aus dem Orient… by Heinrich von Mayr (lot 336) in ten original parts, carries an estimate of £4000-6000.

A near fine copy of East of the Sun and West of the Moon by Kay Nielsen (lot 150) in wonderful condition and number 85 of 500 copies is a highlight of the sale (estimate £8000-12000). There are several books with Arthur Rackham illustrations such as lot 152 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, number 473 of 1130, signed by the artist and with an initialled and dated original ink sketch of the Mock Turtle and Gryphon (estimate £4000-6000). The other outstanding pen and ink sketch signed by Rackham (lot 154), is Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with an original sketch of Titania waking from her sleep and gazing upon Bottom with his donkey’s head. This expected to fetch £6000-8000. Another original signed and dated watercolour by Rackham on the half title of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery & Imagination, number 335 of 460 has a full page illustration of a terrified man with his hair standing on end, seated reading a book while two ghosts look over his shoulder. This is estimated £10000-15000 (lot 176). Another highlight must be the limited edition of The Whole Works of Homer, number 2 of 10 copies on vellum translated by George Chapman and published by the Shakespeare Head Press, 1930-31 (estimate £10000-15000).

Demonstrating that some things never change, the unpublished draft, autograph letter from Isaac Newton (lot 284)shows him endeavouring to get a position for his nephew Benjamin Smith, ‘ being an undergraduate & and not yet capable of the Living…’ (estimate £6000-8000).

www.bloomsburyauctions.com

Sotheby’s Evening Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art brought a total of £33,531,150/ US$55,323,044/ €39,479,519* – a figure comfortably within the pre-sale expectations of £26,750,000-37,270,000 – and saw 23 of the 27 lots offered find buyers. The sale achieved the best sellthrough rates since last June for an Evening Sale in this category at Sotheby’s – a sold-by-lot rate of 85.2% and a sold-by-value rate of 90.8%. Furthermore, eight works sold for prices in excess of £1 million, with an average lot value of £1,457,876. The auction saw active bidding within the room and on telephones from international collectors. Pablo Picasso’s Homme à l’épée was the top-selling lot of the evening when it realised £6,985,250/US$11,524,964/ €8,224,421, comfortably within its estimate of £6-8 million, and this represents the highest price of the Impressionist & Modern Art sales series in London this summer.

Commenting on tonight’s results, Melanie Clore, Co-Chairman of Impressionist & Modern Art, Sotheby’s Worldwide, said: “Tonight’s auction saw strong prices achieved across the board and this is a very positive message for the market. We were particularly delighted with the £7 million realised for Picasso’s Homme à l’épée – the highest price of the season. The sell-through rate of 85.2% was the highest that we have seen in an Evening Sale in this field at Sotheby’s since last summer. This impressive performance is testament to our discriminating selection process when assembling the sale to respond to current market conditions. This evening, we’ve seen once again that there is still a very healthy ongoing market for great Impressionist and Modern works of art.”

The top prices of the evening were:

Pablo Picasso’s Homme à l’épée from July 1969 (lot 8), which sold to a private collector for £6,985,250/US$11,524,964/ €8,224,421 against an estimate of £6-8 million. The richly coloured and monumental depiction of a musketeer from the artist’s late oeuvre is one of his most important and iconic subjects of this period. Throughout his career Picasso projected the different sides of his own identity in a number of ways and the musketeer was one of the most celebrated subjects and guises of his latter years. The painting starred in the seminal exhibition of Picasso’s work at the Palais des Papes in Avignon in 1970 and was selected for the poster advertising the exhibition.

Discussing the price achieved for Picasso’s Homme à l’épée tonight, Helena Newman, Director of the Evening Sale and Vice-Chairman of the Impressionist & Modern Art department, Sotheby’s Worldwide, said: “This striking painting from 1969, which had never been at auction before this evening, came to the market at a time when the interest in and assessment of Picasso’s late oeuvre has never been stronger. It was extremely satisfying to see the painting so admired during its pre-sale exhibition. The price it achieved tonight is indicative of its rarity, quality and iconic nature, having been selected for the poster advertising the seminal exhibition of the artist’s work at the Palais des Papes in Avignon in 1970.”

A second work by Picasso – a larger-than-life nude entitled Nu debout from 1968 (lot 17) – also performed strongly tonight, selling for £4,297,250/ US$7,090,033/€5,059,575, in excess of the estimate of £3-4 million; it was the second highest lot of the sale. The painting, which belongs to a series of major works that Picasso undertook on the theme of the female nude in the late-1960s, had been in the same private collection for more than 35 years. Executed when Picasso was a man in his late-80s, it is a striking example of the breathtaking flood of invention and fantastic vitality that characterised Picasso’s late years.

Claude Monet was represented in the sale by a quintessential winter landscape entitled Route de Giverny en hiver (lot 11), which sold to an Asian private collector for £3,849,250/ US$6,350,878/ €4,532,100, near its high estimate of £4 million. The classic Impressionist scene from 1885 depicts the snow-covered road leading to the town of Giverny, where the artist lived at the time and where he painted some of his most celebrated works.

The sale was also distinguished by strong prices for sculpture. In particular, three works by Alberto Giacometti from a private European collection (lots 5, 6 and 7) were highly sought-after and sold for a total of £7,403,750/ US$12,215,447/ €8,717,162, above the combined estimate of £4.2-6.3 million. Diego (Tête au col roulé) was the subject of the lengthiest bidding-battle and soared above its estimate of £1-1.5 million to sell for £2,729,250/ US$4,502,990/ €3,213,414. Dating from the early-1950s, the plaster sculpture merges Giacometti’s talents as both a painter and a sculptor. Prominent British artist Barbara Hepworth’s unique largescale stone carving Three Standing Forms – inspired by her triplets – ranked among the most important works by the artist ever to appear at auction and it sold for £780,450/ US$1,287,664/ €918,900, against an estimate of £700,000-1,000,000.

The eye-catching vista of Istanbul by Paul Signac entitled La Corne d’or. La Suleimanie (lot 15) attracted interest from a number of prospective buyers and sold to a private collector for £1,385,250/ US$2,285,524/ €1,630,991, against an estimate of £1.2-1.8 million.

A “musketeer” painted by Pablo Picasso was one of the big attractions at an auction of impressionist and modern art at Christie’s held in London, where it sold for 5.7 million pounds ($9.3 million).

The 1969 work, “Homme a l’Epee,” was the second most expensive lot of the session, after Monet’s “Au Parc Monceau,” that went for 6.3 million pounds ($10.3 million).

Painted on canvas, the Picasso work shows an exhuberant and colorful swordsman in a scene that mixes thick brush strokes in which red and yellow predominate.

Just by chance the rival auction house Sotheby’s is offering this Wednesday to the highest bidder another musketeer – this one painted on wood – by Picasso, executed on July 25, 1969, one day before the one sold at Christie’s.

Both works figured in the famous 1970 exhibition at the Palace of the Popes in Avignon, France, together with other musketeers, lovers and gentlemen, all charged with energy and a contagious humor.

Another important Spanish artist, Joan Miro (1893-1983), led the bidding Tuesday at Christie’s, where his “Peinture (Femme se poudrant)” sold for 3.9 million pounds ($6.4 million).

Giovanna Bertazzoni, Director and Head of Impressionist and Modern Art, Christie’s London: “During the last 6 months, our auctions of Impressionist and Modern Art in London, Paris and New York have produced consistently solid results and this evening’s sale confirms that collectors, both new and established, have confidence buying works by established artists in this category. We see consistent demand throughout and overall the prices of individual works remain stable. At the top end of the market we continue to see strong interest and bidding as collectors seize opportunities to acquire rare and beautiful works of art.”

The top price was paid for Au Parc Monceau, 1878, by Claude Monet (1840-1926), an important painting from the vintage years of Impressionism which realised £6,313,250 / $10,284,284 / €7,392,816. It had been sold at auction only once before when it realised £3.7 million in June 2001 in London. At this evening’s auction, 2 works of art sold for over £5 million / 9 for over £1 million. Buyers (by lot / by origin) were 83% UK and Europe, 14% Americas and 3% Asia.

Further leading highlights of the sale included:

· Painting, 1949, by Joan Miró (1893-1983), one of an outstanding group of pictures described as being among the most important of the artist’s career which sold for £3,961,250 / $6,452,876 / €4,638,624 against a pre-sale estimate of £2.2 million to £2.8 million.

· Two large, bold works from the 1960s by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973); Homme à l’épée, 1969, which was last sold at Christie’s London in February 2005 for £2.7 million, and which realised £5,753,250 / $9,372,044 / €6,737,056 at this evening’s auction (estimate: £5 million to £7 million), and Nu assis et joueur de flûte, 1967, which realised £3,401,250 / $5,540,636 / €3,982,864 (estimate: £3 million to £4 million).

· Springende Pferde, 1910, by Franz Marc (1880-1916), an exciting breakthrough painting in which the artist embraces the influences of the avant gardes of the period, which was offered at auction for the first time and which sold for £3,737,250 / $6,087,980 / €4,376,320 (estimate: £3 million to £4 million).

Elsewhere in the sale, Hélène by Alexej von Jawlensky (1864-1941) sold for £1,721,250 / $2,803,916 / €2,015,584; Mohn by Emil Nolde (1867-1956) realized £1,273,250 / $2,074,124 / €1,490,976, and Composition by Fernand Léger (1881-1955) sold for £1,217,250 / $1,982,900 / €1,425,400.

Further highlights included Buste de Diego sur tige, a bronze by Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) which sold for £1,026,850 / $1,672,739 / €1,202,441 (estimate: £750,000 to £950,000) and Mont-roig, le pont, an important early landscape by Joan Miró (1893-1983) which was painted in 1917 near his family home in Catalonia and which sold for £541,250 / $881,696 / €633,804 (estimate: £400,000 to £600,000).

Sotheby’s London sale of Western Manuscripts on Tuesday 7th July 2009 has a combined total sale estimate of £3 million and will include the sale of Medieval Illuminated Miniatures from the Collection of the Late Eric Korner.

The highlight of the various-owner sale is a stunningly illustrated manuscript dating to the mid-15th century which has surfaced for the first time in half a century, and which contains three illustrations thought to be the earliest representations of Joan of Arc (lot 26, est. £1-1.5 million).

The remarkable manuscript documents the life of one of the most important and powerful emperors in Europe in the late middle ages, Sigismund of Luxemburg (1368-1437), king of Hungary, Germany, Bohemia, Lombardy, and the Holy Roman Emperor. Among the numerous records of battles, attempted poisonings and political intrigue, it includes the earliest depictions of Joan of Arc, who had contact with Sigismund in 1429, immediately before leading the French army against the English which resulted in her capture, trial and martyrdom in 1431.

The undoubted highlight from the Korner single-owner sale is the stunningly illuminated miniature book of prayers known as The Korner Hours, dating to circa 1475-80 (lot 118, est. £600,000-800,000). This tiny book (75mm by 55mm), of breathtaking quality, is the forerunner in the trend for tiny editions, illustrated with hair-stroke painting to achieve incredible detail. It dates to a precisely recognisable moment in art history of sudden and dramatic leaps of innovation, and is the smallest and one of the oldest of a revolutionary new type of manuscript.

The first-ever depictions of Joan of Arc
Dr Timothy Bolton of Sotheby’s Western Manuscripts Department said of the history of Sigismund of Luxemburg: “The swashbuckling and often blood-thirsty account marks a significant development of ambitious pictorial decoration and vernacular literature and is a celebration of the emperor’s involvement in many major events in this era’s history. It includes the religious wars with the Hussites and the story of Joan of Arc, and is one of only two primary copies to exist with illustrations.”

In the image on the previous page King Sigismund directs a kneeling messenger to give a sealed letter to “the Virgin who has performed many miracles” – Saint Joan of Arc who stands to the right in a burgundy-red dress and a white head-dress. In another of the three illustrations, Joan of Arc, this time referred to as “the maiden of Orleans”, directs the same messenger to return with a letter for King Sigismund. In the final image, Joan of Arc rides at the head of a column of armed French knights as the English forces withdraw before her, casting down their bows and arrows.

A peasant girl born in eastern France in 1412, Joan of Arc led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years’ War, itself a dispute on the succession to the French throne. At the outset of her career the English had almost achieved their goal of a dual monarchy under English control and the French army had won no major victory for a generation. By the beginning of 1429 nearly all of northern France and some parts of the southwest were under foreign control, with the English ruling Paris and the Burgundians controlling Reims. Having claimed divine guidance – asserting that she had visions from God who told her to recover her homeland from English domination – Joan of Arc’s endeavors lead to her capture by the Burgundians, her sale to the English, trial and burning at the stake when she was nineteen years old.

The illustrator of this particularly rare and impressive manuscript was Diebold Lauber – an important artist from this period whose works are very scarce. Works by this accomplished artist stand at the intersection of artistic, economic, religious, linguistic and literary history in the 15th century, and they provide us with a vivid insight into a number of contemporary details, from kings, battles and executions to costumes and feasts.

The Korner Hours
The creation of this minute manuscript of such spectacular artistic quality dates to a moment of history when art made significant progress. Illustrated by two of the most significant artists of the middle ages – Simon Marmion and the Master of Mary of Burgundy – and surviving over five centuries in remarkable condition, this miniature illuminated manuscript is thought to have been made for Charles the Bold or a member of his immediate family. In the early 1470s the Burgundian court of Charles the Bold and Margaret of York was the wealthiest in Europe. They asserted their wealth and power through artistic patronage, drawing the greatest artists and encouraging artistic innovation.

The manuscript is a Book of Hours, a volume to be carried about the person, and used to recite Latin prayers from at certain hours of the day in order to gain admittance to heaven after death.

Image: Simon Marmion and the Master of Mary of Burgundy, The Korner Hours. Photo: Sotheby’s.

L.S. Lowry’s painting of the village that inspired Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights will go under the hammer on 1st July at Bonhams New Bond Street Sale of 20th Century British Art estimated at up to £180,000.

The painting is one of four Lowry’s included in the sale, the other three representing more conventional subjects for the painter.

Lowry is famed for paintings of the industrial North West, where the crowded scenes belie the sense of loneliness and detachment. It is fascinating, therefore, to observe his take on a landscape equally bleak for its want of life and vast spaces. The painting captures well the oppressive unbroken off-white of the sky, its unexpected brightness serving to contrast with the dark landscape below, the smudge of pollution hinted at in the corners.

“In all England, I do not believe that I could have fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir of society”. (Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights.)

The painting unselfconsciously references Emily Bronte’s work. As the title suggests, the landscape that provided the inspiration for the present work was a place called the Witherns, near Haworth, West Yorkshire. This location has become intimately tied with the Brontë sisters who were born and brought up in the village of Haworth in the mid-nineteenth century. It is thought that the derelict farmhouse at Top Witherns was the inspiration for Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.

http://www.bonhams.com/20cpictures

Bonhams has announced its latest appointment north of the border with the move by the Christie’s Director, Grant MacDougall to Bonhams Scottish business.

As other auction houses cut back in Scotland, Bonhams is growing. The company which now has a presence in 27 countries on four continents prides itself on being the only international auction house offering sales in Scotland. Its enterprise offers Scottish buyers and sellers a window to the world, providing a pipeline that takes Scottish sourced work to its most appropriate market be that in New York, Sydney, Dubai, Hong Kong, or Los Angeles.

Grant MacDougall has until recently been Director of Christie’s in Glasgow and West Scotland. Grant knows the auction industry inside out having spent 28 years in the business. He started out in 1980 as a saleroom porter, soon becoming a specialist in the Collector’s Department. A career highlight was his starting the first auction of Football Memorabilia in 1989. He headed the Department from 1993 and was much involved in the private treaty sale of The Bobby Moore Collection.

During the 1990’s he became an Associate Director and worked in the Furniture and Works of Art Department, sourcing and valuing artworks for auction. Since becoming a Director in 2007 his brief has encompassed the whole of Scotland.

Miranda Grant, Bonhams MD in Scotland announcing the appointment said: “We are delighted to have Grant join us. As one of the best known faces of auctioneering in Scotland his breadth of art and antiques experience and client contacts will make him an invaluable addition to our growing team.”

Matthew Girling, Bonhams CEO for Europe and the Middle East, comments: “The addition of Grant to the team undoubtedly gives Bonhams the strongest team of dedicated auction specialists within any auction house north of the border.”

Bonhams Scottish Sale which celebrates all things Scottish takes place in Edinburgh from August 18th to 21st.

http://www.bonhams.com/edinburgh