Bloomsbury Auctions: Modern & Contemporary Prints: Bloomsbury Auctions Tuesday 28th June 2005 - including Property from the Collection of Jean-Yves Mock , London: Bloomsbury Auctions, 2005

Auction catalogue, near fine condition, pictorial card covers, 12" x 8", 164 pages, 396 lots, illustrated in colour and b/w, -----------Sale catalogue for Bloomsbury Auctions, Bloomsbury House, 24 Maddox Street, London W1S 1PP, on Tuesday 28th June 2005 -----------Contents: 19th Century Prints including works from The Herbert D Schimmel Collection; Modern British Prints; Etchings by Lucien Freud; Property from the Collection of Jean-Yves Mock; Modern Prints; ----- offering six etchings by Lucien Freud, generally regarded as the greatest British painter working today. All the etchings are from private collections and three images have never been sold at auction before. Many of the etchings were produced in tandem with his paintings, developing an unusual rounded cross-hatching technique; it could be said that his etchings are not reproductions of his paintings but rather, extensions of them. Whether nude or clothed, Freud’s models are unadorned, seeming to float within the confines of the printed surface, vulnerably exposed to the viewer. In the etchings the artist seems to revel in the model’s direct relationship with the viewer rather than with the surroundings, and although printed in monochrome, his delicate mastery of the technique of etching presents us with the same brutal honesty of his paintings. Sue Tilley, also known as Big Sue is one of Freud’s favourite models we are selling Woman with an Arm Tattoo from the model’s own collection. Sue sat for him for four paintings and two etchings over a three or four year period and here she is portrayed fast asleep, not posing and although the picture bears the artist’s hallmark of raw realism, this is still a tender and affectionate portrayal of her. This image has never been sold at auction, is inscribed Sue T from LF, it dates from 1996 and is estimated to fetch between £14000-16000. Lord Goodman in his Yellow Pyjamas has also never been inside a saleroom, it is possibly the most powerful single portrait in Freud’s graphic oeuvre and is the only one with bright hand-colouring. For almost 20 years Lord Arnold Goodman was a major national figure; he was a leading lawyer representing the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson amongst others, he was Chairman of the Arts Council and lawyer to Lucien Freud. Goodman, a man of tremendous intellect, charm and professional standing is portrayed in his yellow pyjamas, staring defiantly at the viewer. This initialled etching is from 1987 and has an estimate of £30000-35000. The other Lucien Freud etchings are all initialled and numbered and include Girl Sitting (est.£12000-15000); Head of IB (est.£6000-8000); Bella (£7000-9000) and Head of Ali (£15000-18000). This is the hot area of collecting at present and Bloomsbury offers an ecceptional array of prints by many of the major artists of modern times including Picasso, Kandinsky, Miro, Hockney, Lichtenstein and Chagall to name but a few. -------------Results: "One of the hottest collecting areas at the moment is Modern and Contemporary Prints. As usual, Bloomsbury was at the cutting edge and had one of the most high profile and successful sales of the Prints summer season. A fantastic collection of etchings by Lucian Freud attracted strong interest from private and trade bidders as well as excellent media coverage. A packed saleroom saw Frued's Woman with an Arm Tattoo double estimate to reach £26,180, the sitter for this etching Sue Tilley, also known as Big Sue, attended the sale to see her famous image sold to a private buyer. Another Freud etching, Lord Goodman in his Yellow Pyjamas, is the only graphic work in which Freud added bright hand-colouring. This striking image realised £35,700. Works by Lill Tschudi, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, David Hockney, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Marc Chagall were amongst some of the major names to appear. " (Book ref. 2534)  £25.00

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