Auctions to
feature paintings from Gianni Versace's town house
ULA ILNYTZKY
NEW YORK (AP) - An impressive collection of paintings that once adorned
the late designer Gianni Versace's six-storey townhouse near Central
Park is scheduled to be auctioned later this year.
The collection of contemporary, impressionist, modern and 19th-century
works will be offered by Sotheby's in three sales in New York and one in
London, the auction house said. It includes important works by Roy
Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse and Edgar Degas.
"This collection reflects Mr. Versace's wide-ranging taste and
impeccable eye, and many of the works were commissioned directly from
the artists," Tobias Meyer, worldwide head of Sotheby's
contemporary art, said Thursday in a statement.
"Outstanding later examples from champions of
the pop movement, such as Roy Lichtenstein, are juxtaposed with
masterpieces from the most visible artists of the 1980s, including
Jean-Michel Basquiat and the collaborative genius of Basquiat and Warhol,
as well as Francesco Clemente."
The Italian designer's fine art collection that is
being sold at Sotheby's is valued at $12.3 million to $17.4 million US,
representing about 45 paintings, said Patricia Madara, a spokeswoman for
the auction house. It is being offered for sale by the holding company
for the Versace family.
The upcoming auctions mark the second time that
Sotheby's has offered works of arts and other belongings from the
designer, who was gunned down at his Miami Beach mansion in 1997. In
2001, the auction house sold art and furnishings from his Florida
mansion, bringing in a total of $10.2 million.
The bulk of Versace's fine art collection from his
1,080-square-metre townhouse will be included in Sotheby's sale on
19th-century paintings on April 20, its impressionist and modern
paintings sale on May 3-4, and its contemporary paintings sale on May
10-11.
A smaller number of contemporary paintings from
the designer's collection will be offered in London on June 22-23. A
single-owner sale of Versace's furniture and decorative works of art
will be auctioned in New York in the fall. A date has not yet been set.
Highlights from the fine arts sales include
several works by Lichtenstein, including Blue Nude, an oil on canvas
from 1995, estimated at $2.5 million to $3.5 million, and Still Life
With Envelope from 1982, estimated at $600,000 to $800,000.
Also being offered are two later works by
Lichtenstein, which were commissioned by Versace - Still Life With Diana
and Still Life With Ajax - which Sotheby's described as including
"elements recognizable in Mr. Versace's own designs." Each is
estimated at $400,000 to $600,000.
Versace's collection also includes several
large-scale works by Basquiat, including Untitled, a work from 1982
estimated at $1.2 million to $1.8 million, and Taxi, estimated at
$900,000 to $1.2 million.
Sotheby's said Versace assembled perhaps the most
significant collection of collaborative works between Warhol and
Basquiat in private hands, and those include Amoco, a large scale canvas
estimated to sell for $900,000 to $1.2 million and GE, estimated at
$400,000 to $600,000.
The collection also includes drawings by Matisse,
Amedeo Modigliani and Degas, and watercolours by Marc Chagall and Raoul
Dufy, a sculpture by Giorgio de Chirico and paintings by Fernand Leger.
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