A disparate group of important
objects - from the drawings of Andy Warhol to the first
Macintosh computer designed by Steve Jobs, as well as
photography by Annie Leibovitz, Chagall lithographies, Lautrec
posters and Picasso ceramics - will be on the block at the
Bolaffi auction on November 8 in Turin.
The auction, in addition to offering these icons of the
20th century, will be a showcase for many diverse forms of
artistic expression covering drawing to graphic design,
photography, applied art and technology.
With this event, the Bolaffi auction house begins a new
historic journey, born from the union of the expertise of four
different departments.
The goal is to move towards less typical collectors'
categories, putting special attention on a younger public
without neglecting the more traditional buyers: private
collectors, traders, and even museums.
"The characteristic of the catalog is truly its
transversality," said department expert Cristiano Collari.
It starts with photography, with shots by Annie Leibovitz
(Judy Collins, 1993, starting price 1000 euros), Herb Ritts
(Portrait of Jack Nicholson II, 1988, starting price 5000
euros), Gabriele Basilico (Berlin in a shot from 2000, starting
price 2000 euros), Luigi Ghirri (San Giovanni in Persiceto,
Piazza Betlemme cycle 1991-92, starting price 3500 euros), as
well as Mimmo Jodice, Franco Fontana, and Gianni Berengo Gardin.
A substantial part of the auction is devoted to the poster,
which will be shown on November 8 in all its forms.
From cinematographic to political to tourism, the poster is
the form of expression that more than any other has been witness
to the 'century of consumerism', bringing artists of great
talent to the forefront.
An example is that of Leonetto Cappiello and his poster for
Gancia, which goes on the auction block at 1500 euros; another
is Marcello Dudovich with one of his celebrated designs for
Mele, starting at 8000 euros; and yet another is Federico Seneca
with his poster of Coppa Perugina starting at 3000 euros.
The Bolaffi auction isn't leaving behind the more classic
sectors of the figurative arts, however, particularly with its
top lots.
Among those are the oil-on-canvas by Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl
'Scenes of Marine Mythology with Tritons and Mermaids', starting
at 25,000 euros; two works by Mario Schifano, each starting at
8000 euros; and a female portrait by Renato Guttuso starting at
10,000 euros.
A true rarity is the group of drawings by Alberto Martini,
directly from his heirs, which has never been on the market
before.
The nude drawings in pencil and India ink have starting
prices between 400 and 2800 euros.
Stand outs in the graphic arts section are some of
20th-century icon Andy Warhol's most famed screenprints,
including Mao, Campbell's Tomato Soup, Flowers, and Chanel No.
5.
A true discovery is Warhol's 'Ladies and Gentlemen'
(starting at 1000 euros for each of the four screenprints), a
small nucleus from the series dedicated to the drag queens of
The Gilded Grape, an underground club in Manhattan far from the
glossy atmosphere of The Factory, Warhol's New York City studio.
A piece from the history of industrial and information
technology design starts at 500 euros, with the 1984 Apple
Macintosh (128k), the work of visionary designers headed by a
young Steve Jobs.
Their signatures are inscribed on the shell of the
computer, here transformed into a work of art in technology.
The grand finale is dedicated to decorative arts, with a
valuable and meaningful collection of ceramics made by Pablo
Picasso in the historic Madoura pottery factory in Vallauris, in
the south of France.
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