26.2.11

LONDON'S NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESENTS THE CORA SUN-DROP DIAMOND


THE CORA SUN-DROP DIAMOND IS AMONG THE MOST STUNNING DIAMONDS IN THE WORLD, SO RARE THAT IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TRULY DETERMINE IT VALUE. WHICH IS WHY NO ONE HAS EVER TRIED. NO WONDER MODEL JERRY HALL WAS BEDAZZLED BY THE GEM TODAY AS IT ARRIVED AT LONDON'S NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM WHERE IT IS TO BE DISPLAYED IN 'THE VAULT'. AT 100 CARATS, THE CORA SUN-DROP IS ROUGHLY THE SIZE OF A WOMAN'S THUMB AND IS THE LARGEST VIVID YELLOW PEAR-SHAPED DIAMOND KNOWN IN THE WORLD. IT HAS BEEN LENT TO THE MUSEUM BY LEADING US DIAMOND MANUFACTURER CORA INTERNATIONAL FOR DISPLAY TO VISITORS FOR A LIMITED TIME FROM TOMORROW. THE UNUSUAL YELLOW COLOURED GEM STEMS FROM THE VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF NITROGEN WITHIN THE CARBON STRUCTURE OF THE STONE. DIAMONDS WITH A STRONG SATURATED COLOUR REPRESENT ONLY A TINY PERCENTAGE OF ALL NATURAL DIAMONDS, AND WHEN IT'S MORE THAN 100 CARATS, IT TAKES ON A HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE AS SO FEW VERY FEW EXIST. THE DIAMOND WILL BE IN GOOD COMPANY. 'THE VAULT' IS A PERMANENT GALLERY AT THE NATURAL MUSEUM DEDICATED TO SOME OF MOTHER NATURE'S MOST RARE, UNIQUE AND VALUABLE TREASURES THROUGH ITS COLLECTION OF THE FINEST GEMS, CRYSTALS, METALS AND METEORITES FROM AROUND THE WORLD. THESE INCLUDE THE DEVONSHIRE EMERALD, THE AURORA PYRAMID OF HOPE - A WORLD CLASS COLLECTION OF 296 NATURALLY COLOURED DIAMONDS - HERON-ALLEN'S CURSED AMETHYST AND THE NAKHALA, AN EXTREMELY RARE MARTIAN METEORITE.

RIJKSMUSEUM ACQUIRES 16th CENTURY TERRACOTTA SCULPTURE


THE RIJKSMUSEUM HAS RECENTLY ACQUIRED A TERRACOTTA SCULPTURE BY THE ITALIAN MASTER TOMMASO PORLEZZA DELLA PORTA. THE 22.5cm SCULPTURE DEPICTS THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHET BALAAM AND WAS PRODUCED SOMETIME BETWEEN 1575 AND 1578. ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL 16th CENTURY ITALIAN TERRACOTTA SCULPTURES STILL REMAINING, IT WAS THE MODEL FOR A SCULPTURE IN LORETO, ONE OF ITALY'S MAJOR PILGRIMAGE SITES THAT IS VISITED BY MILLIONS OF PILGRIMS EACH YEAR. THE SMALL TERRACOTTA SCULPTURE WAS THE SCALE MODEL FOR A LIFE-SIZED MARBLE SCULPTURE THAT WAS CREATED FOR SANTA CASA IN LORETO. THIS 'SACRED HOUSE' IS A SHRINE THAT WAS BUILT IN THE 16th CENTURY AROUND THE REMAINS OF WHAT HAD BEEN CONSIDERED MARY'S BIRTHPLACE SINCE THE MIDDLE AGES. TRADITION HAS IT THAT THE HOUSE WAS MIRACULOUSLY BROUGHT FROM NAZARETH TO LORETO BY ANGELS. LORETO WAS THE MAJOR PAPAL CONSTRUCTION AND SCULPTURE PROJECT OF THE 16th CENTURY. DURING THE 16th CENTURY, MANY PROMINENT ARTISTS, INCLUDING TOMMASO DELLA PORTA FROM ROME WHO WAS THE CREATOR OF THE STUNNING SCULPTURE, WERE COMMISSIONED BY THE VATICAN TO PRODUCE WORKS TO ADORN THE SANTA CASA. THE POSE AND STYLE OF THE SCULPTURE ARE TYPICAL OF THE WORK OF THE GREAT MICHELANGELO, SO IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT IT WAS LONG ATTRIBUTED TO THE FAMOUS SCULPTURE. THE RIJKSMUSEUM HAS WORKED ON ACQUIRING THE PIECE FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, SINCE SENIOR CURATOR OF SCULPTURE FRITS SCHOLTEN SAW IT AT AN ART DEALER'S IN LONDON. AT THE TIME THE SCULPTURE WAS RESERVED FOR AN AMERICAN MUSEUM. HOWEVER, THE FINANCIAL CRISIS MEANT THAT THE MUSEUM WAS UNABLE TO RAISE THE NECESSARY FUNDS TO PURCHASE IT. ON HEARING THAT THE LOUVRE WAS ALSO INTERESTED IN THE PROPHET BALAAM, THE RIJKSMUSEUM THEN STEPPED UP ITS ACQUISITION EFFORTS AND WITH THE SUPPORT OF PRIVATE DONATIONS, MANAGED TO SECURE THE ACQUISITION AT THE LAST MOMENT.

25.2.11

BONHAMS TO SELL THREE IMAGES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT


BONHAMS NEXT SALE OF ANTIQUITIES ON 13.APRIL INCLUDES THREE POWERFUL IMAGES OS ALEXANDER THE GREAT, A 2000 YEAR OLD RING BEARING HIS IMAGE AND TWO STUNNING SCULPTED HEADS FROM THE SAME ERA. MADELEINE PERRIDGE, HEAD OF ANTIQUITIES AT BONHAMS SAID; 'ALEXANDER THE GREAT SEEN AS THE GREATEST GENERAL AND RULER IN HISTORY. AFTER HIS DEATH HE WAS TREATED AS A DEMI-GOD, HIS IMAGE WAS EVERYWHERE AND HIS LEGENDARY EXPLOITS A POWERFUL PART OF GREEK AND ROMAN CULTURE. THE ROMAN EMPERORS EVEN ADOPTED HIM AS AN IDEAL AND REPRESENTED THEMSELVES IN HIS GUISE, A RING USED BY THE EMPEROR AUGUSTUS WAS ACTUALLY ADORNED WITH THE FIGURE OF ALEXANDER, POSSIBLY MUCH LIKE THE ONE WE ARE SELLING. THE THREE WORKS OF ART UP FOR AUCTION ARE PROOF OF THE POWER OF HIS IMAGE AND LEGEND THROUGHOUT THE HELLENISTIC AND ROMAN PERIODS, ENDURING EVEN IN THE PRESENT DAY.' THE FIRST SCULPTED HEAD OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT IS ROMAN FROM THE ANTONINE DYNASTY, CIRCA AD 138-161, IT IS OVER-LIFESIZE. HE IS DEPICTED WITH DISTINCTIVE WAVY HAIR FALLING AT HIS FURROWED BROW AND THE NAPE OF HIS NECK, HIS BROWS CARVED IN RELIEF WITH NOTCHED DETAILS, THE LIDDED EYES WITH INCISED IRISES AND DRILLED PUPILS, HIS SHAPELY LIPS ABOVE A STRONG CHIN. IT STANDS 12½in HIGH, AND IS ESTIMATED TO SELL FOR £150,000-200,000. THE SECOND ALEXANDER IN THE SALE IS ONCE AGAIN A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF ALEXANDER HELIOS CIRCA 1st CENTURY BC-AD. THE THICK WAVY HAIR SECURED WITH A FILLET WITH TWO LINES OF DRILL HOLES FOR INSERTION OF A RADIATE HEADDRESS, THE HEAD TILTED SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT, WITH SEEP-SET ALMOND-SHAPED EYES AND FULL LIPS, 7¾in HIGH. IT IS ESTIMATED TO SELL FOR £7,000-9,000. THE PIECE WAS ACQUIRED BY JOHN PETER DEERING, AN EMINENT ARCHITECT AND ROYAL ACADEMICIAN OF THE EARLY 19th CENTURY, PROBABLY ON A TRIP TO POMPEII CIRCA 1817. HE ALSO CO-WROTE WITH SIR WILLIAM GELL, AND ACCOUNT OF HIS TRIP TO POMPEII: 'THE TOPOGRAPHY, EDIFICES AND ORNAMENTS OF POMPEII'. THE THIRD ALEXANDER-LINKED OBJECT IN THE SALE IS A HELLENISTIC GOLD AND CARNELIAN INTAGLIO RING OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT CIRCA 2nd-1st CENTURY BC. A FLAT CIRCULAR STONE ENGRAVED WITH THE PROFILE HEAD OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT IN THE GUISE OF HERAKLES WEARING A LION'S SKIN, THE JAW PULLED UP OVER HIS HEAD WITH THE PAWS TIED AT THE NECK, SET IN THE ORIGINAL GOLD RING, THE HOOP FLARING AT THE BEZEL, IT IS ESTIMATED TO SELL FOR £40,000-50,000.

LENA HORNE COLLECTION SELLS FOR $316,000 AT AUCTION


AN AUCTION OF 200 ITEMS THAT ONCE FILLED THE HOME OF JAZZ SINGER AND ACTRESS LENA HORNE SOLD WEDNESDAY FOR $316,000, MORE THAN DOUBLE THE HIGHEST PRE-SALE ESTIMATE. THE LATE STAR'S BELONGINGS FROM HER MANHATTAN APARTMENT WERE AUCTIONED AT DOYLE NEW YORK. THEY EPITOMIZED HER SOPHISTICATED TASTE: FRENCH-STYLE FURNISHING, ELEGANT COSTUMES, JEWELRY AND FINE ART. A SEQUINED CARDIGAN EVENING COAT SOLD FOR 41,125, WHILE A SMALL LOUIS VUITTON TRUNK WITH STICKERS INSCRIBED LENA HORNE HAYTON SOLD FOR $20,000, FAR ABOVE ITS PRE-SALE ESTIMATE OF $500 TO $700. AND A SOFT LEATHER VANITY CASE INSCRIBED LH WAS ESTIMATED AT $200 TO $400 SOLD FOR $6,250. HORNE'S FAVORITE DESIGNER WAS GIORGIO DI SANT ANGELO, AND A REVERSIBLE MINK COAT BY THE ITALIAN CREATOR WAS ESTIMATED AT $300 TO $500, BUT SOLD FOR $8,125. A CHANEL FIVE-STRAND CHOKER OF GOLD-TONE METAL AND FAUX BAROQUE PEARLS HAD A $1,000 TO $1,200 PRE-SALE ESTIMATE. IT SOLD FOR $2,000. THE AUCTION HOUSE SAID THE ESTIMATES WERE BASED ON CURRENT MARKET VALUES, BUT THE CELEBRITY PROVENANCE WAS THE 'X FACTOR' THAT WOULD DETERMINE THE PRICE AT AUCTION. THE HIGHEST PRICED ITEM IN THE SALE WAS A COLOURFUL PAINTING BY AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTIST AND MURALIST CHARLES ALSTON, WHICH WAS ESTIMATED TO BRING $30,000 TO $50,000, BUT IT ONLY BROUGHT IN $20,000. HORNE'S REFINED TASTE EXTENDED TO THE FURNISHINGS IN HER UPPER EAST SIDE HOME. A ROCOCO-STYLE GILT-METAL AND GLASS 12 LIGHT CHANDELIER ESTIMATED AT $1,500 TO $2,500 SOLD FOR $4,375. HORNE, WHO WAS ALSO A DANCER AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, DIED LAST MAY AT THE AGE OF 92. SHE APPEARED ON SCREEN, STAGE, ON RECORDS AND IN NIGHTCLUBS AND CONCERT HALLS. HER SIGNATURE SONG WAS 'STORMY WEATHER', BUT HER VOCAL RANGE EXTENDED FROM THE BLUES AND JAZZ TO SUCH RODGERS AND HART CLASSICS AS 'THE LADY IS A TRAMP' AND 'BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED'. A STRIKING FIGURE, HORNE WAS THE SUBJECT OF SOME OF THE ARTWORKS IN HER COLLECTION INCLUDING A 1959 PORTRAIT BY GEOFFREY HOLDER THAT SOLD FOR $10,625 AND A BRONZE SCULPTURE BY PETER LAMBDA THAT BROUGHT $5,938. THE COLLECTION ALSO INCLUDED BOOKS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AMONG THEM A GROUP OF BOOKS AUTOGRAPHED BY LANGSTON HUGHES, WHICH SOLD FOR $5,000, AND A SELECTION OF CONTACT SHEETS BY RICHARD AVEDON TAKEN DURING A PHOTO SHOOT WITH HORNE.

24.2.11

MOUAWAD'S $3.8 MILLION 1001 NIGHTS DIAMOND PURSE


THE HOUSE OF MOUAWAD HAS RECENTLY RELEASED THE STUNNING MOUAWAD 1001 NIGHTS DIAMOND PURSE, THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE HANDBAG, VALUED AT A STAGGERING $3.8 MILLION. THE DAZZLING CREATION WAS DESIGNED BY ROBERT MOUAWAD AND HANDCRAFTED BY 10 ARTISANS IN OVER 8,800 HOURS. THE HEART-SHAPED PURSE INCORPORATES 18 CARAT GOLD AND 4,517 DIAMONDS, 105 YELLOW, 56 PINK AND 4,356 COLOURLESS, WITH A TOTAL WEIGHT OF 381.92 CARATS. THE PURSE WAS ON DISPLAY AT THE DOHA JEWELRY AND WATCH EXHIBITION OVER THE RECENT WEEKEND, AS OF YET THERE HAS BEEN NO CONFIRMATION IF ANYONE HAS PURCHASED IT. THE HANDBAG IS THE SECOND RECORD-BREAKING ATTEMPT FROM THE HOUSE OF MOUAWAD, WHICH WAS FOUNDED IN 1890. IN 2003, GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS CERTIFIED, 'THE VERY SEXY FANTASY BRA', WHICH WAS PRODUCED IN COLLABORATION WITH VICTORIA'S SECRET, AS THE MOST EXPENSIVE BRA EVER MADE WITH A VALUE OF $1 MILLION.

23.2.11

HOME MOVIE OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY DONATED TO SIXTH FLOOR MUSEUM


THE RICE HOTEL IN HOUSTON WAS THE SECOND TRIP OF A PLANNED FIVE-CITY TEXAS VISIT THAT WAS TO HAVE FINISHED AT A FUND-RAISER DINNER IN AUSTIN. THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION HAPPENED IN DALLAS THE NEXT DAY. SHORTLY BEFORE 9pm IN THE HOTEL'S GRAND BALLROOM, PRESIDENT KENNEDY SPOKE TO A GROUP OF SEVERAL HUNDRED FROM THE LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS (LULAC). HE THEN INTRODUCED FIRST LADY JACQUELINE KENNEDY WHO SPOKE, WITHOUT NOTES, IN SPANISH. THE ROOM ERUPTED IN CHEERS OF 'OLE'. AT THE TIME, ROY BOTELLO SERVED AS THE LULAC SCHOLARSHIP CORPORATION COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN. AS ONE OF THE TOP OFFICIALS OF THE HOST COMMITTEE, BOTELLO HAD CLOSE ACCESS TO THE KENNEDYS THAT EVENING. HE BROUGHT AMONG HIS HOME MOVIE CAMERA AND CAPTURED SILENT COLOUR FILM OF THE KENNEDY ARRIVAL, WELCOMING DIGNITARIES, A MARIACHI BAND AND BOTH KENNEDYS ADDRESSING THE CROWD. 'RAY BOTELLO SHOWED HIS HOME MOVIE FOR THE FIRST TIME PUBLICLY LAST YEAR AND HAS GENEROUSLY DONATED THE ORIGINAL FILM TO THE MUSEUM FOR EDUCATION AND PRESERVATION', SAID GARY MACK, CURATOR AT THE SIXTH FLOOR MUSEUM AT DEALEY PLAZA. 'WE COMMISSIONED A NEW FILM-TO-VIDEO TRANSFER THAT SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES THESE HISTORIC IMAGES.' THE MUSEUM IS COMMITTED TO FINDING AND PRESERVING HOME MOVIES, PHOTOGRAPHS AND NEWS COVERAGE OF EVENTS RELATED TO JFK's 21-22.NOVEMBER.1963 TRIP TO TEXES AND HIS ASSASSINATION AND TO MAKING THESE MATERIALS ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC THROUGH EXHIBITION, PROGRAMS AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES.

BONHAMS TO SELL RARE PAINTING OF WW2 BOMB STORE BY DAVID BOMBERG


A POWERFUL PAINTING OF A STAFFORDSHIRE BOMB STORE BY THE ARTIST DAVID BOMBERG WILL BE OFFERED BY BONHAMS, LONDON, IN THE 20th CENTURY BRITISH ART SALE ON 9.MARCH. THE STUNNING PAINTING IS ESTIMATED TO SELL FOR £80,000 – 120,000. AS WORLD WAR II BROKE OUT IN EUROPE, BOMBERG FELT A PRESSING NEED TO CONTRIBUTE IN SOME WAY AND REPEATEDLY SUGGESTED THAT ARTISTS BE EMPLOYED TO DEPICT AND DOCUMENT THE HISTORIC EVENTS. TO HIS SATISFACTION, IN 1939 IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT A WAR ARTIST'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE (WACC) WAS SET UP FOR EXACTLY THAT PURPOSE. FOLLOWING ALMOST FOUR YEARS OF INACTIVITY AND ALMOST 300 APPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING POSTS, BOMBERG'S REQUEST TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CAUSE WAS FINALLY ACCEPTED. IN 1943, HE WAS SENT TO BURTON ON TRENT IN STAFFORDSHIRE WHERE HE SPENT TWO WEEKS, NINETY FEET BELOW GROUND IN LONG DISUSED GYPSUM MINES. HERE, ALMOST TEN THOUSAND TONS OF BOMBS WERE STORED IN ANTICIPATION OF FUTURE AIR RAIDS ON GERMAN CITIES. BOMBERG WORK FEVERISHLY AND WHEN HE RAN OUT OF CANVAS, HE WORKED ON GREASEPROOF PAPER. OWING TO CENSORSHIP AND SECRECY, ALL HIS SKETCHES HAD TO BE STORED AT THE DEPOT OVERNIGHT AND HE COULD NOT DISCUSS THE PROJECT WITH ANYONE. THERE IS SPONTANEITY TO THE SURFACE, IN BOMBERG'S ANIMATED STROKES AND DASHES OF COLOUR. UNLIKE MANY OF HIS BOMB STORE WORKS, THIS IS SOMEWHAT 'EASY TO READ', PERHAPS A NOD TO THE WACC's PREFERENCE FOR CLARITY IN WORKS BY COMMISSIONED ARTISTS. HOWEVER, THERE IS NO PROPAGANDA HERE AND THE ARTIST PORTRAYS THE CHAMBER AND RACKS OF BOMBS IN A WAY THAT THE VIEWER IS IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS OF ITS PURPOSE, TO HOLD INSTRUMENTS OF WAR. BOMBERG HAD BEEN NERVOUS WHILST IN THE STORES AND JUSTIFIABLY SO, AS JUST A YEAR LATER ON 27.NOVEMBER.1944, THERE WAS A MASSIVE EXPLOSION THAT COULD BE FELT AS FAR AWAY AS ROME, KILLING 68 MEN AND 200 CATTLE. CAUSED BY SAFELY NEGLIGENCE, THE TERRIBLE ACCIDENT WAS COVERED UP FOR YEARS. NOT ONLY CAN THE PRESENT WORK BE SEEN AS A POWERFUL PAINTING BY BOMBERG EXECUTED IN DIFFICULT CONDITIONS, IT IS A HISTORICAL DOCUMENT OF A PLACE NOW DESTROYED AND A REVEALING INSIGHT INTO THE ATROCITIES OF WAR.

22.2.11

BONHAMS TO SELL NEWLY DISCOVERED SICKERT PAINTING


A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN PAINTING BY WALTER SICKERT, ENTITLED THE BLIND SEA CAPTAIN, IN ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 20th CENTURY BRITISH ART SALE AT BONHAM'S, NEW BOND STREET, LONDON ON 9.MARCH. THE PAINTING, WHICH IS ESTIMATED TO SELL FOR £40,000 – 60,000, IS FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, INHERITED BY THE VENDOR FROM HER GRANDFATHER. THE ART HISTORIAN WENDY BARON, WHO HAS DEVOTED HER LIFE TO STUDYING THE WORKS OF WALTER SICKERT, WAS ASTOUNDED TO FIND A PAINTING BY THE ARTIST THAT SHE HAD NEVER SEEN. SICKERT IS CONSIDERED A PROMINENT FIGURE IN THE TRANSITION FROM IMPRESSIONISM TO MODERNISM, AND AN IMPORTANT INFLUENCE ON DISTINCTIVELY BRITISH STYLES OF AVANT GARDE ART IN THE 20th CENTURY. NOTORIOUS FOR HIS PAINTINGS OF NUDES, FOUR OF THEM CONTROVERSIALLY ENTITLED, THE CAMDEN TOWN MURDER, AFTER A WELL PUBLICIZED AND GRUESOME MURDER OF A PROSTITUTE IN 1907, CERTAINLY GAINED SICKERT ATTENTION AND HE BECAME A PROMINENT MEMBER OF THE CAMDEN TOWN GROUP OF ARTISTS. THE BLIND SEA CAPTAIN IS FAR MORE SENTIMENTAL IN THEME, BUT IN THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR ONE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN APPROPRIATE SUBJECT FOR SICKERT. THE PICTURE ITSELF IS THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN PAINTED DURING THE SUMMER OF 1914 IN DIEPPE AND IS TYPICAL OF SICKERT'S PROFICIENCY AS A MASTER OF MOOD AND ALLUSION. WENDY BARON NOTES IN HER ARTICLE IN THE BONHAMS MAGAZINE, SICKERT HAS CREATED 'AN IMAGINARY GLIMPSE INTO THE LIVES OF A MAN BROKEN BY BLINDNESS WHO, BUT FOR THE DEVOTION OF HIS OLD MOTHER OR WIFE, WOULD BE DESTINED FOR THE WORKHOUSE.' AN UNFINISHED SKETCH IN OIL ON CANVAS, DATED 1912, KNOWN AS THE OLD SOLDIER HAS BEEN EXTENSIVELY CATALOGED AND HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN THOUGHT TO BE THE SUM OF SICKERT'S WORK ON THE SUBJECT. HOWEVER, BARON COMMENT: 'UNTIL THE BLIND SEA CAPTAIN EMERGED FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION IN SCOTLAND A FEW MONTHS AGO, I HAD FOUND NOTHING DURING 58 YEARS SPENT STUDYING SICKERT'S PAINTINGS TO SUGGEST THAT HE EVER RETURNED TO THIS SUBJECT...ITS REDISCOVERY IS THUS ESPECIALLY EXCITING.'

21.2.11

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL LOWRY PAINTING FOR ESTIMATED £3.5 MILLION


HAVING NOT BEEN SEEN IN PUBLIC FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS, THE FOOTBALL MATCH, BY LAURENCE STEPHEN LOWRY, R.A. WILL BE OFFERED AT AUCTION ON 26.MAY IN CHRISTIE'S SALE OF 20th CENTURY BRITISH ART. AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE DEPICTION OF ONE OF BRITAIN'S MOST POPULAR SPORTS, FOOTBALL, BY ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S MOST ICONIC BRITISH ARTISTS, THE PAINTING IS A MODERN MASTERPIECE. THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR, THE FOOTBALL MATCH HAS AN ESTIMATE OF £3.5 MILLION TO £4 MILLION, SETTING A NEW BENCHMARK FOR THE ARTIST'S WORK AT AUCTION. REFLECTING THE INTERNATIONAL APPEAL OF LOWRY, THE FOOTBALL MATCH, WHICH WAS PAINTED IN 1949 AT THE HIGH POINT OF THE ARTIST'S CAREER, TOURED TO LONDON, AMERICA AND PARIS BEFORE ENTERING A PRIVATE COLLECTION IN 1950, WHERE IT REMAINED FOR OVER 40 YEARS. THE LARGE FORMAT CANVAS, MEASURING 28 x 36 INCHES, IS IN EXCELLENT ORIGINAL CONDITION. IT PROVIDES COLLECTORS, INSTITUTIONS AND DEALERS WITH A VERY RARE OPPORTUNITY AS IT COMBINES THE ARTIST'S HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE, PEPPERED WITH ROOFTOPS; CHIMNEYS FULL OF BILLOWING SMOKE; HOUSES AND STREETS SCENES WITH INCIDENTAL DOMESTIC MOMENTS, AND TEAMS THIS WITH MAGNETICALLY PULLING THE VIEWER OVER THE ROOFTOPS, THROUGH THE DEEP CROWDS GATHERED ON THE SIDE-LINES, THROUGH THE GOALPOST AND INTO THE MIDST OF THE FOOTBALL MATCH ITSELF, AND THEN BEYOND. LOWRY WAS A KEEN FOOTBALL SUPPORTER HIMSELF, HIS TEAM WAS MANCHESTER CITY. HE EXPLORED THE SUBJECT OF GOING TO, OR BEING AT A FOOTBALL MATCH, SEVERAL TIMES, BUT NO OTHER WORK PROVIDES THE ENGAGING PANORAMIC BIRDS-EYE VIEW DEEP IN TO THE ACTION ON THE PITCH, THROUGH SUCH EXTENSIVE CROWDS, WITH THE GREATER, HIGHLY DETAILED CONTEXT OF THE HOMES AND FACTORIES, FLANKING ALL FOUR SIDES OF THE PITCH, WHICH ARE CENTRAL TO THE LIVELIHOOD OF THE SUPPORTERS DEPICTED.