Sylvette eclipses the millions made before her
July 6th 2008 17:20
In June 2008 a new record high price was set for artwork bought at auction in Australia.
The painting was titled "Sylvette" by Pablo Picasso.
An unknown buyer paid $6.9 million for "Sylvette" at Kensington's Deutscher-Menzies Gallery in Sydney making the brightly coloured abstract painting from 1954 the most expensive painting ever sold at auction in Australia.
Collectors usually opt to sell international masterpieces in New York or London, but a spokeswoman for Deutscher-Menzies Gallery said that the sale shows that attitudes are changing and Australian buyers no longer have to look overseas for great works of art. It is speculated that the unknown buys may be from Europe or Russia where collectors are on "red alert" for quality Picassos.
Sylvette David was a young woman with a ponytail that worked in a pottery close to Picasso's French studio in Vallauris. Sylvette is now an artist in her own right and spends her time between France and the UK. She was said to have been an inspiration for actress Brigitte Bardot.
"Sylvette" was painted in 1954 and is a Cubist portrait of one of Picassos lovers Sylvette David. Picasso produced more than 40 paintings and drawings of Sylvette David and this record breaking portrait is one of the last in the long serial. Sylvette David was the renowned artist's muse late in his career. The attraction, which a face like Sylvette's had for Picasso's sensuality, motivated him to paint. In this portrait Sylvette's blonde ponytail, long neck and young face is recognisable.
Sylvette David had a relatively short relationship with Picasso for a portion of the time between the mother of his children Francoise Gilot leaving him in 1953 and the marriage to his second wife Jacqueline Roque in 1961. Picasso remained sexually active and seeking throughout most of his life, he had a passion for the new and untried and maintained a number of mistresses in addition to his domestic partners. Picasso suffered a severe blow when Gilot left him and was going through a difficult period of rejection, aged 73, where he felt unattractive to women at the time he met and painted Sylvette David.
For Picasso the comings and goings of women in his life kept him feeling young. Picasso married his second wife Jacqueline Roque in 1961 and remained with her until his death in 1973 aged 91
Before Picasso, the previous record for a work sold at auction in Australia was set last year, when Brett Whiteley's "The Olgas For Ernest Giles" (1985) fetched $3.48 million. The painting is an erotic representation of Kata Tjuta, which sold for its record price in a 2007 at Deutscher-Menzies in Sydney and was once the most expensive Australian painting sold at auction.
In the painting ochre rocks are painted with the suggestive curves of thighs, buttocks and male genitalia. It features wildlife such as a magpie, a cockatoo and an emu set against a vast blue desert sky.
Whiteley's "Opera House" (1982) sold for $2.88 million, the artist's second biggest sale.
Whiteley's "Opera House", which had once hung in a Qantas Lounge, sold for $2.88 million, making it the most money ever paid for a Whiteley. Whiteley gave his large, bright interpretation of Sydney's Opera House to Qantas in 1982 in exchange for $200,000 in air travel.
In 2006 the highest sum paid for an Australian painting was $2.04 million for Whiteley's "Frangipani and Humming Bird" (1988). One of Brett Whiteley's largest works, the four-metre-long "Hummingbird and Frangipani" sold to a private Victorian collector at the Sotheby's auction in Sydney.
Before Whiteley's "The Olgas For Ernest Giles", the previous record for an Australian painting sold at auction was $3.36 million set by the elegant John Brack masterpeiece "The Old Time".
"The Old Time", which depicts two dancers frozen in mid stride, was purchased for an undisclosed client by John Dwyer, of the Melbourne-based Dwyer Fine Art, and auctioned by Sothebys. The Old Time had been in a private collection since 1969.
This passed the previous record of $3.12 million set in 2006 for "The Bar" (1954), also by Brack.
The painting was titled "Sylvette" by Pablo Picasso.
An unknown buyer paid $6.9 million for "Sylvette" at Kensington's Deutscher-Menzies Gallery in Sydney making the brightly coloured abstract painting from 1954 the most expensive painting ever sold at auction in Australia.
the artwork bought at Austalian auction 2008
Collectors usually opt to sell international masterpieces in New York or London, but a spokeswoman for Deutscher-Menzies Gallery said that the sale shows that attitudes are changing and Australian buyers no longer have to look overseas for great works of art. It is speculated that the unknown buys may be from Europe or Russia where collectors are on "red alert" for quality Picassos.
Sylvette David was a young woman with a ponytail that worked in a pottery close to Picasso's French studio in Vallauris. Sylvette is now an artist in her own right and spends her time between France and the UK. She was said to have been an inspiration for actress Brigitte Bardot.
"Sylvette" was painted in 1954 and is a Cubist portrait of one of Picassos lovers Sylvette David. Picasso produced more than 40 paintings and drawings of Sylvette David and this record breaking portrait is one of the last in the long serial. Sylvette David was the renowned artist's muse late in his career. The attraction, which a face like Sylvette's had for Picasso's sensuality, motivated him to paint. In this portrait Sylvette's blonde ponytail, long neck and young face is recognisable.
Sylvette David had a relatively short relationship with Picasso for a portion of the time between the mother of his children Francoise Gilot leaving him in 1953 and the marriage to his second wife Jacqueline Roque in 1961. Picasso remained sexually active and seeking throughout most of his life, he had a passion for the new and untried and maintained a number of mistresses in addition to his domestic partners. Picasso suffered a severe blow when Gilot left him and was going through a difficult period of rejection, aged 73, where he felt unattractive to women at the time he met and painted Sylvette David.
For Picasso the comings and goings of women in his life kept him feeling young. Picasso married his second wife Jacqueline Roque in 1961 and remained with her until his death in 1973 aged 91
Before Picasso, the previous record for a work sold at auction in Australia was set last year, when Brett Whiteley's "The Olgas For Ernest Giles" (1985) fetched $3.48 million. The painting is an erotic representation of Kata Tjuta, which sold for its record price in a 2007 at Deutscher-Menzies in Sydney and was once the most expensive Australian painting sold at auction.
In the painting ochre rocks are painted with the suggestive curves of thighs, buttocks and male genitalia. It features wildlife such as a magpie, a cockatoo and an emu set against a vast blue desert sky.
Whiteley's "Opera House" (1982) sold for $2.88 million, the artist's second biggest sale.
Whiteley's "Opera House", which had once hung in a Qantas Lounge, sold for $2.88 million, making it the most money ever paid for a Whiteley. Whiteley gave his large, bright interpretation of Sydney's Opera House to Qantas in 1982 in exchange for $200,000 in air travel.
In 2006 the highest sum paid for an Australian painting was $2.04 million for Whiteley's "Frangipani and Humming Bird" (1988). One of Brett Whiteley's largest works, the four-metre-long "Hummingbird and Frangipani" sold to a private Victorian collector at the Sotheby's auction in Sydney.
Before Whiteley's "The Olgas For Ernest Giles", the previous record for an Australian painting sold at auction was $3.36 million set by the elegant John Brack masterpeiece "The Old Time".
"The Old Time", which depicts two dancers frozen in mid stride, was purchased for an undisclosed client by John Dwyer, of the Melbourne-based Dwyer Fine Art, and auctioned by Sothebys. The Old Time had been in a private collection since 1969.
This passed the previous record of $3.12 million set in 2006 for "The Bar" (1954), also by Brack.
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