Peter Paul Rubens, The Head of Saint John the Baptist Introduced to Salome (1609)
Baroque: Masterpieces from the Fisch Davidson Assortment, Sotheby’s, New York, 26 January
Estimate: $25m to $35m
This massive-scale portray made the then-record for Rubens after it was rediscovered in 1998 and offered the identical yr for $5.5m at Sotheby’s, New York. “Rubens’s depiction of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist, painted after his return to Antwerp, is a piece through which the still-young artist fearlessly explores the violent and sexual dynamics of the Biblical narrative like some pre-cinematic Martin Scorsese,” says Keith Christiansen, a curator emeritus on the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork in New York, in a press launch. The work is one among ten work coming to public sale from the Fisch Davidson Assortment, which has a complete presale estimate of $40m to $60m and in addition consists of works by Orazio Gentileschi, Guercino and Bernardo Cavallino. The gathering was collated by the previous actual property developer Mark Fisch and Rachel Davidson, who’re getting divorced.
Thornton Dial, Untitled (Determine in Blue Pants) (1991) and Untitled (Inexperienced Subject with Pink and White) (1993)
Outsider Artwork and Vernacular Artwork, Christie’s, New York, 18 January
Estimate: $50,000 to $100,000 every
This pair of large-scale dynamic assemblages comes from the gathering of the actress Jane Fonda, who tells The Artwork Newspaper: “Mr Dial made works of common worth, and the themes are timeless.” Works from Arthur Dial and Thornton Dial Jr accompany these works to the sale, additionally from the gathering of Fonda, who sits on the board of the Souls Grown Deep Basis and Group Partnership, an organisation devoted to selling the work of Black artists from the American South.“These works present the mid-career sophistication of Dial’s ever-evolving apply. The place the artist’s early work and constructions usually incorporate brilliant colors and clear, representational imagery, these items reveal an embrace of darkness and abstraction,” says Cara Zimmerman, Christie’s head of Americana and Outsider Artwork. The broader sale has a complete low presale estimate of $1m.
US Hong at Canton Documentary bowl, Qianlong interval (1787-88)
The Cohen & Cohen Sale of Vital Chinese language Export Ceramics, Bonhams, New York, 24 January
Estimate: $60,000 to $80,000
The panorama depicted on this vibrantly painted bowl depicts a “Hong”—an workplace owned by a western dealer inside China throughout the seventeenth and 18th centuries. Hong bowls supply perception into life within the warehouse buildings which have been overseen by strict guidelines to make sure that the western merchants didn’t reside in, or disturb, the close by walled cities. “Only a few Hong bowls have survived, and nearly all are in public collections,” says Michael Hughes, the vice chairman and head of division for Chinese language ceramics and artistic endeavors for Bonhams US. “This specific bowl is an enchanting time capsule for a short second in historical past from 1787-88. It depicts an overpainted US flag, after the US warehouse moved throughout the interval the bowl was being enamelled.” The 155-lot sale comes from the Cohen & Cohen gallery, which closed just a few years in the past after 50 years of buying and selling.
Superb Fantasy No.15 comedian (1962)
Comics & Comedian Artwork Signature, Heritage Auctions, on-line, 12-13 January
Estimate: not supplied, however comparable editions have offered for round $1m
When the consignor purchased this early copy for round $100 greater than 40 years in the past, it’s unlikely they envisaged the eye that this lot would entice right this moment, as one of many best-known copies of Spider-Man’s first look. “This Superb Fantasy No. 15 is an distinctive copy of one of the necessary books of the final 60 years. We’ve solely offered four or 5 copies with the next grade ever; one among this high quality solely comes alongside each three [or] four years,” says Ed Jaster, the senior vice-president of Heritage Auctions.
Patrick Tagoe-Turkson, Kaya 2, (2022)
Exhibiting at London Artwork Honest by Koop Initiatives, 18 to 22 January
Estimate: £3,200
“Flip-flops on suede” will not be customary artist materials however this work attracts on a longtime custom of African artwork of exploring discarded supplies and located objects. This instance, by the Ghanaian artist Patrick Tagoe-Turkson, attracts on the time period kayayei, used to explain feminine porters who carry gadgets on their heads. “Patrick Tagoe-Turkson is an artist-activist. His revolutionary work is an pressing name for collective motion on the issue of plastic air pollution and exemplifies the methods through which African artists are redefining and reimagining problematic waste supplies,” says Helen Rogers, the managing associate of Koop Initiatives, which is displaying the work for the primary time on the honest.