The final value of £3.466 million (€3.979 million) exceeded the £3 million (€3.5 million) previously paid in 2023 for a different diptych from the same ‘Dancing Ostriches’ series (1995) at another event by the British auction house Christie’s.
Wednesday’s bidding stayed within the pre-auction estimate of £3 to £5 million (€3.5 to €5.8 million).
In a statement from the auction house, it was noted that the event dedicated to works by 20th and 21st-century artists set more records with pieces by Suzanne Valadon (€1.166 million), Annie Morris (€554,000), and Esben Weile Kjær (€29,000).
However, the star of the auction was the painting ‘Ski Jacket’ (1994) by Peter Doig, which sold for €16.382 million. Another piece by Doig, ‘Country Rock’ (1998-1999), reached €10.573 million.
The auction catalog also featured works by artists such as Lucian Freud, Picasso, René Magritte, Egon Schiele, Louise Bourgeois, Marc Chagall, Claude Monet, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, and Gerhard Richter.
The total amount raised, €122.750 million, was the highest since 2018 in auctions held to coincide with the Frieze art fair in London, which draws collectors from around the world to the British capital.
‘Dancing Ostriches from Walt Disney’s Fantasia’, a set of three panels, is part of a series and thematic cycle inspired by Disney’s ‘Fantasia’ created for the Hayward Gallery exhibition ‘Spellbound: Art and Film’ in 1996.
Over the last three decades, it has been frequently exhibited at venues including the Tate Liverpool (1997), the Reina Sofia National Museum (2007-08) in Madrid, Spain, the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, France (2018-19), and the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hannover, Germany (2022-23).
In Portugal, it was displayed at the Centro Cultural de Belém and the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego.
The work has now been requested for loan by the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway, for an exhibition in 2026.
Born in Lisbon, Paula Rego relocated to the British capital at the age of 17 to study at the Slade School of Fine Art. She settled there and became renowned for her distinctive work, inspired by literature and characterized over the decades by advocacy for women’s rights.
Paula Rego passed away on June 8, 2022, leaving behind a body of work represented in many of the world’s most important public and private collections.
