A triptych with an estimated bidding price between three and five million pounds (approximately 3.5 to 5.8 million euros) will be lot number 20 out of 61 in the auction consisting of paintings and sculptures focusing on works by 20th and 21st-century artists, as stated by Christie’s website.
In 2023, a diptych from the same series “Avestruzes Bailarinas” (1995) was sold for 3.5 million euros by the same auction house, setting a new record for a work by the Portuguese artist who passed away in 2022 in London, where she lived.
The set of three panels featuring ballerinas dressed in black with pink pointe shoes, set to be auctioned on October 15, belongs to the same series and thematic cycle. However, they are standalone pieces within the series that Paula Rego developed, inspired by Disney’s film ‘Fantasia’.
The 20th/21st-century night auction on October 15 will include works by artists such as Lucian Freud, Picasso, René Magritte, Egon Schiele, Louise Bourgeois, Marc Chagall, Peter Doig, Claude Monet, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, and Gerhard Richter.
Inspired by the American filmmaker Walt Disney’s film, the series ‘Avestruzes Bailarinas’ was previously part of the Saatchi Collection, created for the Hayward Gallery exhibition ‘Spellbound: Art and Film’ in 1996, and has been frequently exhibited over the past three decades.
Notably, it has been shown at Tate Liverpool (1997) in the UK, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (2007-08) in Madrid, Spain, the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, France (2018-19), and the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hanover, Germany (2022-23).
Born in Lisbon, Paula Rego began drawing as a child and moved to the British capital at 17 to study at the Slade School of Fine Art, where she eventually settled. Her work, inspired by literature, has been distinguished over the decades by her advocacy for women’s rights.
In London, she met her husband, English artist Victor Willing, who passed away in 1988. His work was frequently showcased by Paula Rego at the Casa das Histórias museum.
In 2004, she was honored with the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Sant’Iago da Espada of Portugal by President Jorge Sampaio. In 2010, she was named Dame Commander of The Order of the British Empire by the British Crown for her contributions to the arts. In 2016, she received the medal of honor from the city of Lisbon.
In 2019, the painter was awarded the Medal of Cultural Merit by the Ministry of Culture.
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.
