A triptych with an estimated bidding range between three million and five million pounds (between 3.5 million and 5.8 million euros) will be lot number 20 of 61 in the live auction dedicated to works by 20th and 21st-century artists, according to Christie’s website.
In 2023, a diptych from the same ‘Dancing Ostriches’ series (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 with black-dressed ballerinas on pink pointe shoes, being auctioned today, is from the same series and thematic cycle, but are separate and independent pieces within the collection that Paula Rego developed, inspired by Walt Disney’s film ‘Fantasia.’
The nighttime auction of 20th/21st-century works will also feature pieces 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.
The ‘Dancing Ostriches’ series was previously part of the Saatchi Collection, created for the Hayward Gallery exhibition ‘Spellbound: Art and Film’ in 1996, and has been frequently displayed over the past three decades.
It was notably exhibited at Tate Liverpool (1997) in the UK, the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia (2007-08) in Madrid, Spain, the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, France (2018-19), and the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hannover, Germany (2022-23).
Born in Lisbon in 1935, Paula Rego began drawing as a child and moved to the British capital at 17 to study at the Slade School of Fine Art. She settled there and distinguished herself through the uniqueness of her work, inspired by literature, and marked over decades by the defense of women’s rights.
In London, she met her husband, English artist Victor Willing, who passed away in 1988. Paula Rego showcased his work several times at the Casa das Histórias museum in Cascais.
In 2004, she was awarded the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword of Portugal by the President of the Republic, Jorge Sampaio, and in 2010, she was appointed Dame Commander of The Order of the British Empire by the British Crown for her contribution to the arts.
In 2016, she received the medal of honor from the city of Lisbon.
In 2019, the painter was honored with 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 the most important public and private collections worldwide.
