The new Menzies head of art Brett Ballard has immediately made his mark with what looks like an International Print sale, which could have been held in London or New York, with artists including Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Pablo Picasso and Banksy.
Prints are well suited to the online auction format: they not only are graphically engaging and the ultimate “flat art”, but also “what you see is (pretty much) what you get”, whereas with paintings, the personal viewing of the work can be quite different from its online image.
It is hard not to be amazed by the power of Andy Warhol’s four colour screenprints of Queen Elizabeth II, with fully justified magnificent estimates of $800,000 to $1 million.
The 55 lot sale is complimented by some interesting sculptures by Robert Klippel and Ron Robertson-Swann and ceramics by Gwyn Hanssen-Pigott. And it also includes our all-time favourite Banksy print, “Morons” from 2007.
The timed online auction ends on 23 September from 8 pm, and you can view all offerings online at the Menzies website.
And these are Dave’s Faves:
Lot 15, Andy Warhol, Queen Elizabeth II, est. $800,000-1,000,000. Well may you say “God save the Queen”
Lot 16, David Hockney, Untitled No. 20, from the Yosemite Suite, est. $50,000-70,000. Hockney Heaven
