Sotheby's New York City location
May 9th, 2014 is the auction at Sotheby's for the Paintings of 19th Century European Art. I'm not going to the auction but I did stop by during viewing hours to cast my eyes upon some favorite paintings included in the lot. When you walk in, you are greeted by a uniformed employee at a desk available to direct you to various open galleries and answer questions. The exhibit I wanted to see was on the sixth floor. Up the escalators I went until I was surrounded by such beauty and grandeur. I didn't know where to look first. As I walked around, I could hear an auction going on down below as a strong male voice shouted out large sums of money!! It was a fantastic feeling.
My eyes first settled upon one of Walter Crane's beauties...I immediately recognized it and walked right over with my trusty iphone at the ready. I did ask one of the employees if photography was allowed and they said yes! Hurrah...I will share my photos here with you and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them and viewing them up close and personal.
Morn, Noon, Eve, Night by Walter Crane, 1891
I went with the intent to see two paintings in particular: J.W. Waterhouse's Fair Rosamund, 1916 and Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema's Collector of paintings at the time of Augustus, 1867
Fair Rosamund herself!
I took a close-up of Waterhouse's signature on the far right, dated 1916.
Collector of paintings at the time of Augustus. Canvas by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1867
His signature is on the bottom right but even close-up it is very hard to read. It is amazing to behold, though!
What happened next left me gobsmacked...truly, I tell you. I turned left and looked up and from my periphery gazed upon the head of Jane Morris painted as Pandora by Dante Gabriel Rossetti! What is she doing here, I thought to myself. I didn't know she would be here! I walked up to her as if being pulled by an unknown magnetic force.
There I am
standing next
to
Pandora
By
Dante
Gabriel
Rossetti
1871
After these two photos above were taken by a lovely Sotheby's employee, I explained how I didn't realize Pandora would still be here; especially for viewing. She kindly explained that it would be returning to England soon but first it was off to Hong Kong next. I told her how thrilled I was to see it, how I couldn't believe I was gazing upon it. She asked me if I knew the history of the painting and I told her as much as I knew about Rossetti during the time it was painted. She listened intently smiling and when I was done she said that sounded about right! I was in such a heady state but it is difficult to describe accurately the feeling of being able to take your time actually walking up to the physical painting itself, looking at the details first hand, the frame, the actual size of it. Truly a blessing to behold. I said my goodbye's to Mrs. Morris telling her how lovely it was to see her again as I continued on...
Next, two paintings by Edmund Blair Leighton. You might not know his name but you definitely love his work. He is best remembered for these two favorites:
The Accolade (1901)
<--- and
God Speed (1900)
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The two paintings of his that I saw were vastly different in theme and era but they were equally beautiful...
A Picnic Party by Edmund Blair Leighton, Signed E.B.L. and dated 1921.
Yes or No by Edmund Blair Leighton, 1890
Another gentleman I love that I was fully unprepared to see was John Atkinson Grimshaw.
2 comments:
Wow Kimberly,
Surrounded by such beautiful things must have been thrilling. You are right, I wouldn't know where to look first either. I can't comment on a favourite as they are all my favourite!
You were so lucky in being able to photograph as this is usually not the case.
Thank you for sharing.
Hi Kevin, I know it felt rather surreal being there but being able to photograph such great works and then to have staff agree to photograph myself next to them...well, my angels were watching over me :) Thanks for commenting!
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