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Phillips Unveils Five Masterpieces from the Collection of Marcel Brient
Rarely Seen Works to Feature in the Modern & Contemporary Art Auctions in London and New York this Fall
LONDON – 30 SEPTEMBER 2024 - Phillips is delighted to present five spectacular works from the esteemed Collection of Marcel Brient. The initial offering will star in the London Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale on 10 October, with other highlights from the collection to be unveiled at Phillips’ exhibition at the Hotel Bristol in Paris before being auctioned in the Modern & Contemporary Art Evening and Day Sales in New York on 19 and 20 November.
Cheyenne Westphal, Phillips’ Global Chairwoman, said, “Marcel Brient’s extraordinary eye as a collector is remarkable. The discovery of Elizabeth Peyton’s work so early in her career demonstrates his unique ability to recognise an artist's potential well before their wider acclaim. Marcel’s personal journey, from humble beginnings in Brittany to becoming one of the world’s foremost collectors, never ceases to amaze me. Following our successful sales of masterpieces from his collection, it is an honour to bring these outstanding works to auction.”
Renowned French collector Marcel Brient has, over the decades, built one of the most important collections of contemporary art and design. This fall, three portraits by Elizabeth Peyton will make their auction debut. Painted in 1999, at the turn of the millennium, Torino (Tony) Sept. 99 stands out as a highlight of the Modern and Contemporary Evening Sale in London. Striking in its simplicity of style and subject matter, the painting serves as a definitive example of Peyton's luminous, small-scale portraiture, underscoring Marcel Brient's discerning eye as a collector.
Appearing publicly for the first time, Peyton’s 1995 masterpiece Kurt (sunglasses) is a leading highlight of the Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York. Taking inspiration from Alice Wheeler’s photograph of Kurt Cobain and painted shortly after Cobain’s death, the work reflects Peyton’s fascination with fame, blending public persona with personal fragility. This portrait marked a pivotal moment in Peyton’s career, where she captured the spirit at the turn of the 20th century through her depiction of popular figures, drawing on ‘lives that are played out in the public arena of the mass media.’ Peyton’s portrait of a fellow portraitist, Alex (Alex Katz), Winter 2012 belongs to a rich tradition of artists painting other artists and is a highlight of the Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale in New York.
A further highlight of the Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York is Robert Ryman’s Untitled, c. 1963-1964. Exemplifying his early exploration of painting's core elements —material, surface, and process— Untitled marked a shift toward abstract approaches in Ryman’s practice. The unstretched canvas and textured layers of white paint, subtly revealing muted taupe, highlight the artist’s focus on the interaction between paint and light. His use of the square format allowed him to concentrate on the materiality of painting, a technique influenced by his background in jazz improvisation. Untitled was showcased in a major retrospective celebrating Ryman's 70th birthday, which opened at the Haus der Kunst in Munich in 2000 and traveled to the Kunstmuseum Bonn in 2001. Comparable works from this formative period in Ryman’s career reside in the permanent collections of respected institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Dia Art Foundation, Beacon.
Pablo Picasso’s Nu debout et nu assis will also be offered in the New York Evening Sale. Executed in June of 1970, just four months before Picasso’s 89th birthday, Nu debout et nu assis epitomises the profound introspection and boundless innovation of his late career. The work presents two nudes—one robust and vibrant, the other delicately rendered— exploring dualities of perception, identity, and self-reflection. Secluded in his Mougins villa, Picasso’s creative drive remained unstoppable. Several notebooks filled with drawings in pen, ink, and felt-tip reveal his final years as a time of both urgent productivity and profound experimentation, merging his relentless artistic energy with an abiding engagement with the human form.
Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale, London Auction: 10 October 2024, 5pm BST Location: 30 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EX Auction viewing: 3 October - 10 October 2024 Click here for more information: https://www.phillips.com/auctions/auction/UK010524
Hotel Le Bristol Exhibition viewing: 15 October – 18 October 2024 15 October 3-9pm; 16 October,11am-6.30pm; 17 October, 9am-6pm; 18 October, 9am-5pm Location: 112 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris Modern & Contemporary Art Evening and Day Sales, New York Auction: 19 & 20 November 2024 Location: 432 Park Avenue, New York, NY, United States, 10022 Auction viewing: 9 – 19 November 2024
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