The inaugural sale from new auction house Curated Auctions features an extensive collection of works by two of the most important Scottish sculptors of the 20th century.
Works by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi R.A. and Sir William Reid Dick R.A. will be going under the hammer.
Taking place on March 16, there are many similarities between the artistic lives of Sir William Reid Dick and Sir Eduardo Paolozzi. Both came from working class, Scottish families. Reid Dick lived in the Gorbals, Glasgow, and was apprenticed to a firm of stonemasons at the age of 12.
Eduardo Paolozzi was born in Leith to Italian immigrant parents who ran an ice cream shop.
Both sculptors went on to study and work in London, both became Royal Academicians (Reid Dick in 1928 and Paolozzi in 1979), and both were knighted (Reid Dick in 1935, Paolozzi in 1989).
Curated Auctions sale features a collection of works by Sir William Reid Dick R.A. consigned for sale directly by his grandchildren; the collection has been in the family since they were made and includes a number of his working models or ‘maquettes’.
Part of the Reid Dick family collection
Sir William Reid Dick was arguably the most famous sculptor in Britain in the 1920’s and 30s; he sculpted the King and Queen and Winston Churchill. For many years his work fell out of favour as he was hidden in the shadow of the great modernist masters like Henry Moore and Epstein, and his more figurative sculpture became unfashionable. However, more recently; his work and that of the New Sculpture artists, is enjoying a revival in popularity.
This is demonstrated by the bronze figure by Alfred Gilbert that sold for £1 million hammer at Bonhams in 2020.
Part of the Paolozzi collection
Tthe Paolozzi collection of works also includes photographs of the sculptor, as well as paintings, and two of the family paintings show his most famous work, ‘Sling Boy’. Of particular interest is the maquette of Lady Godiva, which although in poor condition, is obviously an early design, before his patron and the officials at Coventry Council forced him to adopt a much more conventional style. (Lot 133, estimate £200-300). Lot 118 is another very interesting and potentially unique work; a portrait of the sculptor’s wife, with a very abstract base and a modern feel to the portrait. (£2000-3000).
The sale also excitingly features The Eduardo Paolozzi collection which comprises 23 lots of sculpture and a collage, which has been consigned by Visionary artist Cathy Ward. Ward studied at the Royal College of Art, London from 1986-88 under Eduardo Paolozzi and subsequently worked for him, producing sculptures which were later cast and reused in his works. She was given this collection of works as payment for the casts that she made for him.
The most significant work by Paolozzi is ‘Triptych’, which is unrecorded as it has been in her personal collection since the 1980s. (Lot 164).
For more information about the sale and Curated Auctions, visit www.curatedauctions.co.uk
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