Wassily Kandinsky
Herbstlandschaft, 1911
Estimate: $20,000,000-25,000,000
Krugier Collection, exhibited at Christie’s London, 12-19 September
Christie’s to offer the Krugier Collection Christie’s presents ‘A Dialogue Through Art: Works from The Jan Krugier Collection’, a two-part auction featuring important works by Kandinsky, Picasso, Giacometti and Miró. November 4-5, 2013]]>
September 16th 2013, source: Christie’s
“I have experienced the most monstrous aspects of humanity, and I believe that only beauty can save the world.” -Jan Krugier
Jan Krugier was born in 1928 in Radom, a small city in central Poland. When he was in his teenage years, World War II broke out and he was eventually transported to a labor camp from which he managed to escape, only to be recaptured after taking part in the Polish resistance. At Auschwitz-Birkenau, Krugier experienced the atrocities of war firsthand. Upon his freedom, it was the remembrance of beauty, of a joy that was visible and tangible, that drove Krugier toward art, an expression he saw as man’s finest achievement.
Jan Krugier’s personal collection reflected this eclectic style. Wassily Kandinsky’s “Herbstlandschaft” of 1911 (estimate: $20-25 million) is a masterpiece from Kandinsky’s prodigious period of creative exploration from 1908-1911, demonstrating the artist’s expressive abilities as a colorist, which forged a distinctively Russian brand of Fauvism.
Krugier was the first gallerist to stage an exhibition of Pablo Picasso’s work following the artist’s death in 1973. Among the star lots of Krugier’s collection, and the lead work of the Picasso group is “Tête (Maquette pour la sculpture en plein air du Chicago Civic Center)”, a sheet metal maquette conceived and created by Picasso during 1962-1964 (estimate: $25-35 million).
Other highlights from the collection include Picasso’s “Buste d’homme écrivant (Autoportrait)” (estimate: $6-8 million), Alberto Giacometti‘s “Femme de Venise I” (estimate: $9-12 million) and Joan Miró’s “Peinture-L’Oiseau” of 1926 (estimate: $8-12 million).
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