Georgina Adam points out that Luxembourg & Dayan are showing works by Jean Arp in the London space which seems presciently timed because Arp was the unsung hero of the Imp-Mod sales with many strong showings at the kinds of price points that don’t make headlines. (Above is the artist’s Balcon 1—with accompanying narration by Olivier Camu—which sold for £1.3m a nearly 50% above the £800k high estimate at Christie’s this week.)
Arps have been bubbling along in the Imp-Mod sales for a few sales cycles both in London and New York but this week marks a real turning point in their momentum:
“Arp is an artist who influences art itself rather than individual artists.” The quote comes from Sir Herbert Read’s monograph on Jean Arp, the French-German artist currently being shown in a “petit salon” by Luxembourg & Dayan. The New York and London dealers, established last year in Savile Row, have selected 29 works: one a poster by Kurt Schwitters advertising a Dada evening, all the rest by Arp. Seven drawings were illustrations for a 1923 Tristan Tzara book, and are accompanied by his poems; there are also embroideries and two “string” paintings from the 1920s and 1930s, as well as a wall of reliefs from the 1930s. About a third of the show is for sale, with prices ranging from $200,000 to $1m.
The Art Market: Sales, Resales and No Sales (Financial Times)
