Following outstanding results for its London sales dedicated to Surrealism in 2021 and 2022, Bonhams has announced details of “La Révolution Surréaliste”, a cross-disciplinary sale bringing together paintings, works on paper, sculpture, design, photography and literature related to Surrealism from the turn of the century to the present day – and taking place in Paris on 29 March.
Featuring works from the founding members of the movement in 1920s and 1930s, the sale will also highlight its key influencers and subsequent protagonists, and is described as ‘encompassing the entire arc of the Surrealist narrative’.
Emilie Millon, Bonhams Head of Impressionist & Modern Art in Paris, said: “La Révolution Surréaliste was a publication edited by the Surrealists in Paris between 1924 and 1929. In the early issues, it contained, among other things, dreams stories by Breton, Raymond Queneau and Michael Leiris. Following successes with female Surrealist art and timed to coincide with the Surrealist Women exhibition at the Musée de Montmartre, we are excited to present La Révolution Surréaliste in Paris, the birthplace of this storied movement.”
Highlights of the sale include:
Portrait d’André Breton by Max Ernst (1891-1976) and his then-wife Marie-Berthe Aurenche (1906-1960) estimate €400,000-600,000. Max Ernst met painter Marie-Berthe Aurenche in late 1927 and they married almost immediately. Photographed by Man Ray in 1928, they mixed with the wider group of Surrealists, including the leading figure of the group, André Breton. The rare joint portrait blends both Ernst’s and Aurenche’s styles but it was originally misattributed: when the painting was first shown in 1933, Marie-Berthe was named as the sole artist, and by 1960 this had changed to credit both her and Ernst. However, by 1965, Aurenche was written out of the work altogether and again in 2004. It is a rare joint work which offers a glimpse into how women have often been written out of the movement, and how they have only recently found their way back in.
Léon Arthur Tutundjian (1906-1968), Masque jaune, 1930 estimate €120,000-180,000. The artist emigrated in 1923 to Paris where he befriended fellow Armenian painter, Ervand Kochar, who introduced him to Miró, Picasso, Mondrian and Jacques Villon. This work dates from Tutundjian’s Surrealist period when, inspired by the works of René Magritte and Salvador Dalí, the artist developed his own visual metaphors often with subtle Indian and Persian influences.
Jane Graverol (1905-1984), Le Trait de Lumière, painted in 1959 estimate €35,000-55,000
Salvador Dalí (1904-1989), Tiroirs, executed in 1967 estimate €40,000-60,000
Salvador Dalí (1904-1989), Study for the Marsupial Centurion, executed in 1941 estimate €15,000-20,000
Man Ray (1890-1976), La Bonne route, oil on canvas laid on Masonite painted in 1953 from the collection of his celebrated model, Jacqueline Barsotti-Goddard, estimate €8,000-12,000
Man Ray (1890-1976), Portrait of Jacqueline, early 1930s estimate €8,000-12,000. Man Ray played with the photographic medium and photographed his muse, Jacqueline Goddard, many times. As her beauty was legendary in Montparnasse, Jacqueline became a favoured artist’s model in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s. Known as the ‘Muse of Muses’, she worked closely with Léonard Foujita, André Derain, Moïse Kisling, Picasso, Matisse, and Giacometti.
La Révolution Surréaliste takes place at Bonhams, Paris on 29 March 2023. For further information: bonhams.com
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Image: Man Ray (1890-1976), Portrait of Jacqueline, early 1930s estimate €8,000-12,000 courtesy of Bonhams