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For nearly a month, Christie’s global headquarters in London has turned into a living museum. Great British masterpieces sold since the inception of the auction house in 1766 have been reunited for a landmark show, Defining British Art: Loan Exhibition, to commemorate its 250th anniversary. Some of the iconic works on display include Hans Holbein II’s Portrait of King Henry VIII, sold by Christie’s in 1788, Monarch of the Glen by Sir Edwin Landseer, Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Huntsmen setting out from Southill by George Stubbs, besides masterpieces created by L S Lowry, Freud & Auerbach and Edward Burne-Jones.
The exhibition is all about celebrating works that have stood the test of time and reflect the quintessential nature of the artists’ lasting legacy. “This exhibition would not have been possible were it not for the passion and huge generosity of those private and corporate collections, who have been kind enough to lend their precious works of art to us for the months of June and July,” says Orlando Rock, UK Chairman, Christie’s. As part of the celebrations, a two-day conference, “Creating Markets and Collecting Art”, will also be held between July 14 and 15 .
Similar events will be held at other sale sites around the world to mark the anniversary. India is very much on the calendar, given the auction house’s long association with the country. “James Christie, founder of the auction house, offered several lots of art of Indian provenance in his first ever auction on December 5, 1766,” he says. Since then, the association has only been further cemented, with Christie’s opening an office in Mumbai in 1994 and its first sale of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art a year later. “Our fourth auction in Mumbai, on December 18, will mark the final event in the 250th anniversary celebrations,” says Rock.
Defining British Art: Loan Exhibition can be viewed at Christie’s, King Street, London, till July 15, 2016
