Auctions: Tiroche sale opens tomorrow

A reminder. Part One of the huge sale at Tiroche of Herzliya begins tomorrow evening.

By MEIR RONNEN
rubin art 88 298 (photo credit: )
rubin art 88 298
(photo credit: )
A reminder. Part One of the huge sale at Tiroche of Herzliya begins tomorrow evening. We reported on this sale in a previous column, but look out for an unusual Rubin watercolor still life (at least $15,000, will go for more); and an Abel Pann pastel from the 1920s of Isaac embracing Rebecca (starts at $20,000). There is something for everyone in this offering of over 830 lots. Part Two follows a week later. PABLO PICASSO'S extraordinary Blue Period portrait of Angel Fern ndez de Soto, 1903, will be offered at Christie's New York evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art on November 8. Arguably one of the most important Picassos of this period, it is estimated at $40-$60m. Picasso met Angel de Soto in 1899 at the cafe Els Quatre Gats in Barcelona. The pair quickly became close friends. De Soto was a self-styled Bohemian who earned a meager living working for Mir I Estrada, a firm in the Carrer Princessa that imported spices and other colonial products. Despite being almost penniless, de Soto established himself as a colorful and dandy man-about-town. Described by Picasso biographer Josep Palau i Fabre as "slender and elegant... and almost always surrounded by women," this boulevardier became an ideal companion for Picasso. In 1902 and again in 1903, the two friends briefly shared a studio, but Angel's appetite for women and his penchant for entertaining prevented Picasso from painting and the arrangement soon came to an end. But the two remained friends until de Soto was killed in the Spanish Civil War in 1938. Angel de Soto appears in a number of images by Picasso, culminating in this magnificent oil of him seated in front of a large glass of absinthe. Picasso focuses on the extraordinary face, exaggerating his prominent chin, elegant hands and crooked nose. The heavy features emerge from a deep Prussian blue background. A cloud of smoke hovers above him. The portrait is being offered by The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation and is being sold to benefit a variety of charitable purposes. Andrew Lloyd Webber will make no personal gain from the sale. IN CELEBRATION of its 75th anniversary, the Whitney Museum on Madison Avenue in New York has mounted a major new look at works from its permanent collection. The entire fifth floor of the museum is devoted to the art of Edward Hopper (1882-1967), the artist most closely identified with the Whitney. On view are not only the Whitney's most iconic Hopper paintings (Seven A.M., Second Story Sunlight, A Woman in the Sun, and many more), but also an extraordinary selection of drawings and sketches made in preparation for these works. The Whitney's holdings include more than 2,500 Hopper oils, watercolors, drawings, prints and illustrated journals. In addition to the Whitney's holdings, major works from other institutions have been borrowed for this installation in order that they may be seen with their corresponding preparatory works. Over the course of the six-month installation, such masterworks as Nighthawks (from the Art Institute of Chicago), Hotel Lobby (Indianapolis Museum of Art), Morning in the City (Williams College Museum of Art), Cape Cod Evening (National Gallery), Office at Night (Walker Art Center), Hotel Window (from a private collection) and New York Movie (MoMA) will rotate into view along with Hopper's related drawings, studies and ledger entries from the Whitney's collection.