The June 20 auction, held at Thomas Watson of Darlington, swiftly follows the major retrospective of Paolozzi’s works that closed last month at Whitechapel Gallery in London.
The 10-lot group ranges in prices from £100-600 and comes from a private collector based in London and Darlington.
The Scottish artist (Paolozzi was born to Italian immigrants in Edinburgh) first burst onto the scene at the 1952 Venice Biennale, with his raw sculptures inspired by a stint in Paris and the work of Diego Giacometti. While chiefly a sculptor, he also became one of the first practitioners of British pop art with his graphic work of the 1960s.
Among the highlights are four signed lithographic prints (one pictured above) titled Metallization of a Dream (1963). The largest measures 11½ x 9in (29 x 23cm), and together they are guided at £400-600.
These were set aside from those that appeared in a collection of the same name, also published in 1963 in a limited edition of 400 by The Lion and Unicorn Press, the private press of The Royal College of Art.
Paolozzi sculpture
As for Paolozzi’s sculptures, an early bronze example, conceived in 1948-9 and cast c.1957, has been bagged by Sotheby’s for its Modern & Post War British Art evening sale in London on June 12.
Paris Bird, the first from an edition of six, was sold directly to the vendor from the artist in 1994 and is estimated at £40,000-60,000.
