Works from the Art Collection of the pop singer Sting & his producer partner Trudie Styler will be offered at auction at Christie’s in London on 24 February 2016. Formed over the past 20 years and lovingly housed in their former family home at Queen Anne’s Gate in London, the collection vividly captures the couple’s knowledge and passion for Art and Design. Over 200 lots will be offered from the collection, which represent remarkable quality and breadth – from bold abstracts by Ben Nicholson and Alan Reynolds and striking Mapplethorpe photographs to sophisticated 20thcentury furniture and lighting that complement the bold primary colours of Matisse’s Jazz series and the playfulness of ceramics by Picasso. This sale marks a wonderful opportunity for new and established collectors to choose from an inspiring array of works with notable provenance, collected with passion and knowledge. Estimates range from £1,000 to £500,000.
Andy Waters, Senior Director, Head of Private Collection Sales, Christie’s London:“Having been entrusted with many of the greatest private collections assembled by some of the most notable figures throughout history, Christie’s is honoured to be offering for sale works from the Art Collection of Sting & Trudie Styler. Their home at Queen Anne’s Gate effortlessly combined luxury, rarity and colour – a skilful balance that created the ultimate London home. Each work of art was carefully chosen and the resulting collection is a testament to Sting and Trudie Styler’s informed eye for Art and Design. Alongside works by Matisse, Picasso, Mapplethorpe and Nicholson, the collection includes Sting’s Steinway piano, which occupied pride of place in the music room at Queen Anne’s Gate.”
The collection features a number of important works by the great artists of the 20th and 21stcenturies, led by Ben Nicholson’s March 55 (amethyst) (estimate: £300,000-500,000). Painted in 1955, this work dates to a crucial phase in Nicholson’s work, between the late 1940s and early 1950s, which secured him a position as the leading British abstract painter on the international stage. The present lot exemplifies his harmonious combination of fluid drawing and a relatively muted palette, using washes of colour to add subtle forms to the composition.
Henri Matisse’s Jazz portfolio is a celebration of life and a riot of pure colour and form (estimate: £250,000-350,000). Created in 1947, it marks a radical departure from the artist’s previous work and is today considered one of the greatest and most influential print series of the 20th century. Works by other masters of modern art include Pablo Picasso’s lithograph Le Corsage à Carreaux, 1949 (estimate: £30,000-50,000), and prints by Georges Braque and René Magritte. Among the contemporary prints selection are pieces by artists of the present day, Mimmo Paladino and Carsten Holler, among others.
A highlight from the selection of drawings is Gustav Klimt’s Study of a Young Woman in Stockings(estimate: £25,000-40,000). Depicting a striding female nude in her stockings, this work is from a series of drawings of the human figure in movement that Klimt completed in 1906-1907.
Contemporary highlights include Keith Haring’s Untitled (estimate: £70,000-100,000) and Zeng Chuanxing’s Paper Bride (White) (estimate: £30,000-50,000), both iconic works from the art movements they represent. Indeed the carefully selected works within this collection act as key examples of the zeitgeists within which each artist worked. Executed in 1984 and derived from his subway vernacular, Haring’s figures are archetypal of the energy and emerging art scene of the 1980s that he championed alongside his contemporary Jean-Michel Basquiat. Twenty years later in the Post-cultural revolution era, Zeng Chuanxing’s Paper Bride (White) displays the heavy influences of western iconography on the emerging contemporary art scene of China in the 2000s. Of the striking photographs on offer by Robert Mapplethorpe, which revel in the sensual quality of nature, a highlight is Calla Lilies, 1983 (estimate: £30,000-50,000)
Sting and Trudie Styler’s support for young contemporary artists of the 21st century is highlighted by a striking series of panels by Russian artist Veronica Smirnoff which were specifically commissioned for the staircase at Queen Anne’s Gate. The collection is complemented with works by Emily Allchurch and Giles Alexander that further underlines Sting and Trudie Styler’s commitment to and support for young contemporary artists.
In addition the furniture and design in the collection comprises works by important Post-War masters including Yves Klein. Radiating with the artist’s signature pigments Table Rose (estimate: £20,000-30,000) and Table bleue (estimate: £20,000-30,000) are a testament to Yves Klein’s relationship with colour and its ‘infinite presence’ and the emotive reaction it had the power to evoke. Other significant pieces include exquisite Line Vautrin and Piero Fornasetti mirrors, furniture by Jacques Adnet and George Nakashima, and Jean Besnard ceramics that capture the essence of nature.
Works from the Home of Sting & Trudie Styler to be offered at Christie’s King Street on 24 February 2016