London – Christie’s will offer Paula Rego’s masterpiece Dancing Ostriches from Walt Disney’s ‘Fantasia’ (1995, estimate: £2,200,000-3,200,000) for the first time at auction in the 20th / 21st Century: London Evening Sale on 13 October 2023. The work, inspired by Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940), is expected to set a new auction record for the artist. Executed upon two monumental panels, it is the finest and most complex in this extraordinary series. Formerly part of the Saatchi Collection, Dancing Ostriches from Walt Disney’s ‘Fantasia’ was created for the Hayward Gallery’s exhibition ‘Spellbound: Art and Film’ in 1996 and has been prominently exhibited over the past three decades including at Tate Liverpool (1997); The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (2007-08); Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris (2018-19) and Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover (2022-23). The work will be on view in Hong Kong from 19 to 20 September and in New York from 26 to 28 September before being displayed in London from 6 to 13 October.
“Paula Rego is one of the most revered artists of her generation. Her compositions offer viewers a glimpse into a theatrical world, her figures taking centre stage as the drama unfolds before us. The work is an icon of Rego’s practice, capturing the fables, fantasies and frictions of female experience that underpin her art. Unveiled at London’s Hayward Gallery in 1996, Dancing Ostriches from Walt Disney’s ‘Fantasia’ has since travelled extensively and been included in many of her major exhibitions worldwide. As we celebrate the capital’s ongoing creative impact and legacy, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Frieze London, we are thrilled to include Paula Rego’s masterpiece in the 20th / 21st Century: London Evening Sale.”
Tessa Lord, Acting Interim Head of Department, Post-War and Contemporary Art, London and Claudia Schurch, Head of Sale, 20th / 21st Century: London Evening Sale
This is London. Everchanging. Forever Captivating.
This October, Christie’s celebrates ‘This is London’, reflecting the unique energy of the British capital, and aligning with the 20th anniversary of Frieze London. London is, and always has been, a city of change, evolution, inclusion, dynamism, tradition and modernity. Christie’s will explore the infinite ways artists draw inspiration from the everchanging, yet forever captivating London, and at the heart of this will be our 20/21 sale series. Further news regarding unique elements of the initiative will follow.
