Watercolor by Brâncuşi sells for GBP 350,000 at Christie’s auction

Profil de femme au chignon (Princesse Marie Bonaparte), an ink, graphite, and watercolor on board work by Constantin Brâncuşi, sold for GBP 350,000 at the 20th Century Evening Sale held by Christie’s on March 23, News.ro reported.

The work is one of a small series where Brâncuşi explored “the motif of a young woman in profile, her gaze cast downwards, her head and neck forming a single, smooth arc,” a Christie’s presentationexplains. Princess Marie Bonaparte, the great grand-niece of Napoleon and wife of Prince George I of Greece, met Brâncuşi in 1909, when she requested that he carve a bust of her. Inspired by this meeting, the Romanian-born sculptor created Femme se regardant dans un miroir of 1909. Unsatisfied with the result, he re-carved it, transforming it into the well-known Princesse X.

At the same auction, Banksy’s Game Changer sold for GBP 16,758,000 from a high estimate of GBP 3,500,000. Proceeds from the sale of the artwork of more than GBP 16 million will be used "to support the wellbeing of University Hospital Southampton staff and patients, as well as benefiting associated health organizations and charities across the UK that enhance the care and treatment provided by the NHS", the auction house explained.

Game Changer, Banksy’s gift to the hospital, was installed in Southampton Hospital in the south of England in May 2020 as a gesture of thanks towards staff during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. A reproduction will remain on view at the hospital.

(Photo: Pixabay)