Works by Dutch artist Escher sell for $7.7 mil.; Much more than auction house expected
Dozens of works by Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher sold for over 7.7 million dollars, or around 6.5 million euros, at an online auction in New York this week. Each of the 65 drawings and prints by the Leeuwarden-born graphic artist sold for significantly more than the auction house, Christie’s, had expected.
Escher (1898-1972) was one of the world's leading graphic artists, known for his "mesmerizing optical illusions and intricate tessellations." Christie's said. "Escher’s artwork explores the boundaries of perception and geometry, making him a significant figure in both art and mathematical circles."
The auctioned works came from the collection of 88-year-old American filmmaker Robert Owen Lehman Jr. The works included preparatory sketches for some of Escher’s most famous drawings, and many of them had rarely changed hands.
On average, each work sold for about four times more than Christie’s had expected. The print Day and Night was estimated to raise up to 30,000 euros, but sold for 140,000 euros, for example. A pencil sketch of the print Relativity, which features Escher’s well-known never-ending stairs, sold for nearly 500,000 euros - ten times more than the auction house had estimated.
Seller Lehman told Christie’s that he looked forward to these works bringing joy to new collectors, because owning them “has been a labor of love,” Omrop Fryslân reported. The proceeds from the auction will go to a foundation he established to promote the appreciation of classical music. He thinks Escher would have approved.
