The Collection of Hubert Peeters
One of the earliest and most important collectors of American Pop Art in Europe, a selection of works from the collection of Dr. Hubert Peeters will highlight the Post-War and Contemporary Art Auction at Christie’s King, Street this June.
Featuring significant examples by Alexander Calder, Jim Dine, George Segal, Roy Lichtenstein and an iconic grouping of works by Marcel Broodthaers, the selection of works offered in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Auction reflect Peeters’ astute foresight and burning passion for the emerging art. Each work in this extraordinary selection displays the astute foresight, profound sensibility and personal involvement with which Peeters built his collection, leaving behind a timeless and powerful legacy.
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), Seascape, 1965. Rowlux and cut-and-paste painted paper on board in artist's frame. 30 x 21 7/8in. (75.1 x 55.6cm.) Estimate: £40,000 – £60,000
Within just a few years, Peeters had amassed a collection iconic works, of which several are now housed in such prominent museum collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York or the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven. Going to great lengths to acquire the works they so strongly desired, the Peeters frequently travelled throughout Europe and across the Atlantic, acquiring works from the artists themselves in New York or through the Robert Fraser Gallery in London and the Sonnabend Gallery in Paris, both of which were early supporters and promoters of American Pop Art.
It was through the Sonnabends that Peeters acquired George Segal’s iconic Lovers on a Bench, 1962, making him the first buyer of Segal’s work in Europe. The pioneering movement of Pop Art is further celebrated with such works as Jim Dine’s Colours, 1961, or Roy Lichtenstein’s Seascape, 1965. In addition, the present grouping of works brilliantly charts the full range of poet-artist Marcel Broodthaers multi-facetted artistic practice: alongside such seminal filmic works as A Voyage to the North Sea, 1973 – 74, this auction also presents early and iconic works from Broodthaers artistic career such as Oeufs (Eggs), 1965 – 1966.