Sotheby’s to offer a different perspective on 20th century art

César Domela, Composition néo-plastique, 1926, oil on canvas, Estimate: 400,000-600,000
Sotheby’s will hold an inaugural 20th Century Art – A Different Perspective sale in London on 12 November 2014, featuring modern art from countries across Europe and around the Mediterranean by artists who have a strong regional following but are not yet part of the international mainstream.
Leading the sale is a group of works by artists who were at the forefront of the intellectual avant-garde in Europe between the First and Second World Wars. Their principal occupation was the exploration of non-figurative art and in the pursuit of art’s highest form of purity they decreed that painting must be abstract. The auction, comprising 74 lots, also features a strong selection of early twentieth-century figurative works by artists who had assimilated the tenets of impressionist and cubist painting.
Tessa Kostrzewa, Sotheby’s Head of Auction Sales, 20th Cetury Art, said: “We are thrilled to present the inaugural 20th Century Art – A Different Perspective sale, which will become an annual feature of our sale calendar, focusing primarily on artworks from the 1920s through to the 1960s with a special focus on cubism, abstraction, constructivism and other avant-garde works by members of the Bauhaus, Der Sturm, De Stijl and Osma.”