A MODERN INTERPRETATION OF ORPHEUS
Executed in 1959, Barbara Hepworth’s Orpheus (Maquette 2) (Version II) exquisitely captures the new sculptural territory being charted by the artist at the time, building off her earlier works to produce forms that have not only grace and balance, but also a striking feel of modernity (estimate $2.5/3.5 million). As the only work from this edition of three remaining in private hands—the other two editions are in The Tate and the Art Gallery of New South Wales—the sculpture typifies an experimental period for Hepworth that saw her include new materials such as sheet metals and string in her work. Inspired by Orpheus, the legendary poet and musician of Greek mythology, and the tragic story of his love and loss of Eurydice, the sculpture conjures references to the lyre traditionally associated with Orpheus, but also suggests the clear connection for Hepworth between the arts and science. In fact, the work was first created by Hepworth in 1956 as a commission for Mullard Ltd., an electronics company based in London, and set on a revolving base in their headquarters in Fitzrovia. The elegant sculpture will appear at auction for the first time in nearly 20 years.

ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
The Evening Sale is further highlighted by Edvard Munch’s Stående kvinneakt (Standing Nude) (estimate $1.5/2.5 million), a lyrical portrait executed in 1916 that proved to be a critical year for the artist; Le Pin de Bertaud (pictured above, estimate $4/6 million) by Paul Signac, a sumptuous and quintessentially pointillist landscape painting that captures the famous “Pin Bertaud” evergreen tree overlooking the gulf of Saint-Tropez; and André Lhote’s Nature morte dans le jardin (estimate $200/300,000), an early example of the artist’s unique pictorial style of Cubism, which was painted in 1916, and encapsulates his triumphant, spontaneous artistic vision that incorporates his early interest in Fauve coloration with Cubist ideas of form.