Thursday 26 November 2015

Henry Moore sculpture sells for nearly £1.8m

A sculpture by Henry Moore has sold at auction for £1,762,500 ($2.7m).
His abstract depiction of a human in Reclining Figure: Umbilicus was purchased by an anonymous buyer at a London auction on Wednesday evening.
LS Lowry's painting The Railway Platform fetched the second highest sum at £1,650,500 ($2.5m) in a Christie's sale of modern British and Irish art.
Reclining Figure: Umbilicus
Reclining Figure: Umbilicus was purchased by an anonymous buyer
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The auction house said five artworks were sold for more than £1m each, highlighting a "continuing demand".
They included a 1953 hand sculpture by Dame Barbara Hepworth, which "sparked fiercely competitive bidding" before selling for £1,426,500 ($2.2m).
The Railway PlatformImage copyrightCHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD
Image captionChristie's said the market for art by LS Lowry, including The Railway Platform, was "buoyant"
The other items included David Bomberg's depiction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which was bought for £1,224,900 ($1.8m) - a record auction price for a work by the artist.
Sir Stanley Spencer's painting Hilda with Bluebells was sold for £1,142,500 ($1.7m).
Born in Yorkshire in 1898, Henry Moore was one of the UK's most renowned sculptors.
Christie's added: "The market for works by LS Lowry remains buoyant."
The highest auction price paid for a Lowry artwork was £5.6m for The Football Match in 2011.
Another of his railway-themed paintings, known as Station Approach, Manchester,was sold last year for £2.3m.
auction in placeImage copyrightChristie's
Image captionFive artworks sold for more than £1m each at the auction