Portrait of Ed Moses is under starter’s orders
It’s not often you see an Olympic Gold medallist in a major contemporary art sale catalogue. But Sotheby’s has done just that in New York this week, where it is selling a drawing of champion hurdler Ed
Moses by the equally legendary artist Jean-michel Basquiat.
One evening in 1985, the story goes, shortly after Moses had broken the 400m hurdles record for the third time, the athlete was invited by the celebrated restaurateur Michael Chow to eat at his restaurant in New York – a favourite with artists. There, he met Andy Warhol and his protégé, Basquiat, who was clearly a Moses fan. Within two weeks, Moses had received a signed drawing of him with images of two gold medals and two cheetahs, the fastest land animal on Earth. Amazingly, the drawing has never
been exhibited. In 2014, Moses let slip that he had it, telling journalists: “It’s something that’s never been seen before. I have it locked up.” No doubt there was a concern about its value and security; a large self-portrait by Basquiat sold in 2017 for more than $100million. Sotheby’s has estimated the Moses drawing at $200,000 to $400,000 (£154,000 to £307,000).
The bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi sitting cross-legged in the middle of Tavistock Square has been an object of pilgrimage for Indians in London ever since it was erected in
1965. Now, admirers have the opportunity to buy a smaller scale, one-metre version in bronze by its creator, the Polish artist Fredda Brilliant (1903-1999). Brilliant is not exactly a household name. During the first half of the 20th century she travelled the world with her husband, the documentary film-maker Herbert Marshall. In the Fifties and Sixties, she worked in India, where several notable dignitaries including
Pandit Nehru and Indira Gandhi sat for her. In 2013, her niece appeared on
Antiques Roadshow with the Gandhi bronze, where it was inspected by the TV art sleuth Philip Mould, of Fake or
Fortune? fame. Although nothing by her had sold at auction for more than £3,000, Mould went by his instinct and estimated this sculpture’s value at £20,000.
Auctioneer Woolley & Wallis has been more cautious, placing an estimate of just £800 on the bronze. Which of them has made the more accurate prediction will be learned at the auction in Salisbury, on June 5.