March’s Made in Britain auction at Sotheby’s was a rather glamorous affair. Alongside artworks from renowned British artists from David Hockney to Tracey Emin, celebrity hangout The Ivy auctioned off its previous contents for charity. The Ivy is currently undergoing a complete contemporary makeover by Martin Brudnizki Design so its classic furnishings needed to find new homes. The items up for auction ranged from its iconic front doors, doormats and stained-glass windows to cloakroom tips trays, cocktail shakers and napkins.
Here are a few of our favourite pieces from the auction ...
Joe Tilson’s painting Dionysus, The Ivy and The Vine was commissioned for the restaurant in 1990. Having been a founding figure of British Pop art in the early 1960s, Tilson’s time in Italy and Greece in the 1970s-80s dramatically changed his style. He began focusing more on Classicism, taking inspiration from ancient mythology to develop his signature style. The bright colours of this painting hark back to his Pop style, while the work’s subject matter is based on Dionysus the Greek god of wine and festivity.
This unique intaglio print by Howard Hodgkin is stunningly rich in colour. It was based on a thick forest canopy and the artist worked over the intaglio print to achieve a richly layered effect.
Future System’s pair of champagne buckets on stands and designed to appear like oversize champagne glasses. Intriguingly, their otherworldly form was instructed by the optimum angle of the bottle lying in ice.
Some pieces from London based glass artist Anthony Stern were also up for auction. Stern was commissioned to make a collection of glasses for the restaurant. These coloured glasses were intended to echo the restaurant’s diamond shaped window panes.
