A remarkable sculpture by the renowned English artist Henry Moore, which has never before been available at auction, will take center stage at Christie's 20th/21st Century evening sale in London on March 5. Entitled King and Queen (1952-53), this 64-inch-tall bronze piece is estimated to fetch a staggering £15 million (approximately $20.5 million).
Katherine Arnold, the vice chairman of 20th/21st century art at Christie's and head of post-war and contemporary art for Europe, expressed her enthusiasm, stating that this bronze is "the most exciting sculpture I've ever seen brought to market." She elaborated that the current owner acquired it directly from the artist, and it is the first cast from an edition of four plus an artist's cast, making it the sole remaining example in private ownership.
All other casts of King and Queen are housed in prestigious public institutions, including the MOA Museum of Art in Atami, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., the Middelheim Museum in Antwerp, and the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. Notably, two additional casts were created specifically for the Tate in 1957 and the Henry Moore Foundation in 1985.
Arnold noted, "Moore worked directly in wax and plaster rather than through extensive preparatory drawings, which gives the sculpture a wonderful immediacy. He drew significant inspiration from the British Museum, particularly from an ancient Egyptian regal double portrait. There's a totemic quality to these figures, conveying a sense of benevolent power. The suggestion of the Queen's crown is almost abstract, yet it unmistakably conveys her regal essence. It's this interplay between abstraction and figuration that enhances the sculpture's uniqueness."
Moore's auction record was previously established by his 1951 bronze Reclining Figure: Festival, which sold for £26.1 million ($31 million) at Sotheby's New York in November 2022. This sculpture, originally commissioned for the 1951 Festival of Britain, has set multiple records in the past, including a sale of £24.7 million ($33.1 million) at Christie's in 2016.