Rare collection of paintings by Jean Cocteau going under the hammer
Bonham's will be selling a selection of ceramics, pastels and drawings by French poet, playwright and novelist Jean Cocteau on September 23rd in Knightsbridge.The rare collection contains Le Clown au Chapeau Rouge, which is expected to sell for between £5,000 and £7,000 and Pablo Picasso which is estimated to make between £3,000 and £5,000.
Other highlights of the auction, which is formed of more than 70 lots, include a number of self-portraits and a Still life of Flowers and Paintbrushes resting on a table, which is predicated to reach between £8,000 and £12,000.
Cocteau was born in 1889 and is mostly known for his films such as Beauty and the Beast (1946), plays including Le Bel Indifferent (1940) and novels such as Les Enfants Terribles (1929).
However, he also created thousands of artworks throughout his life and some of his subjects included celebrity friends such as Edith Piaf and Josephine Baker.
He found painting therapeutic and is quoted by the auction house as saying: "Art is not a pastime but a priesthood."
Proceeds from the sale will go to the Severin Wunderman Family Foundation, which conducts research into incurable diseases.
Posted by Ophelia Weston
