How much is that doggie in the window? If you’re talking about a window at Christie’s, the venerable auction house, it’s a lot.
A June 22, 2007, dog art sale is expected to fetch more than $3 million – the biggest haul ever in the dog art category, according to Christie’s.
The big dog of the dog art sale is “Neptune,” a life-size portrait of a heroic-looking Newfoundland by British painter Sir Edwin Landseer, which Christie’s appraisers expect to go for as much as $1.2 million.
The 1824 painting depicts a muscular Landseer Newfoundland named Neptune, who looms large on a rocky outcropping in the painting’s foreground, his alert eyes cast out to the dark, stormy sea.
The name Landseer is used for the black-and-white variety of Newfoundland that the 19th-century artist made famous in a series of paintings that depict the dogs rescuing children from drowning. Neptune also appears in Landseer’s “Twa Dogs,” which hangs in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
A painting by John Singer Sargent is also expected to bring in big bucks at the dog art auction. The popular American painter’s work, “Pointy,” depicts society woman Louise Burckhardt’s mutt. The painting is expected to sell for around $80,000, according to Christie’s.
To learn more about the dog art auction or to browse the catalogue, visit http://www.christies.com/features/jun07/1932/overview.asp.