'Poet Gu Sang's Family' Up for Auction After 70 Years
130 Works Including Kim Whanki's New York Period Lighting and Matisse Print Collection Submitted
The painting "Poet Gu Sang's Family" by artist Lee Jung-seop (1916?1956) has been put up for auction for the first time in 70 years. This artwork, gifted by Lee Jung-seop to poet Gu Sang in 1955, was introduced through the exhibition "Lee Jung-seop, A Century of Myth" held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Busan Museum of Art.
Lee Jung-seop, Poet Gu Sang's Family, 1955, oil and pencil on paper 32×49.5cm [Photo provided by K Auction]
On the 13th, art auction house K Auction announced, "We will offer Lee Jung-seop's 1955 work 'Poet Gu Sang's Family' at the April auction opening at 4 p.m. on the 24th," adding, "The starting price is set at 1.4 billion KRW."
This well-known piece to the public holds a sad story. In 1955, after Lee Jung-seop's solo exhibitions at Mido Gallery in Myeong-dong, Seoul (January 18?27, 1955) and the U.S. Information Service in Daegu (April 11?16, 1955) were successful, he dreamed of reuniting with his family separated during the Korean War. However, despite favorable newspaper reviews and selling more than half of the works, he did not receive the payment properly, and ultimately, the artist was unable to visit his family in Japan.
At the time when his hope was dashed, Lee Jung-seop was staying at the home of his longtime friend Gu Sang in Waegwan. Seeing Gu Sang riding a bicycle with his son reminded him of his own son. Unable to buy the promised bicycle, he expressed his envy and sorrow by painting himself alone on the right side of the canvas at the scene of that happy family. Poet Gu Sang recalled about the work, saying, "Lee Jung-seop sketched the moment when I bought a tricycle for my children and gave it to me as a 'family photo.'"
(Photo left) Kim Whanki, 22-X-73 #325, 1973, oil on cotton, 182×132cm (Photo right) Kim Whanki, Mountain, 1955, oil on canvas, 90.9×60.6cm [Photo by K Auction]
One particularly eye-catching point in the painting is the girl at the far left of the canvas, turning her back on Gu Sang's family. This girl was the daughter of novelist Choi Tae-eung, who was temporarily staying at Gu Sang's house as a stepchild. K Auction explained that Lee Jung-seop likely felt a shared sense of suffering with the girl.
Another notable feature is that Lee Jung-seop's hand touches Gu Sang's son's hand, ignoring perspective. In other works by Lee Jung-seop, his elongated arms connect with family, animals, and others, which is interpreted as his unique technique representing an ideal world in his mind where he wants to forget reality. The countless pencil lines and the brushstrokes of oil paint fully reveal the artist's longing for his family.
Henri Matisse, Jazz (Complete set of 20), 1947, pochoir sheet 41.9×65.1cm, 20 works (edition 128/250) Photo by K Auction
Paintings by Kim Whanki (1913?1974) will also find new owners at prices in the tens of billions of KRW. His pointillist work from his New York period in 1973, one year before his death, titled '22-X-73 #325,' is listed with an auction estimate of 3.5 billion KRW. The painting 'Mountain,' created in 1955 before he left for Paris, will start at 2 billion KRW.
Among overseas artworks, Henri Matisse's (1869?1954) 1947 artist's book "Jazz" stands out. As his health declined in old age, preventing him from working on large prints or oil paintings, Matisse completed 20 works using scissors, glue, and pins, produced them as prints, and published them as a print collection. The estimated price is between 950 million and 1.2 billion KRW.
The exhibited works can be viewed free of charge at the exhibition hall from the 13th to the 24th.
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