The London Zoo is selling 4 paintings by the Swiss artist Jacques Laurent Agasse (1767-1849). These works were originally commissioned in the 1820s by Edward Cross who owned a menagerie that for a time was located on Trafalgar Square. The paintings remained in the Cross family until 1950 when they were bequeathed to the Zoological Society of London. Since then the works have basically remained ‘out of sight’ and have not been recorded in Agasse literature, nor were they part of the Tate’s 1989 exhibit on the artist.
In total, the four paintings are expected to bring about £500,000 … my guess is that they will do a much better (assuming they are in good condition). The first two will be featured in the Defining British Art sale on June 30th. I will update you on the results then. And in case you are wondering, the artist’s record auction price was set in 1988 when Two Leopards Playing in the Exeter Change Menagerie sold for $5.8M.
Source: London Zoo to auction off unseen animal paintings by Agasse
Jacques-Laurent Agasse “A lion and a lioness in a rocky valley”