The present owner, born in Amsterdam, lived near Escher during the late 1940s. As a child, he frequently visited the artist's studio, using his pocket money to buy works directly from him. Over time, he acquired some of the rarest and most coveted pieces of the artist's images straight from Escher himself.

The family of the current owner tells us: “Our father was very drawn to Escher’s’ works, he particularly loved the mathematical aspect to them. He purchased 50 or more of his works directly from him over the years. He met Escher through a school friend and would then often frequent his studio with his mother, to spend his saved-up pocket money on another of Escher’s works. His love of them never waned and we now hope that whoever buys these works will be just as passionate about them.”

Alexander Hayter, Senior Consultant, Editions and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions tells us: “Each of the works selected for this auction exemplifies the weird and wonderful world of M.C. Escher, from two-dimensional flatworms floating in a three-dimensional space and alien birds in an impossible moonscape, to an extraordinary hellish tessellation of bats and devils. The highlight of the sale is an incredibly rare 1943 lithograph of an ant, extant in only 20 impressions, this is particularly extraordinary as there have been only two copies seen on the open market in the past 25 years. We are therefore delighted to be able to offer these works for auction, which have been treasured for many years by the current owner.

“A skilled graphic artist, Escher was fascinated with mathematics and is known for creating lithographs, mezzotints and woodcuts all with a mathematical or scientific leaning. His intricate mind-bending images have delighted and confounded for over 100 years. His work has always appealed to mathematicians and scientists, so much so, that Martin Gardener explored his images in his revolutionary Mathematical Games Column in the Scientific American in 1968, a publication that in many respects brought Escher’s work to the mainstream. Escher’s almost hallucinatory images struck a chord with the social climate of the late 1960s and since then his work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the globe.

Escher was enthralled with the science of geometry and obsessed with the mosaic tiles in the Alhambra Palace in Spain. The intricate geometric patterns formed the basis of some of his most famous works. He explores the ways in which geometry can create almost impossible three-dimensional forms in two-dimensions, creating from a flat surface a multi-dimensional confluence of impossible realities. These ‘worlds’, as he described them, are built up of staircases that lead to nowhere but their own beginning, waterfalls that flow backwards, as well as forwards, inhabited by all manner of creatures that defy logical movement and possibility. Escher principally was a printmaker and utilised a range of mediums to produce his intricate images. Printmaking is one of the most technically complicated methods of image making and it seems apt that an artist so obsessed with science would choose to create images in a medium that is in many respects the most complex.”

Auction Details

Wednesday 3 July, 1pm BST
Forum Auctions, 4 Ingate Place, Battersea, London SW8 3NS

Bidding is available on Dreweatts Live | Browse the auction

VIEWING:

Viewing is available by appointment only, during opening hours, Monday – Friday, 9.30am-5pm.

Please contact editions@forumauctions.co.uk to make an appointment.