The cultural influence of Kate Moss can be felt in the upcoming Sotheby’s Made in Britain sale, with several portraits of the iconic supermodel set to cross the auction block in London.
Moss has served as inspiration to numerous British artists, and was described by fashion designer Marc Jacobs as "a muse to a generation … she defines a time, a feeling, that has become part of history."
Leading this selection of works is Banksy’s famous image of Moss, created in the iconic Pop Art style of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe portraits.
Executed in 2005, the print offered at Sotheby’s is a proof created alongside the original edition of 50. Examples from this series are amongst the most sought-after Banksy prints on the market, having previously fetched close to £100,000, and this individual proof print is expected to sell for £30,000 – £50,000 ($39,780 – $66,300).
The sale will also offer two works by British artist Chris Levine, from his ‘She’s Light’ series which featured Moss as its main subject.
First is a unique 3D lenticular print entitled ‘She’s Light (Laser 2)’, executed in 2013 and estimated at £18,000 – £25,000 ($23,870 – $33,150); followed by the diptych ‘Kate Moss (She’s Light)’, produced in 2014 in an edition of 25, estimated at £10,000 – £15,000 ($13,260 – $19,890).
Back in 2013 another of Levine’s portraits of Moss, ‘She’s Light (Laser 3)’, set a new auction record for the artist when it sold for £115,875 ($185,284).
Amongst the sale’s selection of photographs is the portrait ‘Kate In Red Dress’ by Mary McCartney, estimated at £5,000 – £7,000 ($6,630 – $9,280).
Having worked with Moss extensively, McCartney (eldest daughter of Paul McCartney) described her in the Telegraph in 2010: "She’s got such character – so naughty and rock chick, but artistic. She knows how to perform and she’s got such stamina for it. In front of the camera she just glows."
The sale also includes a depiction of Moss in three dimensions – the painted bronze sculpture Sleeping Beauty by Marc Quinn, also valued at £5,000 – £7,000 ($6,630 – $9,280).
According to Quinn: "If you were an artist in ancient Greece, you’d make a sculpture of Aphrodite. An artist now with the same idea would make one of Kate Moss. The sculpture of Kate Moss is not that of a real person, it’s a cultural hallucination, an image of perfection we live up to."
Sotheby’s Made in Britain sale takes place in London on September 28.
