Coast of Amalfi (Composition), a Maurits Cornelis Escher woodcut, $240,000 (£192,500) at Swann.
The seaside village of Atrani and the Collegiata di Santa Maria Maddalena cast a particular charm and inspired some of his most famous later works, most notably the series of Metamorphosis prints.
Escher painted and drew Atrani and its surrounding landscape from a number of different vantage points during his many visits. Swann Auction Galleries’ (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) November 2 Old Master Through Modern Prints sale included a particularly rare woodcut. Titled Coast of Amalfi (Composition) it measured 2ft 4in x 2ft 5in (70 x 74cm) and dates from 1934.
The auction house described it as “a superb, dark and evenly printed impression of an exceedingly scarce woodcut, with strong contrasts. We have not found another impression at auction in the past 30 years.”
Estimated at $20,000-30,000, it hammered for $240,000 (£192,500).
According to Artprice, this is the second-highest price at auction for an Escher print, next to the $600,000 bid at Sotheby’s in April 2022 for one of the edition of 30 of Reptiles from 1943.
