Pauline Boty’s tribute to Marilyn Monroe, Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give was exhibited at the Arthur Jeffress Gallery in August 1962, and gifted by the artist to a close friend two years later. It has remained in the same collection ever since.
Christie’s Modern British and Irish Art specialist Angus Granlund says the gift marked a key moment in Boty’s career: “A trailblazing pioneer and true polymath, Boty painted, acted, danced and engaged in political activism. However, at this key period she refocused her energy on painting, turning down acting roles to do so.” Granlund further describes the work as “a hugely important picture, and Boty’s only Marilyn painting still in a private collection. It unites two women who were synonymous with one another in the 1960s.”
Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give (1962, estimate: £500,000-800,000), is a leading highlight of the Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale on 20 March.
The essay and short film with Ali Smith are available here: [link]
Lot detail
Epitaph to Something’s Gotta Give, 1962
Oil on hardboard
106.5 x 127 cm
Estimate
GBP 500,000-800,000
Auction details
Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale
20 March 6:30PM GMT | Live Auction 22673
Viewing
New York: from 9–21 February
London: from 13–20 March
Further information on the auction is here: [link]
Pauline Boty 