London + Paris: A Tale of Two Cities

E ver since the Bayeux Tapestry was embroidered by nuns in Canterbury for Bishop Odo and his cathedral in medieval Bayeux, the artistic threads of France and Britain have been tightly woven together. Separated by just 21 miles of sea, these two nations – historic friends and, at times, rivals – come together this autumn to celebrate an enduring artistic dialogue.

For two weeks in October, the art world converges on London and then Paris for an array of major exhibitions and auctions, all anchored by the Frieze and Art Basel fairs.

In the spirit of this London-Paris love-in, you will find a major exhibition of Monet’s views of the Thames at The Courtauld in London, while Van Gogh’s Arles landscapes feature at the National Gallery. In Paris, the work of British artist Leonora Carrington receives long-overdue recognition in the Pompidou’s Surréalisme show, while Lynn Chadwick’s sculptures take centre stage at the French National Monuments Centre.

Headlining Sotheby’s Frieze Week evening sale is David Hockney’s L’Arbois, Sainte-Maxime, a sun-drenched ode to a magical summer spent in the South of France with his first love Peter Schlesinger. Another highlight of the sale is Bridget Riley’s Gaillard 2, a kaleidoscopic canvas in shades of azure, vermilion, blazing orange, and emerald. Its title references a town in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, reflecting Riley's inspiration drawn from the art and landscape of France.

As the name suggests, LDN > PAR, the highest value selling exhibition of Modern and Contemporary art ever staged by Sotheby’s in Europe, will feature on both sides of the channel. Rare and important works on show include minimalist masterpieces by Agnes Martin, portraits by Picasso and Bacon, and Kandinsky’s exquisite Le Rond rouge, which returns to Paris, where it was painted in 1939. This exhibition is part of a spectacular program of sales and exhibitions that will inaugurate Sotheby’s new Paris premises at 83 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

Complementing the Pompidou show, Sotheby’s hosts a sale to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Surrealism, gathering works by luminaries including by Magritte, Man Ray, and Salvador Dalí. In the Modernités sale, a rediscovered early masterpiece by Paul Gauguin hides a secret – two of artist’s earliest known self-portraits are on the reverse.

A legendary London-Paris connection can be found in the Excellence à la Française exhibition. In 1983, on a flight from Paris to London, Jane Birkin's straw bag spilled its contents from the overhead locker. As she scrambled to collect her items, she engaged in a conversation with Hermès director Jean-Louis Dumas, seated beside her, about the makings of the perfect leather bag. Dumas, of course, created the now-iconic bag in response, and this exhibition includes that original Hermès Birkin bag, owned by Jane Birkin.

As with the Birkin bag, born in mid-flight, it is the dance between London and Paris that drives the momentum of the European art scene. London’s market muscle and a renewed energy in Paris have made this an unmissable fortnight in the art world calendar for collectors and art lovers – and writes a new chapter in this tale of two cities.