LONDON.- Rare and important works by two Flemish old
masters, Sir Anthony van Dyck and Sir Peter Paul Rubens, will form the
cornerstone of this year’s December Evening Sale of Old Master & British
Paintings at Sotheby’s in London. The sale, which is scheduled
to take place on the evening of Wednesday, December 9, 2009, will also include
prime examples by the prominent British masters, Sir Edwin Landseer and Samuel
Scott. As previously announced, an outstanding self portrait by
Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) – one of the most important Continental
European artists to have worked in England – comes to auction with exemplary
provenance and an estimate of £2-3 million. The masterpiece, which is the
artist’s last portrait of himself, was painted in London in 1641 in the final
months of his life.