Les siends II by Jan Lebenstein, £17,500 at Canterbury Auction Galleries.
Grotesque beasts and human-like creatures feature regularly in his work and the example offered at Canterbury Auction Galleries (22.5% buyer’s premium) on September 30-October 2 was a known painting that appeared in an exhibition of the artist’s work in Warsaw in 1992 (it had appeared on the front cover of the show’s catalogue).
Titled Les siends II, the 4ft 5in x 3ft 3in (1.33 x 1m) signed oil on canvas was dated 1970.
Although exhibiting mostly in France, where he was primarily based after 1959, Lebenstein retains a strong following in his homeland.
Estimated at £10,000-12,000, the picture in Canterbury drew a good contest and sold at £17,500 to a bidder in Poland.
This appears to be the highest sum for Lebenstein at an auction in the UK although he has made much more in Poland and the US.
The following lot was a pen and ink drawing by Lebenstein depicting a seated female figure with a mythical insect. Surpassing a £1500-2000 pitch and selling at £3000, it fetched a decent sum for a work on paper by the artist.
