The problem is that we will never know for sure. Instead of this being an excellent chance for Raysee’s work to really excel at auction, this whole situation has generated a big question mark surrounding the true value of Raysse’s work. Given that Raysse’s work rarely appears at auction outside France, there may not be another chance like this for a long time, which is a really big shame. Hopefully Raysse’s work will continue to become more well know and more highly valued as it deserves to be.
image:
Martial Raysse (b. 1936)
L’année dernière à Capri (titre exotique)
(Last Year in Capri (Exotic Title))
signed twice and titled ‘MARTIAL RAYSSE “L’année dernière à Capri” (titre exotique)’ (on the reverse)
oil, paper collage, glycerospray and painted wooden frame on board
72 3/8 x 53in. (184 x 134.6cm.)
Executed in 1962
**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications
