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Zorba the Greek Under the Hammer

zorba-2According to Art Daily, eight works from the late American actor Anthony Quinn’s collection feature in the next Bonhams sale of South African art on March 20th in New Bond Street, London.

Anthony Quinn (1915-2001) became mostly internationally famous for his performances in films such as La Strada, Zorba the Greek, Lawrence of Arabia and Viva Zapata

What is less well known though, is that he was a keen artist and collector. He studied art and architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin.

Later on, during his time in Johannesburg, he was invited to a dinner party at the home of African art dealer Vittorino Meneghelli. Quinn was struck by the beauty of the artworks on display in the house and bought quite a few. While he was in Johannesburg, Quinn visited Cecil Skotnes’ home. The Portrait of Anthony Quinn (lot 106) – a painting on incised wooden panel – was commissioned at that meeting. Quinn later wrote to the artist to express his delight with the finished portrait, which was also used to illustrate his biography.

The artist’s daughter Pippa recalls the artist and actor enjoying several good dinners together during Quinn’s time in South Africa, with Cecil adopting Quinn’s famous lines in the 1964 film Zorba the Greek about being “the whole catastrophe” as a family saying, Art Daily writes.

Hannah O’Leary, head of South African art at Bonhams, among others stated: “Many of the dealers at the time regaled me with stories of his visit – of the day the great Anthony Quinn visited their humble gallery, or of raucous dinners at the famous Plaka restaurant in Hyde Park and parties at Vittorino Meneghelli’s home. He obviously felt quite at home when surrounded by gallerists and artists, and enjoyed his time in South Africa immensely.”

Following Quinn’s death, the Anthony Quinn Trust selected key pieces from his immense collection including several South African artworks and Quinn’s own work for the US traveling exhibition Anthony Quinn’s Eye: A Lifetime of Creating and Collecting Art.

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