About To Fly
About To Fly
Signed Print
Tracey Emin
£2,650-£3,950
$5,000-$7,500 Value Indicator
$4,700-$7,000 Value Indicator
¥25,000-¥35,000 Value Indicator
€3,150-€4,700 Value Indicator
$27,000-$40,000 Value Indicator
¥540,000-¥800,000 Value Indicator
$3,450-$5,000 Value Indicator
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Medium: Etching
Edition size: 200
Year: 2014
Size: H 30cm x W 33cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2022 | Bonhams Knightsbridge - United Kingdom | About To Fly - Signed Print | |||
| January 2022 | Phillips London - United Kingdom | About To Fly - Signed Print | |||
| September 2018 | Chiswick Auctions - United Kingdom | About To Fly - Signed Print | |||
| September 2016 | Wilson55 - United Kingdom | About To Fly - Signed Print |
Meaning & Analysis
This etching was executed by Tracey Emin in 2014 and forms part of the Animals collection. At the centre of a white paper background, Emin has sketchily rendered a seagull about to take flight. Underneath this central illustration is the title of the work, the edition number, and Emin’s signature, all written in the artist’s distinctive handwriting.
Raised in the seaside town of Margate, seagulls would have been a constant presence in Emin’s youth. The bird has also been an important motif throughout her artistic career, and was the primary subject of her 2004 plaster work In My Family When Someone Dies They Are Cremated And Their Ashes Are Thrown Across The Sea. For Emin, seagulls are equated with family, togetherness, and reminiscences of her youth in Margate.
Within this particular work, the seagull is depicted alone, and Emin’s expressive mark-making gives the bird a sense of motion. The bird itself, which Emin’s title describes as “about to fly”, is potentially a foil for Emin herself. Like the seagull she depicts, Emin too was ready to fledge the nest of Margate, the site of her distressed adolescent years, and escaped to London at the young age of fifteen.
