Portrait of Grace Kelly by Artist Peter Engels Shortly to be Auctioned by Sotheby's in the Presence of Prince Albert II of Monaco

Portrait of Grace Kelly by Artist Peter Engels Shortly to be Auctioned by Sotheby's in the Presence of Prince Albert II of Monaco

ANTWERP, Belgium, March 30/PRNewswire/ -- Princess Grace Kelly would have been 80 this year. Artist Peter Engels has painted this 'Vintage Portrait' in homage to her. It is an impressive canvas and will be auctioned on 9 May by Sotheby's in the Monaco casino, in the presence of Grace Kelly's son, His Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090330/342256 )

Last year artist Peter Engels attracted the attention of the international press when his portrait of Nelson Mandela appeared on the largest Reuters billboard in the world on Broadway when Mandela turned 90. This art stunt on Times Square, New York, gave a tremendous boost to Peter Engels' artistic career. Paintings such as this Grace Kelly portrait easily sell for 60,000 euros (81,500 US Dollar) nowadays.

Peter Engels: "I am paying tribute to one of the most stylish women of all time. As I always paint my portraits with a pallet knife in sepia colourite, this gives this portrait of Grace Kelly an intense vintage look. The buyer will not just be purchasing a unique work of art, he will also be supporting a good cause."

The proceeds of the auction will go to the charity of the Lions Club Monaco (for care of the disabled).

This painting is probably the largest painted portrait of Grace Kelly, on a canvas measuring 2x1metre (78.7x39.4 inch), twice the size of the portrait by Andy Warhol. In the background we can recognise Monaco's port at night anno 1955. Artist Peter Engels based this on images from Alfred Hitchcock's thriller "To Catch a Thief" in which Grace Kelly played the main role alongside Cary Grant.

Insiders say that Peter Engels has once again been able to capture Grace Kelly's soul in a masterful way. Peter Engels: "Princess Grace was a captivating woman. She died tragically in the prime of her life. And just like John F. Kennedy, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Ernest Hemingway, Elvis Presley and John Lennon, she remains an icon who even now, 25 years after her death, continues to leave an impression. Even on art, so it seems."

Exhibition: 25 April until 2 May 2009

Auction: 9 May 2009, 3 pm, Monaco Casino

For information, text and photograph see 'Press releases' at http://www.peterengels.eu

A picture accompanying this release is available on AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org under reference number: PRN10

          Contact:      ArtPR     +32-(0)3-653-33-77     +32-(0)477-42-58-58     ArtPR@peterengels.eu      http://www.peterengels.eu  

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090330/342256

Source: ArtPR

Contact: ArtPR, +32-(0)3-653-33-77, +32-(0)477-42-58-58, ArtPR@peterengels.eu

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Profile: International Entertainment