TORONTO, March 11, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Waddington's presents the artistry of FXSMITH Studio Inc. in an auction of extraordinary examples of special effects from blockbuster movies such as X-Men, Platoon, Nixon, JFK, Jacob's Ladder and Legends of the Fall.
"This auction really takes you behind the scenes – an exploration of the magic and the imagination of some of Hollywood's most popular and provocative movies" says Duncan McLean, president of the Toronto-based auction company conducting the sale. McLean added: "What impressed us was the artistry of the work; FXSMITH's team was comprised of some of Canada's leading artists, including one of Canada's best sculptors, Evan Penny, whose work appears in the Art Gallery of Ontario and has been featured in our contemporary art auctions."
FXSMITH is probably best known for bringing the mutants from X-Men to life. Mystique, Wolverine, Sabretooth, Toad, Nightcrawler, Senator Kelly and Lady Deathstrike all appear in the auction in one shape or form, including a life-size Mystique made of silicone appliqués (played by actress Rebecca Romijn); the bust and prosthetic hands and arms of Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman); as well as various prosthetic busts, tails, feet, ears, clawed hands and retracting blades of the other main X-Men characters.
While the special effects for movies like X-Men and Jacob's Ladder are based on sci-fi and fantasy, FXSMITH's work in movies like Oliver Stone's Nixon, and Edward Zwick's Legends of the Fall involved creating life-like effects. Items in the auction from these movies include mixed media models of eviscerated zebra and antelopes and charred, skeletal battlefield corpses from Legends of Fall. Museum-quality sculpture is captured by the cast plaster life masks of characters from Oliver Stone's Nixon, including Anthony Hopkins as Nixon, Paul Sorvino as Kissinger; as well as John F. Kennedy from Stone's 1991 JFK.
McLean summarizes that "It's been an incredible exercise in research, discovery and appreciation of a new art form." As an auction house which covers a broad range of fine collectibles – the mutant bat heads and cockroach wings, eviscerated wildlife, and life-like busts of Genna Davis, Whoopi Goldberg and Hugh Jackman, as well as the luminescent Mystique, have actually begun to blend in with the oil paintings, bronze sculpture, and objets d'art.
Auction Highlights
Mystique - X-MEN 2, 2003
Life-size figure consisting of silicone appliques and hair on mannequin of character Mystique, played by Rebecca Romijn, height 69" — 175.3 cm.
Estimate: $5,000—7,000
Wolverine - X-MEN, 2000
Stunt double bust of Wolverine character, played by Hugh Jackman, height 19" — 48.3 cm.
Estimate: $2,000—3,000
Dolphin - Johnny Mnemonic, 1995
Mixed media, life-size prop model of a biomechanical dolphin, length 85" – 215.9 cm.
Estimate: $300—500
Total Recall 2070, 1999
Two pigmented silicone baldhead wounds and two exposed brain prosthetics. Diameter 9" – 22.9 cm
Estimate: $200—300
Images of all lots included in the auction can be found at: http://decorativearts.waddingtons.ca/auctions-163/Hollywood-North--The-FXSMITH-Studio-Collection-Online-Auction
Auction Dates and Times
Online Auction
March 23 – 26, 2015
Preview
Saturday, March 21 & Sunday, March 22, 11 am – 5 pm
Monday, March 23, 10 am – 12 noon
About Waddington's
Waddington's is Canada's largest and most diversified provider of auction services. We offer live and online auctions of fine art and collectibles across a broad spectrum of markets, including Asian, Canadian, Contemporary, Inuit, and International Art, as well as Decorative Arts and Jewellery. A full-service company with respected subject matter expertise; Waddington's international network of clients and contacts ensures our auctions and services reach the broadest possible audiences.
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