A painting by Tracey Emin auctioned at Christies yesterday (October 13) smashed through the £500-700,000 guide price to sell for £2.3 million.
Like a Cloud of Blood is one of the first paintings by Margate-based artist Tracey Emin created following her cancer treatment. It was auctioned to raise funds for her new artist studio complex TKE Studios in former Victorian baths and former morgue in Dane Road/Victoria Road.
The painting represents a return to the creative process for Emin, and an intimate vision of her recent experience which she is offering to establish a future for artists in her home town
The TKE Studios are titled with an abbreviation of the artist’s full name, Tracey Karima Emin.
The aim is for the studio complex and residency programme to foster new generations of talent, and to create a thriving artistic hub in Margate.
Emin, who last month was awarded as a Freewoman of the town, has become a passionate advocate for Margate since returning in 2017 after buying part of the former Thanet Press site in Margate and converting it into an artist’s studio and flat.
The 59-year-old is in remission from bladder cancer. She was diagnosed in spring 2020 and underwent an operation in the Summer which meant the removal of many of her female reproductive organs and the need for a stoma bag.
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With 12 subsidised professional artist studios, a rigorous exhibition cycle and two-year residencies for 15-20 students with free studios, tutorials and lectures, Emin hopes to create an inspirational ‘artists’ haven’ at the TKE Studios.
Find out more via the Tracey Emin Foundation.
