Eduardo Paolozzi’s original plans for his mosaic at Tottenham Court Road tube station are coming to auction.
Lyon & Turnbull will offer the lot with an estimate of up to £30,000 ($38,853) in Edinburgh on August 17.
Londoners have been admiring Paolozzi’s colourful work since its installation in 1982.
Sir Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005) was one of Britain's foremost pop artists
Tottenham Court Road has long been one of London’s busiest streets and so the design was intended to reflect that fast pace.
Included are references to local musicians like Pink Floyd and Benjamin Britten, as well as motifs symbolising the area’s many museums.
The mosaic was taken down in 2016, when the station was remodelled as part of the Crossrail scheme.
It has since been reinstalled for the most part. The sections that can no longer be displayed were gifted to the Edinburgh College of Art, where Paolozzi taught for many years.
Lyon & Turnbull’s art expert Charlotte Riordan told the Scotsman newspaper: “In his designs for the mosaics... Paolozzi draws on his knowledge and understanding of popular culture and iconic symbolism.
“The concept united his abiding interest in the culture of mechanisation and his empathy with the station’s historic context and its geographical location.
“Having taught at the nearby Central School of Art in the Fifties, Paolozzi had retained a broad, deep-rooted and affectionate understanding of the local area and its diverse communities.”
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