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Sotheby’s to auction Munch’s ‘Girls on the Bridge’

Munch - Girls on the Bridge

Edvard Munch
Pikene på broen (Girls on the Bridge)

Sotheby’s to auction Munch’s ‘Girls on the Bridge’ Sotheby’s announced that Edvard Munch’s stunning ‘Pikene på broen (Girls on the Bridge)’ (estimated in excess of $50 million) will lead the November 2016 auctions of Impressionist & Modern Art in New York.]]>

October 23, 2016, source: Sotheby’s

Munch painted “Girls on the Bridge” in 1902, during an emotionally-turbulent yet highly-productive period of his life. The lyrical work ranks as one of the most powerful paintings of his career, and has twice set a new world auction record for the artist at Sotheby’s.

The rich symbolism of “Girls on the Bridge” relates to Munch’s “Frieze of Life”, which takes the stages of a young woman’s development from puberty to maturity as one of its themes. “Girls on the Bridge” continues Munch’s exploration of the themes of both sexual awakening and mortality. The image of a cluster of young women, huddled in a secretive mass between two points of land, resonates with explosive tension.

In addition, Sotheby’s will present property from the collection of Joan Oestreich Kend across a series of sales this autumn in New York. The works are led by Pablo Picasso’s “Le Peintre et son modèle”, which will be offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale with an estimate of $12/18 million.

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Sotheby's to auction Munch's 'Girls on the Bridge'