Juan Gris
Nature morte à la nappe à carreaux (1915)
Estimated: £12,000,000 – £18,000,000
Sold for £34,802,500 at Christie’s
Camille Pissarro
Boulevard Montmartre, matinée de printemps (1897)
Estimated: £7,000,000 – £10,000,000
Sold for £19,682,500 at Sotheby’s
Gris, Pissarro shine at London auctions, February 2014 ‘Nature morte à la nappe à carreaux’, a great still life by Juan Gris, sold for £34,8 million at Christie’s, while Pissarro’s ‘Le Boulevard Montmartre, matinée de printemps’ realized £19,7 million at Sotheby’s.]]>
February 6th 2014, source: Christie’s / Sotheby’s
Juan Gris beats Picasso at Christie’s
Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale in London on 4 February 2014 totalled £176,986,000 / $288,133,208 / €212,737,172, and it was highlighted by “Nature morte à la nappe à carreaux” (1915), a strong example of Juan Gris‘s personal Synthetic Cubism. The £34,8 million ($56,6 million) paid for the painting marked a new world auction record for the artist. While the Gris was clearly the best painting at the auction, the highest estimate (£15-20 million) was carried by Pablo Picasso‘s “Femme au costume turc dans un fauteuil” (1955), which, however, was auctioned for £16,9 million ($27,5 million). For once, the lure of a great painting defeated the lure of a big name.
Another cubist painting, Fernand Léger‘s “Les cylindres colorés” from 1918, also did well at the auction, selling for a strong £12,1 million ($20,2 million) against a pre-sale estimate of £5-7 million. “Composition No. II with Blue and Yellow” (1930), a typical abstraction by Piet Mondrian, realized £12,4 million ($20,1 million).
It seems than no modern art auction is completed without a work by Alberto Giacometti. “Trois homes qui marchent” has a distinguished provenance, coming from the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, which is selling it to benefit its Acquisitions Fund. It sold for £9 million ($14,7 million), which means that the MoMA only needs to sell 10 Giacomettis more to try to acquire “The Scream” by Munch, which was loaned to the museum last year (just an idea, don’t take it too seriously).
A masterpiece by Pissarro at Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s Impressionist, Modern & Surrealist Art Evening Sale in London on 5 February 2014 -which totalled £163,461,500- was highlighted by one of the best impressionist paintings to appear at auction for many years. Camille Pissarro‘s “Le Boulevard Montmartre, matinée de printemps” (1897), a fascinating depiction of Haussmann’s Paris, is an icon of the Impressionist era, a vibrant yet harmonious painting. A museum piece, it sold for £19,7 million, almost doubling its high estimate of £10 million. My most sincere congratulations to the buyer.
The second highest price at the auction was achieved by Vincent van Gogh‘s charming “L’Homme est en mer”, sold for £16,9 million (pre-sale estimate of £6-8 million). More big names: Pablo Picasso‘s strong “Composition with minotaure” from the Jan Krugier Collection sold for £10,4 million, more than 4 times its high estimate. “Homme traversant une place par un matin de soleil” by Alberto Giacometti went for £8,5 million, and Henri Matisse‘s “Boléro violet” from 1937 fetched £9,15 million.
Last but not least, the biggest surprise of the sale: Kay Sage‘s “Le Passage” from 1956 carried the lowest pre-sale estimate of the auction, with a very modest £70,000 – 90,000. It soared to an impressive £4,338,500.
Related content
Moore, Miró and Monet lead February Impressionist and Modern auctions (February 2012)
Picasso’s ‘La Lecture’ sells for $40.7 million (February 2011)
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