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Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sales, New York, Fall 2016
Sotheby’s, 7pm, 14 November
Christie’s, 7pm, 16 November
We are pleased to introduce the evening sales below. We realise that the value of these works falls outside the parameters of most of our clients, but the major works are a market indicator and have more interesting stories to tell. For information and our personal viewpoints on the Day sales, please contact Ray Waterhouse in New York or Adrian Biddell in London, who will both be viewing and attending the auctions.
Wassily Kandinsky, Rigide et courbé, 1935; est. $18-25 million (courtesy Christie’s)
The major sales this fall in New York are being held one week later than usual to avoid a clash with the elections; the Impressionist and Modern auctions are being held the same week as the Contemporary auctions. Perhaps because of political uncertainty, consignments are down in number and value; the main evening sales offer 92 lots, which total around $330 million at the low estimate.
Frantisek Kupka, La forme du bleu, 1924; Est. $1.5-2 million (courtesy Sotheby’s)
The works representing abstraction and non-objective art are strong. They are led by Kandinsky’s rare and impressive Rigide et courbé of 1935 at Christie’s (est. $18-25 million), which has not been seen on the market for more than 50 years, and Frantisek Kupka’s La forme du bleu of 1924 (est. $1.5-2 million) at Sotheby’s. Both deserve to sell well, although there hasn’t been a good Paris period painting by Kandinsky at auction since the early 1990s, when a work of a similar scale and ambition sold for $4.5m, a very considerable sum at the time.
Edvard Munch, Girls on the Bridge, 1902; Estimate on request (courtesy Sotheby’s)
Expressionism and the Fauves are led by Munch’s very familiar Girls on the Bridge of 1902 - the most expensive painting of the week (there is no published estimate, but it’s rumoured to be around $50 million) - it was last at auction in 2008 when it sold for $31 million – and a very fresh and vibrant landscape Le verger of 1906 by Maurice de Vlaminck. Both works are offered at Sotheby’s.
Claude Monet, Meule, 1891; Estimate on request (courtesy Christie's)
Chaïm Soutine, Garcon d’étage, 1928; Est. $6-9 million (courtesy Christie’s)
Pablo Picasso, Le hibou (rouge et blanc), 1953; Est. $1-1.5 million (courtesy Christie’s)
Pablo Picasso, Buste de femme (Dora Maar), 1938; Est. $18-25 million, Christie’s