GAUGUIN ‘SUNFLOWER’ MASTERPIECE LEADS CHRISTIE’S AUCTION OF IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART IN FEBRUARY The Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Auction and the sale of The Art of the
Surreal will take place on 9 February 2011 at 7pm with a pre-sale estimate of £73,880,000
to £109,060,000
has been unseen in public since
1989.
* Bateaux à Collioure by André Derain (1880-
1954) was painted in 1905, and is from a
pivotal, early moment of the Fauve movement.
Executed in Collioure where the artist was
painting alongside his great champion Henri
Matisse, it is an exceptionally vibrant work that
has been in the collection of the present owner
since circa 1960 and was last seen in public in
1965 (estimate: £4 million to £6 million)
(illustrated right).
* The auction will offer 4 works to be sold by
the Art Institute of Chicago led by Nature
morte à la guitare (rideaux rouge), 1938, by Georges
Braque (1882-1963) (estimate: £3.5 million to
£5.5 million) (illustrated left). This painting was
formerly in the possession of the celebrated
collectors Mr. and Mrs. Albert D. Lasker, the
parents of Mrs. Brody who owned Pablo
Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves and Bust which sold
at Christie’s New York in May 2010 for $106.5
million – a world record price for any work of art sold at auction. The other paintings
offered by the Art Institute of Chicago are Sur l’impériale traversant la Seine, an early painting
executed in Paris by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) in 1901 (estimate: £2 million to £3
million); Femme au fauteuil, 1919, a striking portrait by Henri Matisse (estimate: £1 million
to £1.5 million); and Verre et pipe, 1919, a cubist jewel by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973).
* Danseuses jupes jaunes (Deux danseuses en jaune), by Edgar Degas (1834-1917) is a stunning
pastel in exceptional condition that was acquired by the family of the present owner in
1899 and has since passed by descent (illustrated p.2). A highly finished work from circa
1896, it shows the artist’s favoured theme, the ballet, captured in the explosive palette that
marked his works from this period. It is expected to realise £3 million to £5 million.
* Terrasse à Vernon by Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) was
painted in 1923 and depicts the view from Ma Roulotte,
the Norman home of the artist (estimate: £3 million to
£4 million) illustrated right. A masterclass in colourist
painting, it was one of only 3 works that Bonnard
selected to be exhibited at the Salon d’Automne that
year, where it was very well received. It has since been
seen in public only once, in New York in 1934.
Acquired by the family of the present owner in 1935, it
has since passed by descent and is offered at auction
for the first time.
The Art of the Surreal
The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale will immediately follow the Impressionist and Modern Art
Evening Auction, and will offer 32 lots with a total pre-sale value of £19,200,000 to
£28,100,000 – the most valuable pre-sale estimate for any auction of Surrealist art.
Christie’s have dedicated a section of the February evening sale to the art of the surreal
since 2001. The Surrealist movement was founded in France in 1924 with the publication
of the Manifeste du surréalisme by André Breton,
