The first New York session dedicated to impressionists left Christe’s with a turnover of 277,276,000 dollars. Two new important records were broken for Monet and Rodin, however many of their paintings remained unsold.

The 6th May auction brought about some confirmations, but also gave rise to creeping fears that have been circulating on the art market for a while. The top lot of the evening was the splendid painting by Claude Monet “Le Pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil” which went under the hammer for 41,481,000 dollars. With this sale Monet exceeded the previous record at auction, realised last June during the Sotheby’s auction in London; on that occasion, “Ninphéas” from 1904 went under the hammer for 36.7 million dollars.

Perhaps due to this extraordinary result, the other Monet works presented at auction did not chalk up such a memorable success. A “Ninphéas” from 1908 valued from between 10 to 15 million sold for 11,689,000 dollars. Another two works, “Le Rio de la Salue” (estimated from between 8 – 12 million) and “Près de Vétheuil” (estimated from between 1 – 1.5 million), remained unsold.

The second highest price of the auction went to Alberto Giacometti for the statuette “Grande femme debout II” from 1960, selling for 27,481,000 dollars. All of this artists’ works presented at auction were sold. “La Place II“ from 1949 obtained 14,601,000 dollars; “Homme (Apollon)”, a plastic sculpture from 1929 estimated at 800,000 – 1,200,000 dollars, more than tripled estimates achieving an amount of 3,625,000 dollars. In line with estimates, the work “Homme debout” sold for 2,841,000 dollars (estimated at 2.5 – 3.5 million) and “Figuarine” acquired 657,000 dollars (estimated at 500,000 – 700,000 dollars).

Henri Matisse’s piece “Portrait au manteau bleu” from 1935 received excellent results selling for 22,441,000 dollars. However, the painting “Femme assise au livre ouvert” remained unsold estimated from between 5 - 7 million dollars.

A new record was established for Auguste Rodin. His “Eve, grand modèle-version sans rocher” was estimated to be between 9-12 million dollars; it sold for 18,969,000 dollars. The work was conceived in 1881 and realised in 1987 by François Rudier. It was first presented by Rodin to accompany his figure of Adam in “The Gates of Hell” a monumental door with decorations inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy. The two figures however assume their own independence with respect to the complex monument. The figure of Eve signifies an important path towards modern sculpture; the rough surface of the statue moves notably away from works generally presented in the exhibition rooms. A minimum sales price was guaranteed to the seller as recorded in the catalogue.

Also among the most important lots sold last night at Christie’s, “La caresse des étoiles” by Joan Miro sold for17, 065,000 euros (estimated at 12 – 16 million). The oil painting is one of the most significant pieces by the great modern master, realised just at the peak of his artistic career. The artwork that was painted in 1938 was hidden in Paris during the Second World War to avoid it falling in the hands of the German army. In 1945, Nathan L. Halpern, a television director and American collector, bought it and transferred it to the United States. Since then, the work was shown only to the collector’s friends, but it was never exhibited nor publicised in any catalogues, to the extent that it wasn’t even considered in the 2000 Jacques Dupin catalogue (which today confirms its authenticity). Its debut to the greater public only happened in 2004 when it was posted at auction by Christie’s New York, and it sold for 10.5 million dollars.

Despite the good results, it should be highlighted however that important works by great masters remained unsold. Of the illustrious market failures we find for example, the work “Buste d’Homme” (estimated at 4-6 million) by Picasso, which remained unsold, and “Trois femme a la fontaine” (estimated at 3.5 – 5.5 million), and “Portrait de Lola” (estimated at 3 – 4 million).

But it wasn’t only works by famous artists that remained unsold. The same fate went to Van Gogh, Gaugin, Van Dongen and Morisot.