Article translated by Amritee Mahabir

On 7th May the “Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale” was held at Sotheby’s New York. It was an important occasion for art enthusiasts of celebrated masterpieces from the end of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth century. The sale demonstrated that the art market still holds a record of 75% of sales given that it totalled 235,333,000 dollars (compared to 278.5 million from last year).
As our magazine already announced, the top price of the New York auction was for “Étude pour la femme en bleu”, an oil on canvass realised around 1912/13 by the French artist Fernand Lèger. It is a piece of extreme beauty, presented by Sotheby’s with an initial estimate comprising between 35 and 45 million dollars and sold for 39,241,000 dollars.
Besides this work, the auction showcased another Legèr piece: “Les Baigneuses”, an oil on canvas executed in 1955, selling for 3,401,000 dollars, against a valuation equal to 3-4 million dollars; while the painting “La partie de campagne” (estimated at 12-18 million dollars) remained unsold.
During the auction, an Edvard Munch painting also aroused a lot of attention. We are talking about
“Girls on a Bridge” from 1902, which gave a valuation of between 24 to 28 million dollars, and which sold for 30,841,000 dollars. It’s a painting of great artistic quality that had passed through different galleries throughout the years until it ended up being showcased in 1980 by Christie’s. Following this, it was sold by Sotheby’s to its current owner for 7 million dollars.
Alberto Giacometti achieved huge success during the auction. The Swiss sculptor and painter is celebrated for his thin and threadlike human figures. “Femme de Venise VIII”, a marvellous bronze statue dated 1956/57 gave an initial estimate of between 8 and 12 million dollars, selling for 10,121,000 dollars, while the oil on canvass “Portrait de Caroline” went under the hammer for 14,601,000 dollars against a valuation of 10-15 million dollars. Also to be noted was “Femme Debout” (estimated at 800,000 – 1,200,000 dollars) selling for 2,393,000 dollars, “Buste de Diego” (estimated at 4-6 million dollars) going for 3,401,000 dollars, “Femme” (estimated at 1-1.5 million dollars) which sold for 1,273,000 dollars, and “Composition Dite Cubiste II” (estimate at 1.5-2 million dollars) which sold for 1,833,000 dollars.
In the course of the “Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale” auction some excellent performances were observed. Of these, that which definitely deserves attention is a Pablo Picasso sculpture entitled “La grue” which gave an estimate of 10-15 million dollars, and which sold for 19,193,000 dollars. Picasso’s clever collages featuring the chair and newspaper motifs influence this sculpture. In fact even this masterpiece maintains the artist’s poetry based on assembling objects found casually from daily life. Again by Picasso from lot 19 is “Portrait de Olga” from 1920 (estimated at 1-1.5 million dollars) selling for 1,497,000 dollars, “Le Baiser”, an oil on canvass from 1969 that gave a valuation of 10-15 million dollars, and was sold for 17,401,000 dollars, “Le Dèjeuner sur l’Herbe” (estimated at 5-7 million) selling for 5,193,000 dollars, and the painting “L’atelier” (estimated at 6-8 million dollars) going for 6,481,000 dollars.
Finally, of the best sales, let us recall “Environs De Gardanne” by Paul Cézanne that sold for 10,457,000 dollars against an estimate of 6-8 million dollars, and “La Gèranium” by Henri Matisse (estimated at 2.5-3 million dollars) going under the hammer for 9,561,000 dollars.
Of the lots remaining unsold, there were some works from excellent nineteenth/ twentieth century artists like Edgard Degas, Marc Chagall and Camille Pissarro.