Christie’s and Sotheby’s, the two most important auction houses in the world, really seem to want to ignore the great financial crisis that is hitting the global economy, to challenge each other with their masterpieces. Which of the two will sell the most, gaining the title of “queen of the autumn auctions”? All we can do is wait for the following dates: the 19th October at Christie’s London with the auction “Post War & Contemporary Art” and the sale at Sotheby’s New York, “Impressionist & Modern Art” organized for the 3rd November 2008.
In this “challenge” Christie’s auction is presenting a much younger and innovative catalogue able to attract important collectors with works executed by great historical names, such as Lucio Fontana or Willem de Kooning, as well as pieces by important contemporary artists, for instance Takashi Murakami, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor and many others who have been absolute protagonists in the auctions of recent years.
With regard to Sotheby’s, the spectators in the auction room will obviously have to expect masterpieces by the great artists who have by now rightfully entered the élite of the history of art. Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Wassily Kandinsky. In other words, well-known names that always result to be an excellent investment, as they rarely lose value.
But let’s see in detail this duel between Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
In Christie’s Evening sale only 47 lots will be auctioned.  The most interesting masterpiece, both for aesthetic quality and for valuation, is an oil on canvas by Lucian Freud portraying Francis Bacon.  The work was painted between 1956 and 1957. After, it was purchased by the Anthony d’Offay Gallery  and then bought by its current owner in 1972. A truly wonderful painting that was a reason of pride when it was displayed in the Venetian exhibition at the Museo Correr in 2005 and published in the relative catalogue.  At auction, Lucian Freud’s “Francis Bacon”  will start from an estimate included between 5 and 7 million pounds.
An important piece of the London auction, besides Freud’s painting, is “Potrait of Henrietta Moraes”  by Francis Bacon.  In this very poetical canvas the Irish artist portrayed, in 1969, poet Dom Moraes’s sister.  It was displayed at the Marlborough Fine Art in London, until it was sold in 1970 to Garech Browne.  Currently the work is valued between 5,500,000 and 7,500,000 pounds.
In the same auction we must mention other masterpieces.  “Two Marilyns (Double Marilyns)” by  Business Art genius, Andy Warhol, which will start with a valuation of 4,500,000 – 6,500,000 pounds, but also “Untitled XVIII” by Willem de Kooning (estimate 2,500,000- 3,500,000 pounds) and “Dude Ranche Nurse #2” by Richard Prince (estimate 2,800,000-3,200,000 pounds). 
With regard to Sotheby’s proposals, in the New York auction “Impressionist and Modern Art”, the winning piece will definitely be the cubist masterpiece by Pablo Picasso entitled “Arlequin”, executed in 1909. A canvas that has not been exposed to the public for more than 40 years and is part of Enrico Donati’s collection.  Sotheby’s has not revealed the estimate, but experts expect it to reach more than 30 million dollars.  Another work at auction by the Spanish artist is “Femme au Chapeau Bleu garni d’une Guirlande”  with a valuation included between 6 and 8 million dollars.
One of the works to watch out for is a painting by Edvard Munch from 1894. This masterpiece, “Vampire”, is an extraordinary representation of three themes: love, sex and death.  It is part of a group of four oils that represent the same theme and that the Norwegian master painted between 1893 and 1894. But this is the only piece that is not in the hands of a museum, while the others are kept between Oslo and Gothenburg.  Never offered before at auction, the estimate for “Vampire” is released only on request, although economists have claimed that it is valued for approximately 35 million dollars.
Others lots worth mentioning are: “Statuette de Platre: Torse de Femme, Vue de Face” by Vincent Van Gogh (estimate 7-10 million dollars); “Nature Morte Aux Trois Vases” by Henri Matisse (estimate 8-12 million dollars); “Paysage des Borsd de l’Orse” by Paul Cèzanne (estimate 8-12 million dollars) and “Homme Arsis (Appuyè sur une Canne)” by Amedeo Modigliani (estimate 18-25 million dollars).

(translated by Giorgina Arcuri)