The next couple of weeks feature major auctions of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Surrealist, and Contemporary Art at both Sothebys and Christies in both London and New York. These sales will set the market for many highly collected artists.
Sotheby’s kick it off on the evening of the 26th in London with their Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale, followed immediately by a series of lots collected as a Surrealist Art Evening Sale. The former is led by Monet’s Le Palais Ducal with a pre-sale estimate of US$25 million to US$38 million, but also includes some fine works by Schiele, Kandinsky, Giacometti, Picasso, an others. The latter includes Magritte’s L’Etoile u Matin, estimated at US4.4 million to US$5.7 million, along with other works from Magritte, Francis Picaba, Jean Arp, Man Ray, Joan Miro and others.
Magritte L’Etoile du Matin ; Monet Le Palais Ducal
Sothebys London continues the following day with an Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale which “promises a number of important examples of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art by Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Gustave Loiseau, Pierre Bonnard and Paul Elie Ranson among others.”
That same day, the evening of the 27th February, Christies London have their Art of the Surreal Evening Show. Seven of the top eight pre-sale estimates for this show are works by Rene Magritte, including Le Lieu Commun, the estimate for which is not given in the catalog but will be in the multiple millions.
In New York that same day, Christies have an interesting “Contemporary Edition‘ sale, with works by Warhol, Rauschenberg, Kapoor, Bansky, Roy Lichtenstein and many others. The high estimates are around $50,000 to $60,000.
Finally, on the 28th Christies London have their own Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale. High estimates of about $700,000 are expected for pieces by Botero, Giacometti, Chagall, Leger, Picasso etc.
Marc Chagall, Etude pour la Nuit de Venice
It will be an interesting few days!
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