Sotheby's November Auctions of Impressionist & Modern Art Total $203.1 Million in New York
Last night’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale brought $163,009,000 at Sotheby’s New York (est. $169.2/245.2 million*), bringing the total for Sotheby’s November 2012 auctions of Impressionist and Modern art to $203,115,775. The sale was led by six works by Pablo Picasso that together sold for $81,387,000, featuring two portraits of his iconic muse Marie-Thérèse Walter: Nature morte aux tulipes, which achieved $41,522,500 (right, est. $35/50 million), and Femme à la fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse), which fetched $17,218,500 (est. $15/20 million). Works by notable American museums performed particularly well throughout the evening, as did property from prominent estate collections, important Impressionist pictures, and sculpture by Henry Moore.
Simon Shaw, Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art department in New York, commented: “Tonight’s solid results demonstrate clearly that in this market there continues to be a search for quality. The salesroom was lively, with active participation from today’s truly global art market, although there remains some scrutiny over estimates. Pablo Picasso was tonight’s star with his 1932 portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter sought-after by bidders from several parts of the world. It was especially gratifying to achieve great prices for the three works consigned by different American museums, including the Cleveland Museum of Art’s beautiful landscape by Monet. One of the most exciting moments of the evening came when auctioneer Tobias Meyer opened the bidding on Picasso’s striking work on paper from the legendary collection of Greek shipping magnate George Embiricos. Starting at $3 million, competition quickly drove the final selling price to more than double the high estimate.”
David Norman, Co-Chairman of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art department, said: “Collectors responded to the diversity of material presented tonight – from the record price achieved for a work on paper by Duchamp, to the impressive group of five works by Henry Moore that brought over $14 million, and the wonderful and important nude by Cézanne, which brought over $5 million. With increasing participation from South American, Asian and Russian bidders, anchored by the continued presence of established American collectors, we remain confident in today’s market and are looking forward to our next sale in February, for which we already have sourced a number of exciting consignments.”
Property from American Museums
Pictures by Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that were sold by American museums to benefit future acquisitions performed particularly well in the evening auction, together totaling $17,543,500 – well above their overall high estimate of $12.6 million. The group was led by Monet’s Champ de blé, sold by the Cleveland Museum of Art, which saw three bidders drive the final price to $12,122,500, well above its $7 million high estimate (left). Picasso’s Mousquetaire au chapeau. Buste, on offer by the Order of the Trustees of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., brought $4,338,500 (est. $3/5 million).
Property from Prominent Estates
Six works from the estate of Greek shipping magnate George Embiricos sold for a total of $22,093,000, led by Picasso’s Le Viol that more than doubled its high estimate of $6 million in selling for $13,522,500 (right). Sotheby’s will next offer works from the Embiricos estate in the Contemporary Art Evening Auction on November 13, and in the Old Master Paintings sale in January. In addition, the five works on offer from the Collection of Stella Fischbach were all sold tonight, totaling $5,076,500.
Important Impressionist Pictures
In addition to Champ de blé from the Cleveland Museum of Art, additional works in the sale by Monet were led by Iris, which sold for $6,130,500 above a high estimate of $6 million. Paul Cézanne’s nude portraitFemme nue debout was another strong performer, fetching $5,346,500 (est. $4/6 million).
Sculpture by Henry Moore
The evening auction offered an impressive selection of five sculptures by Henry Moore, all of which were sold and totaled $14,188,500. The group was led by the monumental Two Piece Reclining Figure No. 1 (left) from the Embiricos estate, which achieved $4,674,500– just shy of its $5 million high estimate – as well asFamily Group from 1946 that sold for $2,658,500 (est. 2.5/3.5 million).
*Pre-sale estimates do not include buyer’s premium.
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