In the Asian Art market, the appetite for Western Modern and Contemporary Art masterpieces in recent years have proliferated in Hong Kong – setting record prices in auction sales. This trend has spread northwards into mainland China.
During this season’s Beijing Auction Week, China Guardian held its first Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 28 November. The five oil paintings offered were created by world-renowned Masters – including Monet, Picasso, Pissarro and Cezanne. All works were sold, and accumulated a sale total of RMB 239.7 million (around US$37.5 million dollars).
Among them, Monet's Bassin aux nympheas was the most expensive lot and was sold at RMB 154.1 million (around US$24.1 million dollars). It broke the record previously set by the German abstract artist, Richter, for the most expensive Western art in mainland China.
Lot 2048 | Claude Monet | Bassin aux nympheas, les rosiers, Oil on canvas
Created in 1913
73 x 100 cm
Provenance (Amended by The Value):
- Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired from the artist on January 23, 1919)
- Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York (acquired from the above in 1919 and until at least 1949)
- Private Collection, Switzerland (acquired circa 1970)
- Baron Chollet, Switzerland (by descent from the above)
- Thomas Gibson, London (possibly on consignment)
- Acquired from the above by the present owner on March 12, 1991
- Sotheby’s New York, Impressionism and Modern Art Evening Sale (May 5, 2015), Lot 47, Sold at US$20.4 million
- Private Collection (acquired from the above sale)
Estimate upon request
Hammer Price: RMB 134,000,000
Sold: RMB 154,100,000 (around US$24.1 million)
The auctioneer started the bidding at RMB 90 million. After 10 bids, the hammer was dropped at RMB 134 million. In the end, it was sold at RMB 154.1 million (around US$24.1 million dollars) with buyer’s premium, which set the new record for Western art in mainland China.
China Guardian held the Impressionist Masters Promotion Exhibition during this year's spring season and showcased Western paintings to collectors. Most of the paintings in the exhibition were not auctioned. German abstract artist Richter's Columns painting (1968) was sold at US$12.5 million dollars, which set a record for Western art in mainland China.
This Bassin aux nympheas, les rosiers painting was auctioned at Sotheby's New York in 2015. It was sold at US$20.4 million dollars with buyer’s premium.
Richter's Columns (1968) was the former record holder of Western art sold in mainland China
Bottom left section of Monet's Bassin aux nympheas, les rosiers painting
Central section of Monet's Bassin aux nympheas, les rosiers painting
Monet's water lilies painting was created in 1913, and represents the artist at the height of his mature style.
He depicted his gardens in Giverny, northwest of Paris. It was one of the artist’s most personal and celebrated subjects. It was also one of three canvases Monet painted from this particular vantage point, which looks out onto an arched trellis covered in tumbling red and pink roses reflected in the water.
Another work from this tripart series, Les Arceaux Fleuris, Giverny, is in the permanent collection of the Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona. Through Monet’s energetic yet intimate portrayal of flora, water, sky, and light, one is immersed in this landscape, filled with a sense of tranquility on a summer’s day in northern France.
Monet was inspired by his Giverny Gardens during his later years
Monet's Les Arceaux Fleuris, Giverny is part of Phoenix Art Museum's Collection
View of Giverny Gardens
Lot 2047 | Claude Monet | L’Escalier, Oil on canvas
Created in 1878
61 x 50 cm
Provenance (Amended by The Value):
- Catholina Lambert, Paterson, New Jersey
- Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York (acquired from the above, 16 May 1895, and until 1949)
- Private collection, Switzerland (by 1959); sale, Christie's, London, 28 November 1994, Lot 8
- Edgar M. Bronfman, New York (acquired at the above sale)
- Christie’s New York, Impressionism and Modern Art Evening Sale (May 6 2014), Lot 19, Sold at US$3.5 million
- Private Collection (acquired from the above sale)
Estimate: RMB 25,000,000 – 35,000,000
Hammer Price: RMB 25,000,000
Sold: RMB 28,750,000 (around US$4.5 million)
In 2014, L'Escalier (Staircase) was sold at Christie's New York. Its estimate was US$1.5 to 2.5 million dollars and was sold at US$3.5 million dollars (around RMB 22.3 million).
This painting’s hammer price was similar to when it was sold in New York seven years ago, which was possibly a strategy to attract more mainland collectors into purchasing Impressionist and Modern Art.
Monet painted L’Escalier during the very first months that he spent at Vetheuil, northwest of Paris. He and his family lived from August 1878 until December 1881. This was a decisive moment of personal and professional transformation for the artist.
Following his move to Vetheuil, Monet entirely abandoned modern urban scenes that dominated his earlier paintings. Instead, he began to focus on capturing aspects of nature, and employed a new technique that laid the foundation for his important later production.
Lot 2046 | Pablo Picasso | Tete de femme au chapeau, Oil on canvas
Created in 1965
60 x 50 cm
Provenance:
- Galerie Louise Leiris (Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler), Paris
- Kootz Gallery, New York
- Spanierman Gallery, LLC, New York
- Acquired by the previous owner, 17 February 2004
- Christie's New York, Impressionism and Modern Art Evening Sale (November 5, 2013), Lot 34
- Private Collection (acquired from the above sale)
Estimate: RMB 20,000,000 – 30,000,000
Hammer Price: RMB 20,500,000
Sold: RMB 23,575,000 (around US$3.6 million)
Earlier in October, Picasso’s Femme Accroupie (1954) painting fetched US$24.6 million dollars in Sotheby’s Hong Kong. It became the highest ever price for a Picasso artwork in Asia.
During this Beijing sale, Picasso’s Tete de femme au chapeau was sold at RMB 23.5 million (around US$3.6 million dollars). Both paintings' protagonist depict Jacqueline Roque, Picasso’s last lover and wife. Jacqueline became the most frequent and longest-running subject in Picasso's career, featuring in more than 400 portraits – exceeding any of her husband's previous lovers such as Francoise Gilot and Marie-Therese Walter.
Picasso’s fascination with women’s headwear can be traced back to the 1930s, when he took it as a representation of a woman’s inner thoughts. In Tete de femme au chapeau, the golden hat stands out against a vivid blue background. The wide soft brim blocking the summer heat and casting a shadow on Jacqueline’s face, implying a relaxed and joyful moment in the south of France.
Picasso's Femme Accroupie (1954) was the highest ever price for a Picasso artwork in Asia
Pablo and Jacqueline
Lot 2049 | Camille Pissarro | Le Lavoir de Bazincourt, Oil on canvas
Created in 1884
65 x 54 cm
Provenance (Amended by The Value):
- Galerie Durand-Ruel et Cie., Paris (acquired from the artist on October 31, 1884)
- Frederic Mallet, Paris (acquired from the above on January 25, 1919)
- Galerie Georges Petit Paris (May 20, 1920, lot 103) Galerie Bernheim-Jeune et Cie., Paris (c. December 1927)
- George Boner, Paris (c. 1938)
- Yvonne Boveri-Boner, Switzerland (acquired by descent)
- Private Collection, USA (acquired by descent)
- Christie's New York, Impressionism and Modern Art Evening Sale (May 6, 2014), Lot 54, Sold at US$2.5 million
- Private Collection (acquired from the above sale)
Estimate: RMB 18,000,000 – 28,000,000
Hammer Price: RMB 18,000,000
Sold: RMB 20,700,000 (around US$3.2 million)
Lot 2050 | Paul Cezanne | Portrait, Oil on canvas
Created in 1866-1867
65 x 54 cm
Provenance (Amended by The Value):
- Ambroise Vollard, Paris
- Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris
- Auguste Pellerin, Paris, by whom acquired from the above on 6 December 1910
- Jean-Victor Pellerin, Paris, by descent from the above
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
- Christie’s London, Impressionism and Modern Art Evening Sale (2 February 2016), Lot 46, Sold at £1.2 million pounds
- Private Collection (acquired from the above sale)
Estimate: RMB 11,000,000 – 18,000,000
Hammer Price: RMB 11,000,000
Sold: RMB 12,650,000 (around US$1.9 million)
Auction Summary:
Auction House: China Guardian Beijing
Sale: Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale
Date: 28 November 2021
Number of lots: 5
Sale Rate: 100%
Sale Total: RMB 239,775,000 (around US$37.5 million)