After months of hyping, Christie's presented its landmark inaugural 20th/ 21st Century Evening Sale at its Asia-Pacific headquarters at The Henderson on 26 September, the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed skyscraper in the heart of Central.
Amidst an energetic atmosphere and the dazzling night view of Hong Kong, Asian auction records were set for two of the biggest names of 20th-century art: Vincent van Gogh for his 1887 riverscape Les canots amarrés, which sold for HK$250 million (US$32.2 million), and Claude Monet for one of his earliest Nymphéas, which notched HK$233 million (US$30 million).
On the whole, the big-ticket evening sale saw 40 of the 43 artworks on offer finding new homes, raking in a sale total of HK$1.03 billion (US$133 million), with a sell-through rate of 93%. Ten works were sold for over HK$20 million, while auction records were set for four other artists, including contemporary Filipino artist Ronald Ventura, American rising star Lucy Bull, Iranian artist Mehdi Ghadyanloo, and Lalan, the first wife of Zao Wou-ki.
Vincent van Gogh's Les canots amarrés hammers for HK$215 million to become the evening sale's top lot
Both works by Van Gogh and Monet are rare to come by in Hong Kong, but more often in New York. Following the sale, they have now become the third and fourth most expensive artist respectively at auction in Asia.
The updated top five most expensive Western artworks ever sold in Asia:
- Jean-Michel Basquiat | Warrior (1982) | 183 x 122 cm | Sold: HK$323,600,000 (US$41.7 million), Christie's Hong Kong, March 2021
- Jean-Michel Basquiat | Untitled (1985) (Acrylic and oilstick on wood, in three parts) | 217.2 x 275.6 x 30.5 cm | Sold: HK$289,316,000 (US$37.3 million), Sotheby's Hong Kong, June 2021
- Amedeo Modigliani | Paulette Jourdain (circa 1919) | 100.3 x 65.4 cm | Sold: HK$272,905,000 (US$35 million), Sotheby's Hong Kong, October 2023
- Vincent van Gogh | Les canots amarrés (1887) | 52 x 65 cm | Sold: HK$250,625,000, Christie's Hong Kong, September 2024
- Claude Monet | Nymphéas (1897-1899) | 73.3 x 101 cm | Sold: HK$233,375,000, Christie's Hong Kong, Septmeber 2024
Lot 13 | Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) | Les canots amarrés, Oil on canvas
Painted in Paris in the summer of 1887
52 x 65 cm
Provenance:
- Theo van Gogh [the artist's brother], Paris
- Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, Amsterdam, by descent from the above
- Vincent Willem van Gogh, Amsterdam, by descent from the above
- Ambroise Vollard, Paris, by whom acquired from the above in August 1897
- Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris
- Independent Gallery, London, 1912
- John Tattersall, Dundee, by 1928
- Matthew Justice, Dunbee, by whom acquired from the above
- Royan Middleton, Aberdeen, by whom acquired from above in 1933, and thence by descent; sale, Sotheby's, London, 3 December 1991, lot 18
- Acquired at the above sale by the family of the present owner
Estimate: HK$230,000,000 - 280,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$215,000,000
Sold: HK$250,625,000 (US$32.2 million)
Coming to the auction block with a third-party guarantee, Vincent van Gogh's Les canots amarrés was bound to set the artist's auction record in Asia with a low estimate of HK$230 million – the previous record stood at HK$71 million, set by a floral still-life titled Nature Morte: Vase Aux Glaïeuls (1886) at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2021.
Christie's New York-based auctioneer Adrien Meyer opened bidding for the lot at HK$160 million and quickly received an HK$180-million bid from Max Carter (Vice Chairman, 20/21 Art Departments, Americas). As another bidder joined at the next increment, it became a back-and-forth between the two. Eventually it was Carter's client with paddle number 8615 who offered the winning bid of HK$215 million; after fees, the work sold for HK$250.6 million (US$32.2 million).
Max Carter won the lot for his client with paddle number 8615
Boasting a royal provenance, Les canots amarrés came from the the collection of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The House of Bourbon was originally a dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of France in the 13th century. As time unfolded, it developed several branches across Europe, and it was the Spanish branch that The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies originated from. After their dethronement in 1861, their descendants went into exile and dispersed across Europe.
Although no longer holding power, the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies still claims the throne themselves and in the present day enjoys high social status. Today, the house is mainly divided into two primary branches, the senior Spanish-affiliated Calabrian line, and the junior Castrian line. The Van Gogh was owned by the latter, led by the claimant Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro. Notably, on the opening ceremony of Christie's new APAC headquarters, he and his family, Princess Camilla and their daughters Carolina and Chiara, all came over to grace the occasion.
The family are darlings of the Western entertainment and fashion circles, having garnered fame through appearances on the BBC program "Inside Monaco: Playground of the Rich," where they offered glimpses into the opulent lifestyle prevalent in Monaco.
The family of Princess Camilla is active in the socialite scene
Painted during the artist’s transformational two-year stay in Paris, Les canots amarrés is one of a formative series of landscape paintings that Vincent van Gogh created in the summer of 1887 at Asnières.
Following a failed stint living in Antwerp, Van Gogh arrived in Paris unexpectedly at the end of February 1886, determined to make it big as an artist there. As he plunged himself into the thriving art world of the city, he found himself inspired by the works of Impressionists and began to paint en plein air once the winter weather had passed.
Encouraged by Emile Bernard and Paul Signac, Van Gogh set out for Asnières for his painting “campaign,” as he described it. It was a picturesque suburb situated a few miles northwest of Paris on the Seine, a place where Monet and Renoir had worked in the previous decade. Easily accessible by train, it was at that time a hub for boating enthusiasts and a scenic retreat from the city's heat and noise for daytrippers and weekenders.
From early May until late July, Van Gogh headed to Asnières almost daily. "I ran into [Van Gogh] at Asnières and Saint-Ouen," Signac later recalled of Van Gogh’s time spent painting there, "we painted on the banks of the river and ate in a country café, and we returned to Paris on foot, through the streets of Saint-Ouen and Clichy."
Vincent van Gogh | Ponts sur la Seine à Asnières (1887) | Emil Bührle Collection, Zurich
Vincent van Gogh | Le Restaurant de la Sirène à Asnières (1887) | The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Over the course of these summer months, the artist painted around forty views in and around the town. Les canots amarrés depicts an expansive vista of the river looking downstream with boats moored along its banks; a few Parisian buildings are just visible in the distance.
It is one of the canvases in a set of three separate triptychs that dominated Van Gogh’s output during his time in Asnières, each of which shares the same horizontal format and similar canvas size. The rest of the trio are Ponts sur la Seine à Asnières (1887) and Restaurant de la Sirène, Asnières (1887), today at the Emil Bührle Collection, Zurich and The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford respectively.
Lot 8 | Claude Monet (1840-1926) | Nymphéas, Oil on canvas
Painted circa 1897-1899
73.3 x 101 cm
Provenance:
- Michel Monet, Giverny, by descent from the artist
- Private collection, France, by descent from the above
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$200,000,000 - 280,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$200,000,000
Sold: HK$233,375,000 (around US$30 million)
Making its auction debut and backed by a third-party guarantee, Nymphéas (circa 1897-1899) is one of four paintings from the first Water Lilies series remaining in private hands; the other three now reside in museum collections worldwide. Created 125 years ago, it had remained in the Monet family for many years and is now being offered from a distinguished private collection.
The auctioneer opened bidding for the lot at HK$120 million, and it was Christian Albu (Co-Head of 20th and 21st Century Art Department, Asia Pacific) who kicked off the bidding war with a bid of HK$160 million. Soon after, a bidder in the room promptly countered with HK$170 million, leading Albu to respond with a bid of HK$180 million.
The bidding battle hit a standstill at this point. Following a few minutes of patient waiting, the auctioneer turned to the large screen behind him, appearing perplexed and asked, "Who would tell me US$25 million in Hong Kong dollars?" It turned out Deputy Chairman Xin-li Cohen would like to place a US$25-million bid for her client on the phone. After some quick calculations, the screen showed an equivalent bid of around HK$195 million, but that wasn't enough to win the lot from Albu's client, who immediately offered HK$200 million.
Ultimately, with this bid, the Monet was secured for his client under paddle number 8613, at a final price with fees of HK$233 million (around US$30 million), a new Asian auction record for the artist.
Christian Albu won the lot for his client with paddle number 8613
"One instant, one aspect of nature contains it all," said Claude Monet of his late masterpieces, the water lily paintings he ceaselessly worked on at his home between 1897 and his death in 1926. These canvases, representing the peak of a lifetime's study of nature, are not only one of the most important works of the artist's oeuvre but also of the Impressionist era.
In search of a permanent base he could finally call home after years of upheaval, in the spring of 1883 Monet moved his family to Giverny. There he purchased an adjacent plot of land near his property, intending to fulfill his passion for gardening, while building something ‘for the pleasure of the eye and also for the purpose of having subjects to paint’.
The result was the now world-renowned "Giverny Garden". He tore the existing kitchen garden up and began cultivating his tranquil retreat, adding a Japanese-style footbridge and a free-form pond. Around the pond was filled with towering weeping willows, iris, trees, and other seasonal flowers.
During the last 30 years of his life, Monet immersed himself in his horticultural oasis to depict the water landscapes. These works replaced the varied contemporary subjects he had painted in his early artistic career with two celebrated subjects: Japanese bridge and water lilies. In more than 250 canvases, the Impressionist master captured the changing images of the water lilies and their reflections on the pond at all hours of morning, day, and evening.
Claude Monet in his garden in Giverny
Claude Monet | Nymphéas (circa 1897-1898) | 66.04 × 104.14 cm | Collection of Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Claude Monet | Nymphéas, effect du soir (1897) | 73 x 100 cm | Collection of Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris
In his first exploration of the motif, starting in 1897, Monet worked on a series of eight canvases, each varying in format, size, color, and handling as he reveled in his beloved lily pond's myriad of pictorial potentials. Half of these works are now owned by renowned museums worldwide today, including the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Kagoshima City Museum of Art, and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome.
Standing at a remarkable 73.3 x 101 cm, the present Nymphéas introduces one of the most important and radical aspects of the series – the elimination of a horizon line. His tightly focused scene plunges the viewer into the center of the pond, removing all other peripheral details to focus entirely on the water's surface. These pictorial qualities would become central to every phase of Monet's Water Lilies series and served as key influences on subsequent generations of artists.
At auctions, the all-time high for Monet's Water Lilies stands at a whopping US$84.7 million, set by Nymphéas en fleur (Water Lilies in Bloom) (circa 1914-1917) from the Rockefeller Collection at Christie's New York in 2018.
Claude Monet | Ninfee rosa (1897-1899) | 81 x 100 cm | Collection of Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome
Claude Monet | Nymphéas (circa 1897-1898) | 89 x 130 cm | Collection of Kagoshima City Museum of Art
Claude Monet | Nymphéas en fleur (Water Lilies in Bloom) (circa 1914-1917), 160.3 x 180 cm | Sold: US$84.7 million, Christie's New York, 2018 (from the Rockefeller Collection)
Lot 9 | Zao Wou-ki (Zhao Wuji, 1920-2013) | 05.06.80 - Triptyque, Oil on canvas
Painted in 1980
Each: 195 x 130 cm | Overall: 195 x 390 cm
Provenance:
- The Artist
- Artcurial centre d'art plastique contemporain, Paris (acquired directly from the artist)
- Private collection, Europe (acquired from the above in 1988)
Estimate: HK$78,000,000 - 128,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$80,000,000
Sold: HK$95,375,000 (around US$12.3 million)
The most expensive Eastern artwork went to blue-chip artist Zao Wou-ki's rare and epic 05.06.80 – Triptyque, one of only twenty large-scale triptychs the Chinese-French artist ever created in his artistic career.
On an opening bid of HK$55 million, at least two collectors vied for the work, and after seven bids, it went to the bidder with paddle number 8690 on the phone with Eric Chang (Chairman of Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art) for a hammer price of HK$80 million. With fees, it sold for HK$95.37 million (around US$12.3 million), becoming also the third most expensive lot of the night.
Eric Chang won the lot for his client with paddle number 8690
Zao Wou-ki and his third wife Françoise Marquet
One of the most important artists in the Asian art market, Zao Wou-ki is one of the very few Chinese painters to have established international recognition during his lifetime, with demand for his works in Europe and the U.S. stretching back to the 1950s – a few years after he left his homeland for Paris. Institutional interest in him, too, has remained high: he was regularly invited to hold exhibitions around the world, and many of his works now grace museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Centre Pompidou, and Tate Modern in London.
Back in the 1980s, when he was in his 60s and reached new heights in his career, Zao painted twelve large-scale triptychs for different occasions. Of these, only three have ever hit the auction block, including the 10-meter triptych that remains the artist's auction record to this day – Juin-Octobre 1985, which sold for HK$510 million (US$65 million) at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2018.
The sales of the other three triptychs:
- Juin-Octobre 1985 | 280 x 1000 cm | Sold: HK$510,371,000, Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2018
- Triptyque 1987-1988 | 200 x 486 cm | Sold: HK$178,000,000 (US$22.7 million), Christie's Hong Kong, 2019
- 15.01.82 | 195 x 390 cm | Sold: HK$94,600,000 (US$12.1 million), Christie's Hong Kong, 2020
Zao Wou-ki | 15.01.82 | 195 x 390 cm | Sold: HK$94,600,000, Christie's Hong Kong, 2020
Painted in 1980, 05.06.80 – Triptyque was made especially for his first major French solo show at the Grand Palais in 1981. This exhibition was of extraordinary significance to Zao, as it was a sign of recognition from the Western art world for this artist of Eastern origin.
That exhibition subsequently toured five museums in Japan, before its display at the Hong Kong Arts Centre in 1982, and then as part of a solo exhibition held at the National Art Museum of China in 1983 – the first-ever exhibition Zao had in his homeland since his departure in 1948. Later, the work traveled to the artist's alma mater, the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, where he trained under the tutelage of the pioneering modern Chinese painter Lin Fengmian. It has remained in private hands since the 1980s.
Other lots that fetched above HK$20 million and new auction records for artists:
Lot 33 | George Condon (b.1957) | Prescription for the Clinically Normal, Acrylic, charcoal, and pastel on linen (diptych)
Executed in 2012
Each: 228.6 x 165.1 cm | Overall: 228.6 x 330.2 cm
Provenance:
- Sprüth Magers, Berlin
- Private collection, Europe
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$40,000,000 - 60,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$39,600,000
Sold: HK$48,291,000
Lot 25 | Kim Whan-ki (1913-1974) | 9-XII-71 #216, Oil on cotton
Painted in 1971
127 x 251 cm
Provenance:
- Gallery Hyundai, Seoul
- Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2006
Estimate: HK$45,000,000 - 65,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$46,000,000
Sold: HK$56,035,000
Lot 15 | Sanyu (1895-1966) | Nu blanc au genou levé (White Nude, with Raised Knee), Oil on canvas
Painted in 1930
50.3 x 81.3 cm
Provenance:
- Henri-Pierre Roche, Paris (inventory no. 69)
- Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris
- Dreyfus collection, Paris
- Private collection, Singapore (acquired from the above)
Estimate: HK$35,000,000 - 55,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$34,000,000
Sold: HK$41,515,000
Lot 36 | Ronald Ventura (b. 1973) | State of Bloom, Oil on canvas (Auction record for the artist)
Painted in 2021
243.8 x 365.7 cm
Provenance:
- Formerly from the artist's collection
- Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner
Estimate: HK$1,800,000 - 2,800,000
Hammer Price: HK$30,000,000
Sold: HK$36,675,000
Lot 30 | Pierre Soulages (1919-2022) | Peinture 162 x 130 cm, 26 mai 1963, Oil on canvas
Painted in 1963
162.3 x 130 cm
Provenance:
- Kootz Gallery, New York
- Galerie de France, Paris (acquired in 1970)
- Private collection, Switzerland (acquired from the above in 1972)
- Christie’s London, 30 November 1989, lot 759
- Private collection, Switzerland (acquired at the above sale)
- Sotheby’s London, 30 November 1994, lot 47
- Essl Collection, Klosterneuburg
- Essl:44 Works, Christie’s London, 13 October 2014, lot 36
- Private collection, Europe (acquired at the above sale)
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$33,000,000 - 55,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$30,000,000
Sold: HK$36,675,000
Lot 7 | René Magritte (1898-1967) | La préméditation, Oil on canvas
Painted in 1943
55.3 x 46.2 cm
Provenance:
- Private collection, by whom acquired directly from the artist in 1943
- Galerie Isy Brachot, Brussels, by whom acquired from the above in 1989
- Private collection, Europe, by whom acquired from the above, by 1993
- Anonymous sale, Christie's, London, 2 February 2004, lot 60
- Private collection, by whom acquired at the above sale; sale, Christie's, London, 6 February 2007, lot 130
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$22,000,000 - 28,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$23,000,000
Sold: HK$28,205,000
Lot 10 | Lalan (Xie Jinglan, 1921-1995) | La mère de nuage (Mother of the Clouds), Oil on canvas (triptych) (Auction record for the artist)
Painted in 1968
Each: 162 x 97 cm | Overall: 162 x 291 cm
Provenance:
- Estate of the artist
- Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9 April 2008, lot 833
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$18,000,000 - 28,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$19,000,000
Sold: HK$23,365,000
Lot 3 | Lucy Bull (b. 1990) | 18:50, Oil on canvas (Auction record for the artist)
Painted in 2021
178 x 307 cm
Provenance:
- High Art, Paris
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$5,000,000 - 8,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$15,000,000
Sold: HK$18,525,000
Lot 2 | Mehdi Ghadyanloo (b. 1981) | Memories of the Future, Acrylic and oil on canvas
Painted in 2021
200 x 300 cm
Provenance:
- Unit, London
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$800,000 - 1,200,000
Hammer Price: HK$2,000,000
Sold: HK$2,520,000
Auction Details:
Auction House: Christie's Hong Kong
Sale: 20th/21st Century Evening Sale
Venue: Christie's Asia-Pacific headquarters (The Henderson building in Hong Kong)
Date: 26 September 2024
Number of Lots: 46
Withdrawn: 3
Sold: 40
Unsold: 3
Sale Rate: 93%
Sale Total: HK$1,036,164,000 (US$133.2 million)