Sotheby’s New York unveils highlights from its upcoming Evening Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art, which will be led by two of Claude Monet’s signature landscape paintings, Les Glaçons, Bennecourt and Les Arceaux de roses, Giverny as well as Pablo Picasso’s Buste de femme au chapeau. Each of the above three is estimated to sell for US$18m – 25m.
LES ARCEAUX DE ROSES, GIVERNY. CLAUDE MONET.
Among Monet’s most celebrated and visually spectacular canvases are his depictions of ice on the Seine. These majestic paintings exemplify the artist’s talent for capturing the nuances of the natural world in flux. The work is further distinguished by its important early provenance: its first private owner was Louisine Havemeyer, the art collector and philanthropist, who acquired the picture from Galerie Montaignac in 1897 - a mere four years after it was painted. Together with her husband, Henry Osborne, Louisine amassed what was perhaps the finest art collection in America.
LES GLAÇONS, BENNECOURT. CLAUDE MONET.
Dazzling in its use of color and exploration of the properties of reflection, Les Arceaux de roses, Giverny is one of only five canvases painted by Claude Monet between the summer of 1912 and 1914. Three of these paintings, including the present work, focus on trellises covered in roses, set on the boat landing on the south side of Monet’s water garden.
BUSTE DE FEMME AU CHAPEAU. PABLO PICASSO.
The Evening Sale also offers 11 works by Pablo Picasso, led by Buste de femme au chapeau. Characterized by its vibrant color palette, sharp angularity and bold form, the portrait is a salient example of the Madonna-and-Magdalene dichotomy that manifested in Picasso’s work while he was simultaneously involved with two of his greatest muses: Marie-Thérèse Walter and Dora Maar.
The present work illustrates a particularly turbulent time in the Picasso’s life – his mother died in January 1939, during a period of intense political upheaval throughout Europe and particularly in the artist’s native Spain. However, this period also provided the impetus for some of Picasso’s most revolutionary stylistic techniques.
Top three lots of the sale
LES ARCEAUX DE ROSES, GIVERNY. CLAUDE MONET
Lot no.: 43
Created in: 1913
Size: 81.5 x 93.8 cm
Provenance:
- Offered by the artist to a benefit auction Au Profit de la Fraternité des Artistes, Georges Petit, Paris, May 1, 1917, lot 64
- Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired at the above sale)
- Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York (acquired from the above in December 1917)
- Jean d'Alayer, Paris (acquired from the above in 1949)
- Sam Salz, Inc., New York (probably acquired from the above)
- Mr & Mrs Charles Goldman, New York (acquired circa 1959 and sold: Sotheby's, New York, March 21, 1962, lot 72)
- Jérôme Taishoff, New York (acquired at the above sale and sold: Christie's, London, November 30, 1962, lot 36)
- Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above in 1965 and sold: Christie’s, London, June 18, 2007, lot 11)
- Acquired at the above sale
Estimate: US$18,000,000 — 25,000,000
LES GLAÇONS, BENNECOURT. CLAUDE MONET.
Lot no.: 25
Created in: 1893
Size: 65.5 x 100.5 cm
Provenance:
- Boussod, Valadon et Cie., Paris (acquired from the artist in December 1893)
- Henri Vever, Paris (acquired from the above in 1893 and sold: Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, February 1-2, 1897, lot 82)
- Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris & Galerie Montaignac, Paris (jointly acquired at the above sale)
- Galerie Montaignac (acquired full ownership from the above on September 23, 1897)
- Mr & Mrs Henry O. Havemeyer, New York (acquired from the above on September 23, 1897)
- Mr & Mrs Horace Havemeyer, New York (acquired by descent from the above and sold by the executors of her Estate: Sotheby’s, New York, Impressionist Paintings from The Estate of Doris D. Havemeyer, May 18, 1983, lot 13)
- Private Collection, New York (acquired at the above sale)
- Waterhouse Collection (acquired from the above on December 8, 1992)
- Acquired from the above in 2011
Estimate: US$18,000,000 — 25,000,000
BUSTE DE FEMME AU CHAPEAU. PABLO PICASSO.
Lot no.: 21
Created in: 1939
Size: 65.1 x 54 cm
Provenance:
- Estate of the artist
- Maya Ruiz-Picasso
- Thomas Ammann Fine Art, Zurich
- Nancy Whyte Fine Arts, Inc., New York
- Acquired from the above in 2006
Estimate: US$18,000,000 — 25,000,000
Other highlights of the sale (with estimates above US$10,000,000)
LES AMOUREUX. MARC CHAGALL.
Lot no.: 8
Created in: 1928
Size: 117.3 x 90.5 cm
Provenance:
- Bernheim Jeune & Cie, Paris (acquired from the artist)
- Private Collection (acquired from the above on October 27, 1928)
- Thence by descent
Estimate: US$ 12,000,000 — 18,000,000
LE BANQUET. RENÉ MAGRITTE.
Lot no.: 36
Created in: 1955-57
Size: 75.5 x 121 cm
Provenance:
- Ruth Moskin Fineshriber, New York (acquired circa 1956)
- Fineshriber Family Foundation, Culver City (a gift from the above and sold: Christie's, New York, May 9, 2007, lot 7)
- Acquired at the above sale
Estimate: 12,000,000 — 18,000,000
LE GRAND CIRQUE. MARC CHAGALL.
Lot no.: 48
Created in: 1956
Size: 159.5 x 308.5 cm
Provenance:
- Gustave Stern Foundation, New York (until at least 1974)
- Private Collection, Switzerland (acquired from the above and sold: Sotheby’s, New York, May 8, 2007, lot 40)
- Acquired at the above sale
Estimate: 10,000,000 — 15,000,000
Auction details:
Auction house: Sotheby’s New York
Sale: Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale
Exhibition:
2017/11/8 – 11,13 ｜10am - 5pm
2017/11/12｜1pm – 5pm
2017/11/14｜10am – 1pm
Auction: 2017/11/14