This spring, for the first time, Hong Kong’s major auction houses are hosting their marquee evening sales side by side, syncing up with Art Basel Hong Kong and the city’s buzzing art week. On 28 March, Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Evening Sale brought in HK$297 million (US$38 million), selling 40 of 42 lots with a solid sell-through rate of 95%. The night followed Christie’s HK$560-million sale the evening prior, which saw 39 of the 41 lots sold, including a prized Basquiat that fetched HK$112 million.
Sotheby’s carefully curated a lineup of internationally recognized names, a strategy that resonated with collectors – particularly those from mainland China, who snapped up three of the evening’s top five lots. Topping the sale was Marc Chagall’s Fleurs de printemps, which hammered for HK$28 million and sold for HK$34.5 million (US$4.4 million) with fees, setting a new auction record for the artist in Asia. Other highlights included a Renoir nude, a Henry Moore sculpture, a Picasso painting, and Yayoi Kusama’s signature pumpkin sculpture.
The focus on Western modern art felt in step with a string of exhibitions across the city that highlights 19th- and 20th-century masters. The Hong Kong Museum of Art is showing Cézanne and Renoir: Looking at the World, while M+ is hosting Picasso for Asia—A Conversation. Phillips joined in with a selling exhibition of Picasso’s animal-themed works, timed to complement the M+ show.
While established names dominated the headlines, two emerging Chinese artists set new auction records. Li Hei Di, the youngest artist on Pace Gallery’s roster, achieved HK$1.4 million (US$180,000) for her canvas Drifted Petals on Her Lifted Mound, while Ji Xin’s life-sized portrait Dawn sold for HK$2.5 million (US$327,000).
Marc Chagall’s Fleurs de printemps was hammered for HK$28 million
Lot 14 | Marc Chagall (1887-1985) | Fleurs de printemps (La Cruche aux fleurs de printemps), Oil on canvas (The most expensive lot in the sale)
Executed in 1930
72 x 60.6 cm
Provenance:
- Mr. & Mrs. Lee Ault, New York (acquired by 1956)
- Perls Galleries, New York
- Private Collection, United States (acquired from the above on 8 December 1970)
- Private Collection, Chicago (acquired by descent from the above)
- Sotheby's, New York, 14 May 2018, lot 1 (consigned by the above)
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$22,000,000-28,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$28,000,000
Sold: HK$34,535,000 (US$4.4 million)
Bidding for Marc Chagall’s floral still-life Fleurs de Printemps opened at HK$17 million and quickly attracted three telephone bidders, represented by Wendy Lin (Chairman, Asia), Jen Hua (Deputy Chairman, Asia and Chairman, China), and Hua's Executive Assistant, Yonnie Fu. Ultimately, Fu secured the work for Hua's client, paddle number 365, with a final bid of HK$28 million – comfortably within its presale estimate of HK$22 million to HK$28 million.
Chagall’s work is celebrated for its dreamlike quality, rooted in his vivid imagination and deeply personal themes of fantasy, memory, and spirituality. While he drew on elements of modernist movements like Cubism and Fauvism, his style defied strict categorization, favoring a poetic and symbolic approach.
Throughout his career, he embraced a range of mediums, including painting, stained glass, murals, and ceramics. Central to his work was his masterful use of color – not just as a compositional tool but as a vehicle for emotion and movement.
Yonnie Fu (middle) placed the winning bid for the client of Jen Hua (right)
Marc Chagall and his wife in 1934
Close-up of the present lot
The painting dates to Chagall’s second period in France between 1924 and 1941, a time when he developed a recurring motif of framing his works, or “dreamscapes,” with windows. Chagall once described painting as “a window through which I could have taken flight towards another world.” In this piece, the viewer is already within the dreamscape, sharing space with the surreal fairies, while the window offers a glimpse of the outside world.
Thematically, Fleurs de Printemps celebrates renewal and the arrival of spring, merging Chagall’s hallmark dreamlike imagery with elements of Jewish and Christian iconography. The fairies flowing through the window parallel scenes from works like Robert Campin’s Merode Altarpiece, where small angelic figures similarly enter through a window, symbolizing themes of rebirth and spiritual transformation.
Lot 22 | Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) | Baigneuse accoudée, Oil on canvas (The second most expensive lot in the sale)
Executed in 1882
54 x 40.5 cm
Provenance:
- Arsène Alexandre, Paris ((probably) acquired from the artist)
- Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 18-19 May 1903, lot 51 (consigned by the above)
- Gabriel Cognacq, Paris (acquired from the above)
- Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (no. 14080) (acquired from the above on 15 March 1905)
- Galerie Georges Petit, Paris (acquired from the above)
- Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (no. 14419) (acquired from the above on 7 July 1905)
- Paul Cassirer, Berlin (acquired from the above on 21 September 1909)
- Julius Stern, Berlin (acquired from the above on 9 November 1909)
- Galerie Paul Cassirer, Berlin, 22 May 1916, lot 80 (consigned by the estate of the above)
- Leo Blumenreich, Berlin (acquired from the above)
- Alfred Hausammann, Zurich (acquired by 1955)
- Mrs Behrens-Hausammann, Switzerland (acquired by descent from the above circa 2001)
- Christie's, London, 6 February 2013, lot 24 (consigned by the above)
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$14,000,000 - 22,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$19,000,000
Sold: HK$23,555,000 (US$3 million)
Another work that attracted interest from clients of Wendy Lin and Jen Hua was Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Baigneuse accoudée. After 18 bids, the nude painting was hammered at HK$19 million and sold for HK$23.5 million (US$3 million) with fees to Hua’s client, with paddle number 405.
Within the realm of Impressionist painters, Renoir stands out for his dedication to the female form, alongside Edgar Degas. Early in his career, Renoir frequently painted women, but it wasn’t until the 1880s – when this piece was created – that he returned to the subject with renewed focus. During this period, he began depicting nude figures in natural landscapes, blending the influences of classical art with his Impressionist sensibilities.
Wendy Lin (right) and Jen Hua, who placed the winning bid for her client with paddle number 405
Baigneuse assise sur un rocher (1882), a sister picture of the present lot | Collection of Musee Marmottan Monet in Paris
Renoir’s fascination with the female nude was shaped in part by a pivotal trip to Italy in 1881, where he admired the frescoes and ancient art for their elegance and informality. Rejecting the pursuit of perfection or rigid formalities, Renoir aimed to capture everyday women in extraordinary, fleeting moments. He once described his intent as portraying “the average working woman” with beauty and grace.
In Baigneuse accoudée, Renoir’s palette softens, with delicate tones that imbue the figure with warmth and vitality. A contemporary poet described Renoir’s nudes as “fresher,” “alive,” and even “pulsating.” Unlike the cityscapes often found in his other works, the background here is deliberately vague, leaving the composition untethered to time or place. This ambiguity lends the painting a timeless quality, focusing all attention on the subject herself.
Lot 21 | Henry Moore (1898-1986) | Working Model for Reclining Figure: Prop, Bronze (The third most expensive lot in the sale)
Conceived and cast in 1976, this work is number 3 from an edition of 9 + 1, cast by Fiorini, London.
Length: 80.5 cm
Provenance:
- Fisher Gallery, London (acquired directly from the artist)
- Private Collection, USA
- Scott White Contemporary Art, La Jolla, California
- Carole & Barry Kate (acquired from the above circa 2000)
- Sotheby's, New York, 6 November 2013, lot 53 (consigned by the above)
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$16,000,000 - 24,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$16,500,000
Sold: HK$20,505,000 (US$2.6 million)
Heading to the auction with an irrevocable bid, British sculptor Henry Moore's reclining nude sculpture sold for a hammer price of HK$16.5 million. The buyer, represented by Elaine Holt (Chairman of Modern and Contemporary and Deputy Chairman of Asia) with paddle number L0004, paid a total of HK$20.5 million (US$2.6 million) with fees.
Henry Moore’s career was defined by his fascination with the reclining figure, which remained a central motif throughout his life. To Moore, the reclining figure was a limitless subject—an adaptable form that could transcend naturalistic representation and serve as a vehicle for abstraction and experimentation.
Henry Moore
This particular sculpture, created late in Moore’s career, highlights his mature artistic style. From different angles, the work reveals a dynamic interplay of solid forms and open voids, with textured details in areas like the hands and feet contrasting against smooth, abstracted curves. Subtle undulations in the form evoke a sense of movement, animating the otherwise static medium.
A hallmark of Moore’s later works, the use of negative space is striking here. Gaps and voids between limbs create an interplay of concave and convex forms, challenging traditional notions of mass and volume in the human figure. This distortion of the body imbues the sculpture with a sense of timeless abstraction, making it a quintessential example of Moore’s exploration of form, space, and the human condition.
The 4th and 5th Most Expensive Lots and Auction Records:
Lot 20 | Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) | Le miroir, Oil and sand on canvas (The fourth most expensive lot in the sale)
Executed on 23 June 1947
61 x 50.2 cm
Provenance (edited by The Value):
- Kootz Gallery, New York (acquired directly from the artist)
- Mr & Mrs William A. M. Burden, New York (acquired from the above by 1957)
- The Museum of Modern Art, New York (no. 347.1985, acquired as a gift from the above in 1985)
- Christie's, New York, 10 May 2001, lot 453 (consigned by the above)
- Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)
- Christie's, London, 27 February 2019, lot 40 (consigned by the above)
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$15,000,000 - 25,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$15,000,000
Sold: HK$18,675,000 (US$2.4 million)
Lot 27 | Yayoi Kusama (b.1929) | Starry Pumpkin, Fiberglass reinforced plastic and tile (The fifth most expensive lot in the sale)
Executed in 2019
130 x 150 x 150 cm
Provenance:
- Ota Fine Arts
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$16,000,000 - 32,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$12,000,000
Sold: HK$15,015,000 (US$1.9 million)
Lot 4 | Ji Xin (b.1988) | Dawn, oil on canvas (Auction record for the artist)
Executed in 2021
165 x 190 cm
Provenance:
- Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing
- Private Collection, Asia
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$800,000 - 1,500,000
Hammer Price: HK$2,000,000
Sold: HK$2,540,000
Lot 1 | Li Hei Di (b.1997) | Drifted Petals on Her Lifted Mound, oil on canvas (Auction record for the artist)
Executed in 2022
110 x 100 cm
Provenance:
- Linseed Projects, Shanghai
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$300,000 - 500,000
Hammer Price: HK$1,100,000
Sold: HK$1,397,000
Other Highlight Lots:
Lot 8 | Nicolas Party (b.1980) | Grotto, Soft pastel on linen
Executed in 2019
190.8 x 165.1 cm
Provenance:
- Xavier Hufkens, Brussels
- Private Collection (acquired from the above)
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$11,000,000 - 20,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$12,000,000
Sold: HK$15,015,000
Lot 40 | Zao Wou-Ki (1920-2013) | 31.08.2001 - 09.09.2002, Oil on canvas
Executed between 31 August 2001 to 9 September 2002
130 x 162 cm
Provenance:
- Marlborough Gallery, New York
- Private Collection, Asia
- Christie's, New York, 20 September 2007, lot 51 (consigned by the above)
- Private Collection (acquired from the above)
- Christie's, Shanghai, 26 April 2014, lot 22 (consigned by the above)
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$11,000,000 - 20,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$11,500,000
Sold: HK$14,405,000
Lot 34 | Georg Baselitz (b.1938) | Dreieck zwischen Arm und Rumpf (Triangle between Arm and Torso), Oil on canvas
Executed in 1977
250 x 200 cm
Provenance:
- Galerie Heiner Friedrich, Cologne
- Saatchi Collection, London
- Galerie Beyeler, Basel
- Michael Werner Gallery, New York/ Cologne
- Private Collection (acquired from the above in 2006)
- Christie's, London, 6 October 2017, Lot 6
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$9,000,000 - 15,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$9,000,000
Sold: HK$11,355,000
Lot 35 | Zeng Fanzhi (b.1964) | Mask Series 1995 no.12, Oil on canvas
Executed in 1995
149.3 x 129 cm
Provenance:
- ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$9,000,000 - 15,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$8,600,000
Sold: HK$10,867,000
Lot 24 | Fernando Botero (1932-2023) | Man on Horseback, white Carrara marble
Executed in 2008
110 x 85 x 57 cm
Provenance:
- Private Collection (acquired directly from the artist)
- SooBin Art Int'l and S.Bin Art Plus, Singapore
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$5,400,000 - 11,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$8,500,000
Sold: HK$10,745,000
Lot 39 | Mai Trung Thu (1906-1980) | Instant musical, ink and gouache on silk
Executed in 1946
81.7 x 63.9 cm
Provenance:
- Private Collection, Normandy
- Aguttes, Paris, 26 March 2018, Lot 9
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$3,500,000 - 5,500,000
Hammer Price: HK$8,000,000
Sold: HK$10,135,000
Lot 26 | Takashi Murakami (b.1962) | An Homage to IKB, 1957 E, acrylic, platinum leaf on canvas
Executed in 2012
199 x 153 cm
Provenance:
- Galerie Perrotin, Paris
- Acquired from the above in 2012 by the present owner
Estimate: HK$5,500,000 - 10,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$7,500,000
Sold: HK$9,525,000
Lot 11 | Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010) | A garden of Suzhou, oil on board
Executed in 1977
50 x 41 cm
Provenance:
- China Guardian Auction, Beijing, 4 November 2005, lot 15
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$6,000,000 - 9,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$7,500,000
Sold: HK$9,525,000
Lot 2 | Christine Ay Tjoe (b.1973) | Freezing 01, Oil on canvas
Executed in 2017-2018
170 x 200 cm
Provenance:
- Ota Fine Arts
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$2,000,000 - 4,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$4,500,000
Sold: HK$5,715,000
Auction Details:
Auction House: Sotheby's Hong Kong
Sale: Modern and Contemporary Evening Auction
Date: 29 March 2025
Number of Lots: 42
Sold: 40
Unsold: 2
Sale Rate: 95%
Sale Total: HK$297,519,500 (US$38.2 million)