Canaletto's View of Mestre
This View of Mestre by Canaletto, kept at Castle Durrow in Ireland until it was demolished in 1922, features at Christie’s two-part sale of paintings, drawings and watercolors by the great masters of European Art in New York on January 26.
It is the only large-scale view Canaletto painted of Mestre, the mainland city now linked to Venice by bridge. Previous owners were the Viscounts Ashbrook, whose ancestors likely purchased the work direct from the studio of Giovanni Antonio Canal, il Canaletto (1697-1768) during a Grand Tour and brought the work to Ireland. It is estimated at $2,500,000-3,500,000.
The sale of over 300 works in total represents great examples of European art dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries. It features master works by Canaletto, Luca Carlevarijs, Jean-Francois Millet, Jean Léon Gérôme, William Bouguereau, and Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema among the highlights.
UPDATE: The Canaletto did not find a buyer in sales which brought in $36.6 million.