Manet’s Le Printemps and Leger’s Les constructeurs aver arbre will highlight Christie’s evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in New York on November 5. These pivotal works of the Impressionist and Modern movements are estimated respectively at $35-35 million and $16-22 million. The 40 lots on offer in this sale reflect current collector demand for works of great rarity, strong provenance, and exceptional museum exhibition history. A total of 90% are fresh to the market, having remained in private collections for a decade or more, while nearly 80% of the works have been featured in a museum exhibition.
“We have assembled a sale tailored to the refined tastes of our global collecting community, keeping exceptional quality and rarity as our guiding principles. The resulting sale is an exciting, sweeping representation of the Impressionist and Modern eras in European Art, embracing multiple mediums and movements and tracing the evolution of art from Impressionism through to Cubism, and on to Surrealism in each of the media instructive to these genres. Matisse’s Nu assis, fond bleu and a suite of cubist works by Picasso, Braque, Gris and Severini, are particularly thrilling to offer alongside the openings of the Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs and Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection exhibitions at MoMA and The Met,” noted Brooke Lampley, Head of Department, Impressionist & Modern Art. Here are some highlights and a video in which Adrien Meyer, international director of Impressionist and Modern Art, discusses Le Printemps.
EDOUARD MANET, Le Printemps, oil on canvas, 1881, $25-35million. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014. UPDATE: IT MADE $65 MILLION
FERNAND LÉGER, Les constructeurs avec arbre, oil on canvas, 1949-1950, $16-22million. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014
HENRI MATISSE, Nu assis, fond bleu, oil on canvas, 1936, $4-6million. Courtesy Christie’s Images ltd., 2014 UPDATE: THIS MADE $5.4 MILLION