Auguste Rodin – Iris
Impressionist, Modern and Surreal art brought in a total of £93.7 million at Sotheby’s in London last night. The top lot was Pablo Picasso’s Tete de Femme which sold for£18.9 million. It was a portrait of his muse Marie Therese Walter painted in 1935. A lifetime cast of Auguste Rodin’s Iris – once in the collection of Sylvester Stallone – sold for £11.6 million. The Surrealist section was led by Le Miroir by Paul Delvaux which sold for £7.3 million, a new auction record for the artist. Henri Matisse’s La Lecon de Piano sold for £10.8 million and Claude Monet’s Le Palais Ducal vu de Saint Georges Majeur sold for £11.6 million.
La Lecon de Piano by Henri Matisse
There were participants from 35 countries, which was on a par with last year. Helena Newman, Global Co-Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department, said: “Tonight we saw continued market activity across all price levels, with depth of bidding from a broad international spectrum. Five lots selling for more than £7/$10 million and there was particular strength for sculpture and Surrealism – with record prices achieved for both Rodin and Delvaux.”
Sales of Impressionist and Modern Art continue today.