MARC CHAGALL – LES AMOUREUX
A romantic masterwork by Marc Chagall smashed a long established record for the artist when it sold to a Russian private collector for $28.5 million at Sotheby’s in New York last night. The evening sale of Impressionist and Modern art totalled $269.6 million, up 71% on last year. Five of the top ten works went to Asia. Chagall’s Les Amoureux broke a record set for the artist in 1990 when his Anniversaire sold for $14.9 million at Sotheby’s. It had been in the same family collection since it was painted in 1928.
Simon Shaw, Co-Head of Sotheby’s Worldwide Impressionist & Modern Art Department, commented: “Tonight we saw an enthusiastic and expanding client base respond to a particularly strong and varied offering. From the depth and geographical spread of bidders, to auction records set for both established artists and those we don’t see as often in this category, it’s clearly an exciting time for the Impressionist & Modern Art market. While Russia took home tonight’s top prize, Asia was clearly a major story – we had seven different buyers spanning China, Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong, and many more under-bidders.”