Lot
22, "Mother and child with flowers," by Pablo Picasso, oil on board, 20
7/8 by 26 3/4 inches, 1901
Lot 22 is a very nice 1901 painting of a mother
and child with flowers, 20 7/8 by 26 3/4 inches, by Pablo Picasso.
It sold for $2,532,500 at the November 8, 1999 auction at
Christie's in New York. At this auction, it has an estimate
of $6,000,000 to $8,000,000. It sold for $5,962,500.
The catalogue provides the following commentary:
"Picasso's enhanting depiction of a mother and
child, rendered in alternating tones of deep and smoky blues, captures
the dark beauty of the Parisian demi-monde at the turn of the
century....Even in his paintings of traditonal themes like still-lifes
and mothers and children..., Picasso favored a palette and a technique
that capture the incandesence and dazzle of this exciting chapter in
his life. Painting upon his arrival in Paris in
early 1901, this picture is one of the paintings believed to have hung
at the exhibition at Ambrose Vollard's gallery that launched his career
in Paris."
Lot
29, "Pivoine," by Pablo Picasso, oil on board, 20 1/2 13 3/4 inches,
1901
Lot 29 is a very
strong painting of a flower, entitled "Pivoine," by Picasso that was
also executed in 1901. An oil on board, it measures 20 1/2 by
13 3/4 inches and could easily be mistaken for a Van Gogh. It
has a modest estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It sold for $3,666,500.
The catalogue notes that this picture was "owned for over half a
century by Gaby Depeyre Lespinasse, a youngwomen with whom
Picasso had a clandestine affair in 1915-16 while his fiance Eva was
dying of tuberculosis."
Lot 34,
"Baigneuses," by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, oil on canvas, 18 1/8 by 15
inches, circa 1892
Lot
34 is a ravishing and very lovely scene of two young girls watching
bathers by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). An oil on
canvas, it measures 18 1/8 by 15 inches andwas painted circa 1892.
It sold for $3,412,500 at the May 13, 1998 auction at
Sotheby's in New York. At this auction, it has a very modest
estimate of $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 as it is very hard to imagine a
more perfect Renoir. It sold for $3,442,500.
Lot 36,
"L'Hermitage en Eté, Pontoise," by Camille Pissarro, oil on canvas, 22
1/4 by 35 7/8 inches, 1877
Of the several Impressionist
landscapes in the auction, Lot 36, "L'Hermitage en été," by Camille
Pissarro (1831-1903), is the best. An oil on canvas, it
measures 22 1/4 by 35 7/8 inches and was painted in 1877. It
was formerly owned by Gustave Caillebotte and Mrs. John Barry Ryan and
exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art
in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Musée d'Orsay in
Paris. It has a modest estimate of $4,000,000 to $6,000,000
given its provenance, exhibition history, size and composition. It sold for $4,282,500.
Lot 32, "La
Seine à Argenteuil," by Claude Monet, oil on canvas, 23 5/8 by
28 5/8 inches, 1877
A somewhat similar landscape
painted the same year as Lot 36 is Lot 32, "La Seine à Argenteuil," by
Claude Monet (1840-1926). An oil on canvas, it measures 23
5/8 by 28 5/8 inches. Its cloudy sky is bolder but its
foreground is less interesting. It has an ambitious estimate
of $6,000,000 to $8,000,000. It sold for $6,242,500.
Lot 33, "La
Seine à La Pointe d'Epinay," by Gustave Caillebotte, oil on canvas, 25
5/8 by 31 7/8 inches, circa 1888
Lot 33 is a very strong and
bold river scene by Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894), entitled "La Seine
à La Point d"Epinay." An oil on canvas, it measures 25 5/8 by
31 7/8 inches and was painted circa 1888. The catalogue notes
that it "ranks among the artist's most spetacular landscapes"
and that "the co-existence of the modern and the pastoral was a
favorite theme of Impressionist landscape painting, and Caillebotte's
depiction here is one of the most skillful." It has a very
modest estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000. It was passed at $700,000!
Lot
13, "Danseuses au Foyer,"by Edgar Degas, pastel on joined sheets of
paper laid down on board, 29 1/4 by 23 1/4 inches, circa1901
Lot 13 is a nice pastel on
joined sheets of paper laid down on board, entitled 'Danseuses au
Foyer," by Edgar Degas (1834-1917). It measures 29
1/4 by 23 1/4 inches and was painted circa 1901. It has an
estimate of $4,500,000 to $6,500,000. It was passed at $4,000,000.
Lot
37, "La Dogana, Venise," by Paul Signac, oil on canvas, 28 3/4 by 36
1/4 inches, 1923
Lot 37 is a very good
Venetian scene by Paul Signac (1863-1935). An oil on canvas
that measures 28 3/4 by 36 1/4 inches, it was executed in 1923 and is
entitled "La Dogana, Venise." It has an estimate of
$4,000,000 to $6,000,000. It sold for $4,282,500.
Lot 54, "La
Partie de Plaisir," by Edouard Vuillard, gouache and distemper on
board, 29 by 30 1/4 inches, circa 1898-9
Lot
54 is a superb painting by Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940) entitled "La
Partie de Plaisir." A gouache and distemper on board, it
measures 29 by 30 1/4 inches and was executed circa 1898-9.
It has an estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It sold for $3,666,500.
Lot
12, "Woman with a Green Fan," by Alexej von Jawlensky, oil on board, 25
5/8 by 21 1/4 inches, 1912
Lot
12 is a very strong painting of a "Woman with a Green Fan" by Alexej
von Jawlensky (1864-1941). An oil on board, it measures 25
5/8 by 21 1/4 inches and was painted in 1912. It has an
ambitious estimate of $8,000,000 to $12,000,000. It sold for $11,282,500.
Lot
39, "Le Moulin de la Gallette,"by Kees van Dongen, oil on canvas, 20
1/4 by 29 3/4 inches, circa 1906
Lot 39 is a good painting by
Kees van Dongen (1877-1968) entitled "Le Moulin de la Galette."
An oil on canvas, it measures 20 1/4 by 29 3/4 inches and was
executed circa 1906. The work is somewhat similar to the mask
paintings of James Ensor. It has a modest estimate
of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $1,202,500.
Lot 47,
"Peinture (per a Emili Fernandez Miró), by Joan Miró, oil on canvas, 15
3/4 by 94 1/2 inches, 1964
Lot 47 is a very lyrical and
colorful abstraction by Joan Miró. The oil on canvas measures
15 3/4 by 94 1/2 inches and was painted in 1964. It has an
estimate of $3,000,000 to $4,000,000. It sold for $5,122,500.
The catalogue entry notes that after the artist visited New York in
1947 he "became acquainted with the art of the Abstract Expressionists
and was fascinated by their new techniques and their aesthetic agenda."
"As the artist later recalled," it continued, "the experience
of seeing canvases of the Abstract Expressionist was like 'a blow to
the solar plexus.' Several young painters, including
Jackso Pollock, were crediting Miró as their inspiration for their
wild, paint-splattered canvases. In the years that followed
he created works that responded to the enthusiasm of this younger
generation of American painters and the spontaniety of their art.
It was also under their influence that he started painting on
a larger scale."
Lot 25,
"Coq," by Joan Miró, bronze, conceived in 1970 and cast during the
artist's lifetime in an edition of nine plus two artist's proofs, 21
inches high. In the background are three Picassos and one
Schiele in auction gallery.
Lot
25 is a delightful bronze sculpture of a cock by Joan Miró that was
conceived in 1970 and cast in a edition of nine plus two artist's
proofs. It is 21 inches high. It has an estimate of
$500,000 to $700,000. It sold for $662,500.
Lot 40, "Les
Cariatides,"byPaul Delvaux, oil on masonite, 48 by 72 inches, 1946
Lot 40 is a stunning and
quite beautiful painting by Paul Delvaux (1897-1994) entitled "Les
Cariatides." An oil on masonite, it measures 48 by 72 inches
and was painted in 1946. It has been widely published and
exhibited.
The
catalogue provides the following excellent commentary:
"Delvaux's
spectacular Les
Cariatides is among the most celebrated and widely-known
compositions of his oeuvre. Since its completion in 1946,
this monumental picture has come to be regarded as one of th emost
alluring examples of late Surrealist art. Although Delvaux's
paintings are renowned for their hallucionatory scenarios and
dream-like imagery, the artist claimed not to be a proponent
of the writings of Sigmund Freud and did not invest his compositions
with the blatantly psychoanalytic references that were favored by Dali,
Miro and his fellow Belgian, René Magritte. Delvaux's
approach to painting was more subtle in its representation of
the uncanny: without being overtly grotesque or offensive with his
imagery, he would interrupt the peacefulness and banality of a given
scene with instances of the bizarre. Many of these
pictures present a conventional architectural setting, like a railway
station, loggia, or a street corner. that is populated by
expressionless and oddly lifeless women, usually depicted in the nude.
The passivity of these women recalls the gentle features of a
Botticelli or the flawlessness of a Bougereau and adds
a certain sense of timelessness to the composition."
The lot
has an estimate of $3,000,000 to $5,000,000. It sold for $9,042,500.
Lot 43,
"Madone Microphysique," by Salvador Dali, oil on canvas, 9 5/8 by 7 3/8
inches, 1954
Salvador
Dali (1904-1989) was unquestionably one of the greatest virtuosi of
painting as well a great Surrealist. Lot 43 is one of his
masterpieces despite its dimunitive dimensions of 9 5/8 by 7 3/8
inches. The 1954 composition is entitled "Madone
Microphysique" and the catalogue says it is his interpretation of a
Madonna by Raphael. The work was once in the collection of
the Marquis de Cuevas of New York. It has a modest estimate
of $500,000 to $700,000. It sold for $962,500.
Lot 2,
"Princess Arthchild Gourielli-Helena Rubenstein," by Salvador Dali, oil
on canvas, 35 by 25 1/4 inches, 1943
Helena Rubeinstein was a
famous entrepreneur of cosmetic products for women and a major art
collector who commissioned portraits from many important artists.
Lot 2 is a portrait of her by Salvador Dali that
was executed in 1943. An oil on canvas, it measures 35 by 25
1/4 inches. It has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $2,658,500.
Lot
15, "Portrait de Maurice Lefebvre-Foinet," by Alberto Giacometti, oil
on canvas, 32 1/8 by 23 1/4 inches, circa 1964-5, left; Lot 14, "Femme
Debout," by Alberto Giacometti, bronze, 28 inches high, numbered 4/8,
cast in 1957, right
Lot
14 is a good bronze statue of a standing woman by Alberto Giacometti
(1901-1966). It is 28 inches high and is numbered 4/8 and was
cast in 1957. It has an estimate of $2,000,000 to
$3,000,000. It sold for $7,362,500.
Lot 15 is a good oil on canvas "Portrait of Maurice
Lefebvre-Foinet" by Giacometti. It measures 32 1/8 by 23 1/4
inches and was painted circa 1964-5. It has an estimate of
$3,000,000 to $4,000,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $3,700,000.
Lot 8, "Jeune
Tahitienne," by Paul Gauguin, painted tamanu wood, pasted paper, red
coral and shell, circa 1893, 9 5/8 inches high
Lot 8 is a
lovely sculpture of a young Tahitian woman in painted tamanu
wood with pasted paper, red coral and shell by Paul Gauguin
(1848-1903). It was executed circa 1893 and is 9 5/8 inches
high. The catalogue includes 7 full page reproductions, from
different angles, of the sculpture. The catalogue notes that
8 sculptures survive from Gauguin's first "period" in Tahiti, adding
that this work is the only known fully-worked, three-dimensional
bust portrait, adding that tanamu wood is known for its
variant shades of gold-brown and its luminous sheen. It has
an estimate of $10,000,000 to $15,000,000. It sold for $11,282,500, considerably more than the artist's previous auction record for a sculpture of $1,485,000.