By Carter B. Horsley In the fall of 1999, Christie's offered a lovely waterlily painting by Claude Monet (1840-1926) with an estimate on request of about $15,000,000 and upped the estimate to $17,000,000 to $18,000,000 just before the auction. It sold to a "European trade" buyer for $22,552,500 including the buyer's premium. Sotheby's now has the same picture back as the star of its evening Impressionist & Modern Art auction November 5, 2002 and it carries an estimate of $16,000,000 to $20,000,000. Lot 12, it is entitled "Nymphéas," and is an oil on canvas that measures 35 1/4 by 36 1/2 inches and was executed in 1906. Given that the headline on an October 31, 2002 article by Carol Vogel in The New York Times carried the headline "Art and Anxiety Meet as Fall Auctions Arrive" and that the cover article of the December 2002 edition of Art & Auction magazine is entitled "The Big New York Sales, Will There be Smiles - Or Will There be Tears?" it is not too surprising that Sotheby's experts have given this work a relatively non-inflationary estimate, especially since it was on the auction block fairly recently.
As far as Monet's waterlily works go, this is a pretty smashing painting and given the fact that many "art experts" have been arguing that the market remains very strong for the "highest quality" works, it should not be too surprising, however, if this lot exceeds its estimate. It sold for $18,709,500 including the buyer's premium as do all results in this article. Sotheby's has had some bad press since the spring season as its principal owner, Alfred Taubman began a prison term in August and reports have circulated in the press that it has been offered for sale. In addition, Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg is back with an Impressionist and Modern Art auction the night before this auction after having foregone its Impressionist & Modern Art auction last spring. While its offerings this season are small in quantity, it does have a few superb works (see The City Review article), and Christie's, which has its sale tomorrow night, has the best group of works on the block this go-round (see The City Review article). The poor state of the economy has generated a fair bit of nervousness in the market, but most observers feel that the highest quality works will still fare well although lesser quality works are likely to result in a high number of "buy-ins."
That sentiment has severely shaken, however, by the extremely weak Impressionist & Modern Art auction Nov. 4, 2002 at Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg at which most of the top lots failed to sell. This Sotheby's auction, however, was relatively very successful with 68.18 percent of the 66 offered lots selling, although that is still a low percentage by traditional evening auction norms. This auction's sale total was $81,453,500 and the presale low estimate had been $101,300,000 and the presale high estimate had been $141,900,000.
"We are very pleased. It was a very solid sale," declared David C. Norman, co-chairman of the Impressionist & Modern Art department, after the sale. "Quality rules," maintained Charles S. Moffett, co-chairman of the same department. "We have a very good market....It shows that a great team...makes a difference," declared Tobias Meyer, the auctioneer.
Clearly they and most of the art market breathed a giant sigh of relief that the sale was not a repeat of the auction at Phillips where less than 45 percent of the lots were sold. There are several other Monet paintings in this auction. Lot 5 former is entitled "Vetheuil, les pruniers en fleurs" and it is an oil on canvas of flower pickers that measures 29 1/4 by 36 5/8 inches. Executed in 1879, it has an estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000 and was once in the collection of Mrs. Potter Palmer of Chicago. It was passed at $2,000,000. Lot 7 is entitled "Au bord du Fjord de Chrstiania" and is an oil on canvas of a winter scene that measures 25 1/2 by 36 inches. Executed in 1895, it has an estimate of $1,200,000 to $1,600,000. It sold for $1,219,500. Lot 10 is entitled "Fleurs dans un pot (Roses et Brouillard)" and measures 32 5/8 by 25 1/2 inches. Dated 1878, it has an estimate of $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 and has been consigned by the estate of Ogden Phipps. It sold for $3,089,500. Lot 17, "Soleil Couchant, Temps Brumeux, Pourville," measures 24 3/8 by 29 1/2 inches. Dated 1882, this pleasant sunset marine scene has an estimate of only $600,000 to $800,000. It sold for $614,500.
The cover illustration of the catalogue is Lot 19, "Nature Morte, Serviette a Carreaux," by Henri Matisse (1869-1954). An oil on canvas that measures 20 5/8 by 21 1/2 inches, it was painted circa 1903 and is highlighted by a vibrantly colored red-and-white-checked tablecloth and is of more than normal still-life interest because the artist has painted a self-portrait of himself in the mirror behind the table. While this work harkens to many still life paintings by Cézanne, albeit without self-portraits and it atypical of Matisse's mature style, it is a strong work and has an estimate of $4,000,000 to $6,000,000. It sold for $4,849,500.
Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) is represented in this auction by a fresco of Joan of Arc that he painted in 1899 for Marie Henry's seaside inn at Le Pouldu in Brittany. Gauguin and fellow artists Meyer de Haan and Paul Sérusier, according to the catalogue, made dozens of ceramic works, woodcarvings, and sculptures, and covered the walls of the inn with drawings and paintings, including the present work, which was part of a mural in the dining room." Gauguin left for Tahiti the next year and left his paintings and drawings with Mme Henry as collateral for his unpaid bill and after the inn was sold the frescos were covered with wallpaper until 1924 until Abraham Rattner, the painter, discovered them and purchased them. This lot has a modest estimate of $1,500,000 to $2,000,000. It was passed at $650,000. The second highest estimate of this auction is $10,000,000 to $15,000,000 for Lot 20, "Femme nue debout," by Paul Cézanne (1939-1906). This oil on canvas of a naked standing woman measures 36 1/2 by 28 inches and was painted in 1898-9 and was once in the collection of Auguste Pellerin. The catalogue entry maintains that this painting is "a wonderfully powerful evocation of the female nude" and that "the rich browns, ochres, yellows and flesh-pinks of the composition are beautifully modulated, and Cézanne's facture here is at its most refined." Continuing, the catalogue also maintained that "perhaps Cézanne's most precocious accomplishment is the angular modeling and stylization of this figure, as this kind of daring treatment would have a profound influence on Picasso when he painting his Les Demoiselles d'Avignon." Nonetheless, one wonders if the rather dark palette will be of sufficient interest to collectors more accustomed to the artist's normally brighter palette. It failed to sell and was passed at $9,000,000. After the sale, Mr. Moffat described the work as "exceptional" and said he was puzzled at its failure to sell.
Indeed, they may prefer to focus on Lot 34, a luminous work by Joan Miró, entitled "L'Oiseau boum-boum fait sa priere a la tete pelure d'oignon." An oil on canvas that measures 31 3/4 by 39 3/8 inches, it was executed in 1952 and has an estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It sold for $2,154,500.
Or they may simply be more satisfied with a more traditional Cézanne landscape, Lot 8, "Le Potager de Pissaro a Pontoise," an oil on canvas that measures 19 3/4 by 23 5/8 inches. Painted in 1877, it has a modest estimate of $2,000,000 to $2,500,000. It sold for $1,989,500. This auction has several good sculptures.
The back-cover illustration of the catalogue is Lot 32, "Le Roi Jouant Avec La Reine," a great bronze sculpture by Max Ernst (1891-1976) that is 39 3/4 inches high. Conceived in 1944 and executed in an edition of nine in 1954, it is one of the 20th Century's finest modern scultpures and has an estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. Noting that Ernst, like many Surrealists, was an ardent chess player, the catalogue observes in this work "the powerful figure of the king seems to be enacting a ritual of earth shattering importance as he protects the queen with his right hand and hides another piece behind his back. The original plaster cast for this work was originally in the collection of Robert Motherwell, the artist, and is now in the collection of Fondation Beyeler, Riehen. It sold for $2,429,500, an auction record for Ernst.
Lot 36, "Figurine dans une boite entre deux boites qui son des maisons," is a fine bronze and glass sculpture by Alberto Giacometti (1902-1966). The 1950 work is 21 3/8 inches long and has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It is number 2/6. It has been consigned by the estate of Stanley Marcus. It sold for $2,099,500.
Lot 53," Newton de Gala," is a monumental bronze sculpture by Salvador Dalí (1904-1989). The 12-foot-seven-inch-high statue "relates to an important painting that Dali completed in 19322 entitled Phosphen de Laporte in which the figure of Newton appears in the lower half of the canvas," the catalogue noted, adding that the artist executed the first plaster cast of this figure in 1969 and cast this larger version 1985 in an edition of eight plus four artist's proofs. "Dalí presents Newton as a symbolic figure, identifiable only by his plumb-line rather than by any physiological characteristics," it maintained. The impressive lot has an estimate of $400,000 to $500,000. It sold for $449,500.
One of the most beautiful works in the auction is Lot 4, "Voiliers sur L'Escault," by Theo van Rysselberghe (1862-1926).
An oil on canvas with painted liner that measures 26 3/4 by 35 1/2 inches, it was executed in 1892 and has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It is an outstanding Neo-Impressionist painting and was in the collection of Arthur Altschul, the investment banker. It sold for $2,649,500, an auction record for the artist.
Another Altschul consignment is Lot 3, "Notre Dame," by Maximilien Luce (1858-1941). This 34-by-31 3/4-inch oil on canvas has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $614,500.
Another fine lot is Lot 1, "Portrait d'Edmond Maitre (Le Liseur)," by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). This very lovely oil measures 8 3/4 by 11 3/8 inches and has a conservative estimate of $700,000 to $900,000. It sold for $1,219,500.
Lot 31, "Schangen-Toterin," is a fine, oil, watercolor, pen and pencil on paper mounted on colored paper and laid down on the artist's mount by Paul Klee (1840-1926). It measures 16 by 9 1/2 inches, and was executed in 1923. It has an estimate of $700,000 to $900,000. It sold for $889,500.
Lot 38, "La Belle Captive," is a good oil on canvas, 21 by 26 inches by Rene Magritte (1898-1967. The 1947 work has a modest estimate given recent auction records for Magritte of $600,000 to $800,000. It sold for $889,500. Lot 42, "Odalisque a la mandoline," is a 88 1/2-by-90 1/2-inch oil on canvas by Balthus (1908-2001) that depicts a naked young woman in bed. Painted in 1998-9, it has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $1,000,000. Sotheby's printed a separate catalogue for 12 works from the collection of Robert Guccione, the publisher of Penthouse magazine, which will be put on the block at the end of the sale. The Guccione offerings are highlighted by a fine portrait by Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) and a sweet portrait of the artist's son, Paulo, by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973).
"Giovanotto dai capelli rossi," Lot 59, is a superb oil on canvas by Amedeo Modigliani that measures 39 5/8 by 24 5/8 inches. Executed in 1919, it has a conservative estimate of $6,000,000 to $8,000,000. It sold for $8,479,500. It had been withdrawn from Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art auction a year ago when it had an estimate of $5,000,000 to $7,000,000. Mr. Guccione bought the painting at Sotheby's in 1984 for about $1,900,000.
Picasso's portrait of his son Paulo as a clown, Lot 61, shown above, is a lovely oil on canvas that measures 13 3/4 by 10 5/8 inches. Exected in 1924, it has a conservative estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It sold for $2,209,500.