Pigmented in electric tones of blue, green and yellow, Femme debout et vue de face, agrafant son corset, is an exceptionally rare oil by Edgar Degas featuring the artist’s most recognizable subject of ballet dancer—a theme which would come to define the artist and his later works.  Degas cared little for depicting the more obvious splendour of a pirouette but rather for the off-duty dancer stretching, yawning or adjusting her clothing, as seen here with a young woman fastening her corset. Degas was keenly aware of the humanity of the dancers beyond their glamorous costumes and make-up. His behind-the-scenes participation allowed him access to details of the dancers' practices that were otherwise unseen. By the late 1870s and into the 1880s he attended both performances and rehearsals, and he was well-known among the members of the company. With such privileged access he could render them with his pastels in the midst of a staged production and in their more intimate moments when their movements were wholly unchoreographed.

Pierre Bonnard
Assiette de fraises & Nu assis
Fleurs dans les cheveux (Étude de nu)
Each estimated at $500/700,000
Each sold for $1.2 million

Following the successful sale of Pierre Bonnard’s Chevalier d’or from our Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in October, two of the artist’s oils once again took the spotlight in yesterday’s auction, each selling for $1.2 million. Nu assis, Fleurs dans les cheveux (Étude de nu) reinterprets the classic theme of the female nude; a motif that would preoccupy Bonnard for much of his career. As with many of his best works, Bonnard depicts a quiet and contained interior, which serves as a place of repose for this female figure, believed to be his lover and eventual wife, Marthe de Méligny. The canvas vibrates with the colorful texture of fabrics and decorative patterns, most prominently in the blue screen that enlivens many of Bonnard’s interior scenes from this period. Assiette de fraises’ is a perfect example of the radical cropping and strong sense of visual rhythm which are hallmarks of Bonnard’s still lifes, a genre which suited his experimental approach to composition perfectly. The present work, gifted to his fellow Nabis artist Félix Vallotton in 1922, is one of the finest examples of its kind and has remained in a private collection for almost twenty years.

Salvador Dalí
Untitled (Le Pain et le vin)
1965-1970
Estimate $300/500,000
Sold for $1.1 million

A tour de force of Dalí’s sculpture practice, Untitled (Le Pain et le vin) far exceeded expectations, selling for $1.1 million – achieving the third highest price for a sculpture by the artist at auction. Conceived and executed over a number of years, from 1965 to 1970, the lamp is exquisitely cast with 5.3 grams of 18 carat gold. Containing some of his most important and adored motifs - sea creatures, skeletons, turtles, bread and butterflies - this iconic sculpture is a unique work made specifically for Mafalda Davis, a former lady-in-waiting to Egyptian King Farouk's consort, Queen Fawzia, who had a long-standing creative friendship with Dalí. The two collaborated on an incredible set of gold silverware, tabletop objects and other vivid gold-colored items, many of which were sold at her estate sale in 1997 alongside the present work.