Fact & Figures from Tonight’s Sale:
Sale total: $408.5 million (estimate $329.7M - $428.2M) - marking the third most valuable auction total in Sotheby’s history
One-third of the sale was fresh to market, not offered at auction in 20 years or more
Four works sell for more than $20 million, and 10 sell for more than $10 million
88% sold
Collectors in Asia were active across the sale, taking home Claude Monet’s Les Arceaux de roses, Giverny
Strong participation from online bidders, including on Lots 2, 4, 16, 49
Five auctions records: Maximilien Luce, Leonora Carrington, Milton Avery, Robert Motherwell (work on paper), and Jared French
Over 40% of works sold achieved over high estimate
For the first time, an Evening Auction was broadcast live in full via Instagram, attracting nearly 20,000 viewers, and sale highlights garnered 300,000 views on TikTok this week
Modern Evening Auction At a Glance:
Pablo Picasso’s Femme nue couchée, a remarkably sensual portrait of his lover Marie-Thérèse Walter from 1932, sold for $67.5 million – one of the highest prices ever achieved for a Marie-Thérèse portrait.
An additional six works by Picasso sold this evening, including the artist’s L'Étreinte which sold for $14.1 million, bringing the total for Picasso this week to more than $106 million
Claude Monet’s Le Grand Canal et Santa Maria della Salute sold for $56.6 million, setting a new benchmark for any view of Italy by any artist, as well as the most valuable Venice view by Monet ever sold at auction.
An additional two works by Monet sold, showcasing the artist’s critical position as a pillar of the Modern art market. Among them was Monet’s Les Arceaux De Roses, Giverny, which sold for $23.3 million, bringing the artist’s combined total for the sale to $86.2 million.
A trio of works from the Toledo Museum of Art sold for nearly $60 million – led by Paul Cézanne's Clairière (The Glade) which achieved $41.7 million – the third highest price ever achieved at auction for a work by the artist. Also part of the group were Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Nu s'essuyant ($2.7 million) and Henri Matisse's Fleurs ou Fleurs devant un portrait ($15.3 million) sold following a prolonged bidding battle between Sotheby’s phone bidders in New York and Hong Kong
Proceeds from the sale will establish a lasting endowment that more than doubles the museum’s current art acquisition fund created by founding benefactors Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey.
Estates and collections comprised nearly 40% of the lots on offer this evening
10 works from the Collection of Paul Yeou Chichong was 100% sold, achieving a combined $32.4 million – highlighted by Paul Gauguin's Tahiti, scène de rivière which sold for $8.9 million.
Drawn Together: The Collection of Marcia and Stanley Gumberg featured an exceptional group of works on paper, and totaled $21.6 million. The group was led by Willem de Kooning’s Leaves in Weehawken which sold for $10.1 million (estimate $3/5 million).
Eternal Style: A Private American Collection was highlighted by Fernand Léger's Le Campeur, étude which sold for $7.2 million (estimate $4/6 million), a highly finished variation of Leger's paintings depicting a group of campers
Abstract Expressionist works continue to shine in the Modern Sale, led by Philip Guston’s 1958 Nile selling for $18 million, among the most valuable works by the artist sold at auction. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the O’Donnell Foundation.
Works by Barnett Newman, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Robert Motherwell all sold firmly within estimate
Five or more bidders competed for bold-faced names of 19th and 20th century art:
Amedeo Modigliani’s Madame Dorival and Alberto Giacometti’s Femme de Venise II each sold for $17.6 million, in addition to Robert Motherwell’s Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 59 ($1.2 million), Paul Gauguin's Tahiti, scène de rivière, and Pablo Picasso's Femme debout ($2.1 million)
Global surrealism sees strong demand: works by Leonora Carrington and Jared French both achieved new auction records, alongside strong results for Kay Sage, René Magritte, Paul Delvaux, Victor Brauner, Salvador Dali, and Matta.