JERUSALEM.- Fine works of art, the likes that have yet to be offered for auction in Israel are arriving these days to Jerusalem. The parade includes the likes of Camille Pissarro (accompanied by his 4 sons, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren), Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Marc Chagall and Abraham Mintchine. These and 294 others will be auctioned by Matsart at the King David Hotel on June 30.

The auction, which includes 42% international art, will feature the masterpiece by Camille Pissarro from 1983 “The Meadow with the grey horse, Eragny”. Comparable works by the artist have sold for upwards of $3,000,000. (For security reasons, the exact pre-auction estimate will be issued upon request to potential buyers only.) Also featured are works by Renoir “Portrait de Claude Renoir, dit Coco”, c. 1906 ($250,000), by Chagall “Bouquet au coq aile”, 1962 ($180,000), and by Mintchine “Pierrot”, 1930’s ($280,000). Other artists whose works are being offered include: Victor Vaserely, Mordechai Ardon, Ludwig Blum, David Alfaro Siqueiros, to name just a few.

In spite of the world economic downturn (and perhaps because of it) the fine art market has flourished during the last several years. Investors have realized returns on investment the likes of which are not know in any other horizon. For example, the work by Alberto Giacometti brought a return of 1738% over 22 years (1988-2010). Walking Man I was sold in London for $104,000,000. This represents not only investors’ confidence in the artist, but also in the art market as a whole (the work was purchased by an important banking family).

Matsart Auctioneers and Appraisers is the only international auction house that holds auctions in Israel. According to Lucien Krief, the founder and owner, “There exists and ever-increasing demand by Israelis desiring to invest in markets other than the traditional financial and real estate markets. Artwork achieves incomprehensive results in New York and London; this is proof of the security and promise of the art market.

The auction preview will be held at the Tel Aviv Hilton 17-20 June 2010 and at Matsart Gallery Jerusalem, 23-30 June 2010.

The upcoming auction will be held 30 June 2010. Matsart predicts a total sale of upwards of $8,500,000. 113 works arrived from overseas. 186 works were consigned by local sellers.

In recent auctions Matsart has sold works by Chaim Soutine ($962,500) and Camille Pissarro ($800,000).

At its Fall Auction (December 2009) Matsart sold 116 works with a total net of $5,200,000 including auction premium. With this auction Matsart closed 2009 with annual sales of approximately $12,000,000. Since its founding in 2006, Matsart has grown by approximately 400% .