PARIS.- Sotheby’s Paris sale of Impressionist & Modern Art brought a total of €12.9m / $14.1m / £9.3m, led by strong prices for works by modern masters of the 20th century and paintings and sculptures from prestigious private collections.
FACTS AND FIGURES
• Sale Total: €12,882,250 / $14,140,459 / £9,320,102
• Pre-Sale Estimate: €11.5-16.4m / $12.6-18m / £8.3-11.8m
MARC CHAGALL
• Works by Marc Chagall continued to captivate collectors, led by Paysage à l’Isba, a late work embodying all the joyfulness of his art, which achieved €1,659,000 / $1,821,035 / £1,200,260 (est. €1.4-1.8 million).
• Fleurs dans un vase à carreaux, a composition suffused with Chagall’s personal mythology, sold for €843,000 / $925,336 / £609,897 (est. €750,000-1.25m).
AN EXCEPTIONAL WORK ON PAPER BY JOAN MIRÓ
• Femme by Joan Miró, 1970, realised €1,263,000 / $1,386,357 / £913,760 (est. €800,0001.2m). Never previously offered at auction, this monumental painting was one of the finest works on paper by the artist seen on the market for some time.
ARISTIDE MAILLOL BRONZES
• A group of 11 bronze statuettes celebrating the female nude by Aristide Maillol, from the collection of Pierre Jourdan-Barry, brought a combined total of €1,386,750 / $1,522,194 / £1,003,292, double the pre-sale low estimate (€670,000 - 950,000).
o All 11 sculptures, assembled by the pre-eminent collector over a 20-year period, were sold. o Leading the group was La Nuit, which achieved €315,000 / $345,766 / £227,897, more than three times the low estimate (€90,000-150,000).
SURREALIST WORKS
• Following the auction record in France for Oscar Dominguez, established at Sotheby’s Paris in June this year, the sale saw a strong result for the artist’s El Soplo, which sold for €459,000 / $503,831 / £332,079 (est. 380,000-450,000).
• A major work by Toyen, La Chasse au renard, at auction for the first time, achieved €483,000 / $530,175 / £349,443 (est. £400,000-600,000). Painted in 1964, it was given by the artist to Jean Dausset, founder of the La Galerie de Dragon, a champion of Surrealism.
