All | Art & Photography | Auction Results

Christie’s sale led by Picasso, Monet and Modigliani masterpieces


A series of masterpieces by Monet, Picasso and Modigliani will lead a forthcoming Christie’s auction in New York.

The Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on May 12 will offer more than 50 important works by some of the early 20th century’s most significant and sought-after artists.

Leading the sale is Le bassin aux nymphéas, one of Claude Monet’s iconic Water Lilies paintings created circa 1918-19.

Formerly owned by the key Impressionist collector Henri Canonne, a Parisian pharmaceutical tycoon, the painting will be offered for the first time in two decades with an estimate of $25-$35 million.

The sale will also include another major Monet work, the landscape Au Petit-Gennevilliers, painted in Argenteuil in 1874.

Having been acquired by the famed American collector Henry Osborne Havemeyer in 1901, the painting will now hit the market for the first time in more than a century, valued at $12-$18 million.

Further standout lots will include Amedeo Modigliani’s 1916 portrait Jeune femme à la rose (Margherita), estimated at $12-$18 million; Pablo Picasso’s Homme assis, painted in 1969, valued at $8-$12 million; Frida Kahlo’s 1939 work Dos desnudos en el bosque (La tierra misma), also estimated at $8-$12 million; and Georges Braque’s Mandoline à la partition, regarded as one of the artist’s greatest late career still-lifes, valued at $7-$9 million.

“This season we tailored our sale to meet current collector demand for iconic examples from the most celebrated artists of the period,” said Brooke Lampley, Christie’s Head of Impressionist and Modern Art, New York.

“The two Monets, Modigliani portrait, Picasso mousquetaire and Braque still life are all of unmatched quality and come with distinguished provenance. We are delighted to bring such an exciting and attractively estimated mix of works to the market, in many cases providing collectors with first-time opportunities to acquire rare, coveted works during Christie’s 20th Century Week.”


Just Collecting