2023-11-05 11:38:10
Pablo Picasso against everyone at the autumn auctions of Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips in New York, the most important art sales on the international market: starting from Tuesday 7 November the two key weeks of the season, those in which the best, most coveted works and even more expensive ones will be offered with the hope that they will break new records. This is why the catalogs of the three auction houses are glittering with masterpieces, among others by Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne, Egon Schiele, Frida Kahlo, René Magritte and Andry Warhol.
But the star will undoubtedly be the great Spanish artist, in the year in which we celebrate 50 years since his death. It has already been renamed the Picasso of records: it is ‘Femme à la montre’, an oil on canvas from 1932 that Sotheby’s will offer on Thursday 9 November with a starting estimate of 120 million dollars, which in itself represents a true world record .
Kicking off sales will be Christie’s ’21st Century Evening Sale’ on Tuesday 7 November with 43 exceptional contemporary lots, including notable paintings and sculptures by Cy Twombly, Brice Marden and Jeff Koons. The stop will be Christie’s ’20th Century Evening Sale’, which will present 65 modernist works on Wednesday 8th, along with some contemporary pieces on November 9th. Among the top lots are René Magritte’s painting ‘L’empire des lumières’ (1949), estimated at 25-35 million dollars, and an abstract portrait by Picasso of his lover and muse Marie-Thérèse Walter, also estimated at 25 -35 million dollars.
The work with the iconic 16 images of Jackie Kennedy by Andy Warhol (1928-1987) will be auctioned at Christie’s on Thursday 9 November: ‘Sixteen Jackies’ is offered with an estimate of 25-35 million dollars. This 1964 painting depicts a 4×4 grid of a repeat print image of First Lady Jackie Kennedy taken during her husband’s funeral procession. The work will be offered a week and a half before the 60th anniversary of JFK’s death. The Pop Art master’s seminal work, ‘Sixteen Jackies’ sits at the pinnacle of the group of artworks that became known as ‘Death and Disaster’. Christie’s will also present ‘Portrait of Christina, My Sister’ by Frida Kahlo (1928), estimated at 8-12 million dollars.
Sotheby’s initial sale, entitled ‘The Emily Fisher Landau Collection: An Era Defined – Evening Auction’ comprises 31 lots and will take place between Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 November. One of the greatest art patrons of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, Landau was a trustee of the Whitney Museum in New York and had her own public art space from 1991 to 2017 in Long Island City, where she exhibited selections from his collection. In the catalog there are exceptional works of art including the record-breaking Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko and Jasper Johns. Among the top lots is ‘Securing the Last Letter (Boss)’ (1964) by Ed Ruscha, estimated at 35-45 million dollars.
Sotheby’s Modern Art Evening Auction, taking place on Monday 13 November, will feature 41 modernist lots, including important paintings and sculptures by Balthus, Alexander Calder, Paul Cézanne and Joan Miró, with the top-lot ‘Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, temps couvert’ (1891) by Claude Monet. Consigned by a Japanese collector, who purchased the painting in 1990, it is estimated that the painting by the impressionist painter will be sold for 30-40 million dollars, but since Monet’s auction record is 110.7 million dollars, a higher final result is expected.
Joan Mitchell’s hilarious ‘Sunflowers’ (1990-91) and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s gripping ‘Self-Portrait as a Heel (Part Two)’ (1982) will feature in Sotheby’s 46-lot contemporary art evening auction and will take place on Wednesday 15 November.
Finally, Phillips’ ’20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale Part II’, taking place on Tuesday 14 November, will feature 30 high-quality lots, including spectacular paintings by George Condo, Gerhard Richter and Nicolas de Staël,
(by Paolo Martini)
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