Picasso Surprise Highlights Sotheby’s Strong Sale

The unlikely standout work at Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art sale last night was a seductive Picasso watercolor on paper of an angular yellow woman. “Nu jaune,” a 1907 study for the artist’s “Demoiselles d’Avignon,” sold for $13.7 million, more than three times its high estimate of $4 million. The buyer was Olivier Berggruen, the son of famed collector Heinz Berggruen.“I bought it for my family,” Mr. Berggruen said. “My father owned at one stage of his life the same subject. I went as far as I could, and I’m very pleased.”It was the most dramatic but far from the sole example of a restrained estimate leading to a big price.The entire auction totaled $130.1 million, above its presale high estimate of $125 million, with 86.7% of lots sold.“It was the ultimate vindication for putting proper and reasonable estimates and letting the market lead,” Sotheby’s co-chairman of Impressionist and Modern Art, David Norman, said. “I can’t remember the last time an evening sale, not from a single owner, was above its estimate.”Other works that exceeded expectations included Monet’s almost abstract, emerald-green “Le pont japonais”(c. 1918-24), which sold for $5.2 million on a high estimate of $2 million, and Alexej von Jawlensky’s “Sizilianerin mit Grunem Shawl” (1912), which went for $5.2 million, more than $1 million above its high estimate.Both these sales, and that of “Nu jaune,” occurred early in the evening, when the room was still full of focused buyers. The first six works came from the Josephine and Walter Buhl Ford II collection and totaled $23.7 million, above the presale estimate of $9.1 million. But Mr. Berggruen exited soon after his purchase, and the man who spent $486,000 on the first lot, Georges Braque’s “La nature morte au bol” (1943), quickly popped out of his seat and walked out of the room.Two-thirds of the way through the sale – and an hour and a half later – the room was half-empty, though most lots found new homes.Paul Klee’s etched-hieroglyphic painting “Junger Garten (Rhythmen)” (1927) also sailed past its estimate by more than $1 million, selling for $3.2 million to Catherine Couturier, a French art consultant who was buying for the Fondation Beyeler.“I’m very happy, it’s a great Klee, it just needs a good frame,” Ms. Couturier said, adding that the many bidders kept her from acquiring several choice works. She was the underbidder four times last night, and lost out on Cezanne’s “Pommes et gateaux” at Christie’s Tuesday. “Now it is at auction that we find the best pieces,” she said.The night’s results were in marked contrast to Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern sale last May, where overambitious estimates led to sparse bidding, many unsold lots, and a sale total of $91 million, far below the low estimate of $127 million.Two of last night’s priciest lots sold near their presale estimates, which were substantial enough to provide little extra room to grow. Monet’s “Le Grand Canal” (1908) went for $12.9 million, while Matisse’s “Robe jaune et robe arlequin (Nezy et Lydia)” (1941) took in $10.9 million. Of eight Picassos in the auction, two failed to sell, including an abstract pastel and a perfunctory ink portrait of a boy in profile.Auction records were set for Berthe Morisot, whose painting of her sister and niece playing hide and seek, “Cache-Cache” (1873), sold for $5.2 million, and for Conrad Felixmuller, whose 1931 portrait of composer Clemens Braun sold for $1.1 million to French dealer Marc Blondeau.Dealers Alberto Mugrabi and David Nahmad dueled for the same painting at least twice. Mr. Nahmad took home Picasso’s “Femme dans l’atelier” (1956) for $3 million, while Mr. Mugrabi won out on Fernand Leger’s “Le profil” (1926) for $912,000.“It’s a very strong market,” said New York dealer Achim Moeller. “We saw lots of collectors bidding and succeeding, in line with last night.”On Tuesday night, Christie’s sold $160 million worth of Impressionist and Modern Art, with only five works unspoken for. Yesterday’s day sale brought its two-day Impressionist and Modern Art total to $197.3 million, the house’s highest figure since 1997.Star Lots of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern SalePablo Picasso, “Nu jaune” (1907)*Sold for: $13.7 million Presale estimate: $3 million to $4 millionThis gouache on paper of a high-hipped, fierce-looking woman was a preliminary study for “Demoiselles d’Avignon,” which was executed later in the year. It comes from the collection of Walter Buhl Ford II and Josephine Clay Ford, a granddaughter of Henry Ford.Claude Monet, “Le Grand Canal” (1908)Sold for: $12.9 million Presale estimate: $12 million to $16 millionMonet spent several months in Venice in late 1908, during which time he painted six versions of the view of the Santa Maria della Salute from the steps of the Palazzo Barbaro. Unlike some versions with the steps exposed, this painting, which sold for $11.5 million in 1989, has the tidal waters covering the palazzo steps in the foreground, enhancing the sensation of a view onto a floating city.Henri Matisse, “Robe jaune et robe arlequin (Nezy et Lydia)” (1941)Sold for: $10.9 million Presale estimate: $9 million to $12 millionMatisse painted two of his favorite models – dark-haired Nezy Hamid Chawat and fair Lydia Delectorskaya – in a gentle domestic scene that is almost an abstract rumination on the colors green and red. Lydia wears a harlequin dress that was also favored by the painter.Amedeo Modigliani, “Buste de Manuel Humbert” (1916)Sold for: $5.5 million Presale estimate: $4 million to $6 millionModigliani’s portrait of fellow Montparnasse artist Manuel Humbert Esteve was sold as part of a group of works being deaccessioned by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. On Tuesday, another Modigliani portrait of a male artist, his friend Moise Kisling, sold at Christies for $5.6 million.Fernand Leger, “Les constructeurs” (1950)*Sold for: $5.4 million Presale estimate: $5 million to $7 millionIn this tribute to the hardworking men who built up mid-century architectural wonders, Leger imbued his figures with human dimensions and muscles, unlike the cylindrical people of his earlier works.Berthe Morisot, “Cache-Cache” (1873)Sold for: $5.2 million Presale estimate: $3 million to $4 millionOne of Morisot’s most recognized works, “Hide and Seek” was shown at the first Impressionist group show in 1874. It sold in 2000 for $4.4 million.Alexej von Jawlensky, “Sizilianerin mit Grunem Shawl” (Sicilian Woman With Green Shawl) (1912)Sold for: $5.2 million Presale estimate: $3 million to $4 millionThe current vogue for German Expressionism favors the bright contrasts of Jawlensky. This painting comes from the Ford collection.Pierre Bonnard, “Paysage du cannet” (1928)Sold for: $4.9 million Presale estimate: $4 million to $6 millionThis panoramic painting with both rococo and Japanese influences presents paradise as a pastoral idyll.Paul Klee, “Junger Garten (Rhythmen)” (1927)Sold for: $3.2 million Presale estimate: $1.4 million to $1.6 millionThe deep etchings in this small, tight Klee make it appear like an ancient cuneiform tablet. It comes from the collection of Ruth McClymonds Maitland.Juan Gris, “Nature morte avec bouteille et cigars” (1912)*Sold for: $1.1 million Presale estimate: $800,000 to $1.2 millionThis small, early collage attracted presale notice for its delicate formalism.Conrad Felixmuller, “Clemens Braun” (1931)Sold for: $1.1 million Presale estimate: $300,000 to $400,000A highlight of Felixmuller’s portrait of his composer friend is its velvety textured black background. The famous seller – Sean Connery – may have brought additional attention to the dark portrait, which was completed a few years before Felixmuller’s art was labeled degenerate by the Nazis.(Final prices include the auction house’s commission, which is 20% of the first $200,000 of sale price, plus 12% of the remaining price.)

Picasso Surprise Highlights Sotheby’s Strong Sale

Picasso Surprise Highlights Sotheby’s Strong Sale

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