Toulouse-Lautrec Drives Big Night at Christie’s

A Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec painting sold for $22 million last night at Christie’s, helping the auction house achieve its biggest mixed-owner sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in 15 years. Buying was determined from beginning to end, with bidders on the phone and in the room driving up prices for works by Cezanne, Picasso, Leger, and Miro. Only five lots failed to sell as the auction of 63 paintings and sculptures brought in $160.9 million, in the middle of its presale estimate.“It was a pretty strong start to the season,” said London dealer James Roundell, who was the underbidder on Miro’s “Nature morte au raisin” (1920), which sold to a phone bidder for $2.3 million.”It sends a message to the market that for good pictures, there are plenty of people who want to buy.”The largest consignment in the sale was a group of 13 works once owned by Chicago businessman Neison Harris and his wife, Bette. Christie’s offered a substantial guarantee to win the collection, which Sotheby’s had competed for. Ten works sold for a total of $41.6 million on a presale low estimate of $51 million for the group. “We’re happy, and we have some happy vendors,” Christie’s head of Impressionist and Modern Art, Christopher Eykyn, said of the auction.But three pictures from the Harris group failed to sell, as bidders did not reach the guaranteed amount. The most dramatic picture to be bought in by the house was Matisse’s “Les marguerites” (1919), which had been estimated at $10 million to $15 million, but elicited only some wan phone bidding.“Sometimes you need another person to pull the trigger,” Christie’s International Director of Impressionist and Modern Art, Nicholas Maclean, said. “There has been a flurry of after-sale activity, but we’re in no hurry. In a way it’s a picture we’re happy to have.”The most notable painting from the Harris collection was the early Toulouse-Lautrec painting “La blanchisseuse” (1886-87), a young laundress with copper-colored hair and a pearly white blouse. Its optimistic presale estimate of $20 million to $25 million turned out to be justified, as the painting sold for $22.4 million to a phone bidder. The price was a record for a work by the artist sold at auction, $6 million more than the previous highest price.The priciest lot does not always make for the most exciting bidding, however. The fourth lot of the evening, Cezanne’s “Pommes et gateaux” (c. 1873-77) inspired three persistent bidders in the room to push it past its high estimate of $4.5 million. Auctioneer Christopher Burge allowed buyers to advance in increments of $500,000 and then $300,000 until the still-life, which had resided in a private collection since 1899, sold for $10.3 million to Paris dealer Marc Blondeau.Throughout the evening, Mr. Burge took his time nudging works up to gain an extra few hundred thousand dollars. But even he seemed to sense that the uptick on Picasso’s “Buste de femme”(1939) was excruciatingly slow. As bidding stalled at $5.6 million after opening at $1.5 million, Mr. Burge said, “Let’s wrap it up now.” The painting eventually sold to a phone bidder for $6.7 million.The Nahmad family, headed by dealer David Nahmad, was remarkably active during the sale, winning Miro’s “Le soleil rouge ronge l’araignee” (1948), for $7.7 million; Miro’s “Painting” (1925/1964) for $2.7 million; Picasso’s “L’atelier” (1955) for $2.6 million; and Juan Gris’s “Verre et carte a jouer” (1915) for $2.5 million.Dealers were bidding in force. Gallerist Jeffrey Deitch picked up Kees von Dongen’s “Femme au grand chapeau” (1908) for $2.6 million. British dealer Ivor Braka bought Brancusi’s plaster “Le baiser”(1907-08) for $3.6 million, while Acquavella gallery purchased Pierre Bonnard’s “Compotiers et assiettes de fruits” (c. 1930) for $6.8 million.Still, private buyers managed to compete for some choice pictures. After heated bidding, Picasso’s portrait of a ponytailed girl, “Sylvette au fauteuil vert” (1954), sold to a private European collector for $8 million, double its low estimate, while Modigliani’s “Moise Kisling seduto” (1916) went to an Asian collector. Camille Pissarro’s “Paysage, la moisson, Pontoise” (1873) sold to an older American gentleman for $5.2 million.Sales of Monet are as mixed as the quality of his pictures. Two Monet paintings from the Harris collection, each estimated at $4 million to $6 million, failed to reach their low estimates and did not sell.Yet the opening lot of the entire sale, Monet’s “Le panier de pommes” (1880) excited multiple bidders to drive it far past its presale high estimate of $1.4 million. It eventually went to a phone bidder for $2.9 million. And the second highest price of the evening was the $14 million paid for Monet’s “Nympheas” (1907), which was $2.5 million higher than when the same picture sold in 1989.Christie’s holds its day sale of Impressionist and Modern Art today. Sotheby’s evening sale of Impression-STAR LOTS OF CHRISTIE’S IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN SALEHenri de Toulouse-Lautrec, “La blanchisseuse” (1886-87)Sold for: $22.4 million Presale estimate: $20 million to $25 millionThis early portrait of a washerwoman gazing wistfully out a window was based on a laundress named Carmen Gaudin. Toulouse-Lautrec’s previous record was $14.5 million set at Christie’s in 1997. This was the star lot from the collection amassed by Chicago businessman Neison Harris and his wife, Bette.Claude Monet, “Nympheas” (1907)Sold for: $14 million Presale estimate: $10 million to $15 millionWater-lily paintings from 1906 have been more successful at auction; four have fetched between $18 million and $22 million since 1999. The 1907 versions have gone for $7 million to $10 million in the past, and this same painting sold for $11.5 million in 1989.Paul Cezanne, “Pommes et gateaux” (c. 1873-77)Sold for: $10.3 million Presale estimate: $3.5 million to $4.5 millionThis small, classic Cezanne still-life has been in the same collection since 1899. Only once it was cleaned for auction did its true value emerge.Pablo Picasso, “Sylvette au fauteuil vert” (1954)Sold for: $8.1 million Presale estimate: $4 million to $6 millionThe appeal of this late-period portrait of a pretty woman with a high ponytail was enhanced by the image of the model, Sylvette David, in the sale catalog. In the spring of 1954, Picasso made 31 paintings and drawings of David, who was then 20 years old.Joan Miro, “Le soleil rouge ronge l’araignee” (1948)Sold for: $7.7 million Presale estimate: $6 million to $8 millionThis painting’s value was increased by its dry, unvarnished, clean surface. Its title means, “The Red Sun Gnaws at the Spider.” Last year, a 1938 Miro from the Nathan Halpern collection sold for $11.8 million.Pierre Bonnard, “Compotiers et assiettes de fruits” (c. 1930)Sold for: $6.9 million Presale estimate: $5 million to $7 millionSun-washed patterns and a discreet, playful placement of a cat and dog at the bottom make this picture appealing to fans of strong colors and sentimentalists alike. Like the other pictures collected by the Harrises, it had been off the market since the 1970s.Pablo Picasso, “Buveuse accoudee” (1901)Sold for: $6.3 million Presale estimate: $6 million to $8 millionPicasso painted this Fauvist portrait of a solitary female absinthe drinker on a trip to Paris at age 19. Pictures from this period of his career are less common at auction.Amedeo Modigliani, “Moise Kisling seduto” (1916)Sold for: $5.6 million Presale estimate: $6 million to $8 millionModigliani made several dozen portraits of his fellow Montparnasse artists posed against dark wooden walls. The Polish artist Moiise Kisling was one of the more active members of the circle and one of Modigliani’s closest friends.Fernand Leger, “Equisse pour Le grand dejeuner” (1920-21)Sold for: $4.8 millionPresale estimate: $3.5 million to $4.5 millionThis is a graphical black-and-white study for “Le grand dejeuner,” a Cubist painting of three women having breakfast, which hangs in MoMA. Leger’s record is $22 million, set last fall for “La femme en rouge et vert” (1914).Alberto Giacometti, “Buste de Diego” (conceived in 1957, cast in 1958)Sold for: $3.6 million Presale estimate: $4 million to $6 millionThis portrait of Giacometti’s brother comes from the collection of entertainment lawyer Lee V. Eastman and is the sixth in an edition of six.(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.)

Toulouse-Lautrec Drives Big Night at Christie’s

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