“Impressionist & Modern Art” at Sotheby’s and Christie’s

From 20 to 23 June 2005, Sotheby’s and Christie’s will hold a series of “Impressionist & Modern Art” auctions in London, offering 383 and 433 lots respectively.

Sotheby’s will start the ball rolling on 20 June with a sale of 49 pieces, three of which are particularly eagerly awaited. In particular, “Femme au grand chapeau” (1906), a superb Fauvist painting by Kees VAN DONGEN might be the star attraction of the evening, with its estimation of GBP 3-4 million. By way of comparison, the work sold for GBP 2 million in 1997, and according to the Artprice Indicator—Artprice’s tool for estimating the price of a work over time—it would be worth GBP 2.6 million today. Another work boasting a high estimation is Juan GRIS‘ painting “Paysage et Maison à Céret”, estimated at GBP 3-4 million compared with its hammer price of GBP 1.5 million in 1995. Another work in this estimation range is “Nature Morte aux Mangos” by Paul GAUGUIN. The artist’s “Maternité II” fetched USD 35 million last November.

The following day at Christie’s, the star artist will be Maurice DE VLAMINCK with his painting “Péniche sur la Seine” (1905), estimated at GBP 2.8 – 3.5 million. The work sold for GBP 4.3 million in 2001, tripling the estimations (GBP 1.2 – 1.6 million). However, the Artprice index shows that De Vlaminck’s prices have since fallen 19%. It would therefore not be surprising if the work failed to reach its 2001 hammer price at this sale.