Sotheby’s spring Evening Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art
will be held in New York on 7 May 2014. It will include art by Monet and Matisse, Degas and Renoir.
CLAUDE MONET IN THE GARDEN, BY THE SEA AND IN THE CITY
The Evening Sale will offer three impressive canvases by
Impressionist master Claude Monet, including
Le pont japonais
which he painted at Giverny from 1918–24 (est. $12/18 million).
Monet’s spectacular images of the Japanese bridge spanning the lily pond of his
lush garden are among the most recognizable images of 20th century art. These
pictures capture the mystique of the meticulously-landscaped environment that
served as Monet’s inspiration during his later career. The present picture,
which is one of the most richly painted in the series, can be seen in a
photograph of the artist’s Giverny studio, where it hangs in completion among
other notable examples of the artist’s late production.
Monet’s Sur la falaise à Pourville
– on offer from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, sold
to benefit its acquisitions fund – was one of the first major Impressionist
landscapes to arrive in the United States (est. $5/7 million). The picture was purchased
shortly after its completion in 1882 by the artist’s Parisian dealer
Durand-Ruel, who was instrumental in establishing Monet’s reputation throughout
Europe and abroad. In 1886, the work was acquired by William H. Fuller, the
director of the National Wallpaper Company and a devoted early collector of
Monet’s art, who organized the first American exhibition of the artist’s
paintings at the Union Club in New York in 1891. This show effectively
introduced Monet to an American audience which would include some of his most
important patrons.
Also in the sale:
Estimate 2,000,000 — 3,000,000
Also in the sale:
Estimate 2,000,000 — 3,000,000
Henri Matisse’s La Séance du matin (est. $20/30 million)
depicts the artist’s studio assistant Henriette Darricarrère, whose own interest in painting he encouraged by offering her lessons during their working time together. In another version of this same subject, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Matisse depicts a nude model alongside the studious painter. The present composition instead features Henriette alone, completely absorbed in her own work. The canvas boasts all of the elements of the artist's most desirable Nice-period paintings, with its colorful patterning and gleaming white highlights, and has gone on to become one of Matisse's most beloved canvases from this period.
depicts the artist’s studio assistant Henriette Darricarrère, whose own interest in painting he encouraged by offering her lessons during their working time together. In another version of this same subject, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Matisse depicts a nude model alongside the studious painter. The present composition instead features Henriette alone, completely absorbed in her own work. The canvas boasts all of the elements of the artist's most desirable Nice-period paintings, with its colorful patterning and gleaming white highlights, and has gone on to become one of Matisse's most beloved canvases from this period.
HENRI MATISSE LA FEMME EN JAUNE
Estimate 9,000,000 — 15,000,000
Estimate 9,000,000 — 15,000,000
is another exceptional portrait from the artist’s early Nice-period.
Degas and Renoir
EDGAR DEGAS LA CONVERSATION
Estimate 3,500,000 — 5,000,000
EDGAR DEGAS DEUX DANSEUSES ASSISES
Estimate 3,000,000 — 5,000,000
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR LA TOILETTE
Estimate 4,000,000 — 6,000,000
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR TULIPES
Estimate 1,500,000 — 2,000,000
Degas and Renoir
EDGAR DEGAS LA CONVERSATION
Estimate 3,500,000 — 5,000,000
EDGAR DEGAS DEUX DANSEUSES ASSISES
Estimate 3,000,000 — 5,000,000
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR LA TOILETTE
Estimate 4,000,000 — 6,000,000
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR TULIPES
Estimate 1,500,000 — 2,000,000