Lot 13, "Nu Assis, fond bleu," by Henri Matisse, oil on canvas, 18 1/8 by 15 inches, 1936
Lot
13 is a very pleasant seated nude oil on canvas by Henri Matisse
(1869-1954). An oil on canvas, it measures 18 1/8 by 15 inches
and was painted in 1936. It has an estimate of $4,000,000 to
$6,000,000. It sold for $5,429,000.
Lot 34, "La Table/Nature morte aux amandes," by Maurice de Vlaminck,, oil on canvas, 21 1/4 by 25 1/4 inches, 1907
Lot
34 is a glorious and very vibrant still life by Maurice de Vlaminck
(1876-1958) that is an oil on canvas. It measures 21 1/4 by 25
1/4 inches and was painted in 1907. It has been shown twice at
the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It has an estimate of
$2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It was passed at $2,000,000!
Lot 28, "Les constructeurs avec arbre," by Fer4nand Léger, oil on canvas, 42 5/8 by 54 1/8 inches, 1950
Lot
28 is a good example of the "Builders" series by Fernand Léger
(1881-1955). An oil on canvas entitled "Les Constructeurs avec
Arbre," it measures 42 5/8 by 54 1/8 inches and was painted in 1950.
It was once in the collections of Nathan Cummings of New York and
Stephen A. Wynn of Las Vegas and it has been exhibited and published
widely. Other major examples in this series are at the Musée national
Fernand Léger in Biot, France, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in
New York, and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh
and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Art in Moscow. It has an estimate
of $16,000,000 to $22,000,000. It was passed at $15.5 million!
Lot 1, "Por," by Paul Klee, oil on canvas laid down by the artist on card, 14 1/8 by 18 3/4 inches, 1931Lot
1 is a fine painting by Paul Klee (1879-1940) that is entitled "Por"
and is an oil on canvas laid down by the artist on card that measures
14 1/8 by 18 3/4 inches. It was painted in 1934. It has a
modest estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $1,505,000.
Lot 25, "Guitare et rhum," by Georges Braque, oil on canvas, oval 39 1/8 by 27 3/4 inches, 1918
Lot
25 is a very elegant oval oil on canvas by Georges Braque (1882-1963).
It measures 39 1/8 by 27 3/4 inches and was painted in 1918.
It was once in the collections of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pulitzer
Jr. of St. Louis, the City Art Museum of St. Louie, and G. David
Thompson of Pittsburgh. It has been widely exhibitied and
published. The catalogue entry quotes Henry Hope that "the deep
notes of black give the picture the greatest dignity and sobriety" and
adds that it "is very possible that Braque painted this canvas as
a memorial to his close friend and fellow veteran, the poet Guillaume
Appolinaire. It has a modest estimate of $2,000,000 to
$3,000,000. It sold for $4,645,000.
Lot 36, "Le Sardinier, Locmalo (Les Tourelles)," by Paul Signac, oil on canvas, 18 1/8 by 21 3/8 inches, 1922Lot
36 is a simple but very good harbor scene by Paul Signac (1863-1935).
An oil on canvas that is entitled "Le Sardinier, Locmalo (Les
Tourelles)," it measures 18 1/8 by 21 3/8 inches and was painted in
1922. It has an estimate of $1,200,000 to $1,800,000. It sold for $1,145,000.
Lot
7, "Stadt am blauen Fluss (Krumau)," by Egon Shiele, gouache,
watercolor, metallic paint and black Conte crayon on paper, 17 3/4 by
12 3/8 inches, 1910
Lot
7 is a superb landscape by Egon Schiele (1890-1918), a gouache,
watercolor, metallic paint and black Conte crayon on paper that
measures 17 3/4 by 12 3/8 inches. It was painted in 1910. It has
been widely exhibited. The catalogue entry notes that "Schiele
allowed his fluid colors loose rein, barely contained within a
skeleton framework of quickly drawn bt unerringly succinct lines.
This composition evinces a startling vertiginous conception of
distance and space, stacked vertically in the flat modernist
manner. It has a modest estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000. It sold for $2,965,000.
Lot 9, "Paysage avec figures," by Pierre Auguste Renoir, oil on canvas, 18 1/4 by 21 3/4 inches, circa 1890Lot
8 is a lovely landscape with figures by Pierre Auguste Renoir
(1841-1919). An oil on canvas, it measures 18 1/4 by 21 3/4
inches and was painted circa 1890. It has a modest estimate of
$1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $1,925,000.
Lot 19, "La Jeune Fille au Cygne ou La Jeune Fille au Héron," by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, oil on canvas, 31 1/8 by 25 inches, 1886
Lot
19 is a very good portrait of a seated young girl by Pierre-Auguste
Renoir (1841-1919). An oil on canvas, it measures 31 1/8 by 25
inches and was painted in 1886. It has an estimate of $5,000,000
to $7,000,000. It sold for $5,675,000.
Lot 15, "Port-Coton: Le Lion," by Claude Monet, oil on canvas, 23 5/8 by 29 1/2 inches, 1886Lot
15 is a vigorous but not great seascape by Claude Monet (1840-1926)
entitled "Port-Coton: Le Lion." An oil on canvas, it measures 23
5/8 by 29 1/2 inches and was painted in 1886. It has been widely
published. It has an estimate of $3,000,000 to $5,000,000. It sold for $3,973,000.
Lot
6, "Etude pur Autoportrait au canotier," by Gino Severini, charcoal,
pastel and white and blue chalk on buff paper, 25 5/8 by 21 inches, 1913Lot
6 is a very fine study for a self-portrait by Gino Severini
(1883-1966), a charcoal, pastel and white and blue chalk on buff paper
that measures 25 5/8 by 21 inches. It was drawn in 1913. It
is property of the Melamed Family Collection. It has an estimate
of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $4,757,000.
Lot 4, "Tete de femme," by Pablo Picasso, brush and brown ink on paper, 24 3/4 by 19 1/8 inches, 1909
Lot
4 is a clumsy brush and brown ink on paper of a head of a woman by
Pablo Picasso. It measures 24 3/4 by 19 1/8 inches and was drawn
in 1909. It is property from the Melamed Family collection.
It has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $1,085,000.
Lot 5, "Figure," by Pablo Picasso, paper collage, pen and black ink and pencil on paper, 16 7/8 by 11 1/4 inches, 1913
Lot
5, "Figure," is a very fine and delicate paper collage, pen and black
ink and pencil on paper by Picasso. It measures 16 7/8 by 11 1/4
inches and was created in 1913. It was once in the collection of
Helena Rubenstein of New York. It is part of the consignment from
the Melamed Family Collection. It has an estimate of $1,500,000
to $2,500,000. It sold for $4,309,000.
Lot 24, "Guitare," by Pablo Picasso, oil on canvas, 35 by 45 1/4 inches, 1920Lot 24, "Guitare," is an 1920 oil on canvas by Picasso that measures 35 by 45 1/4 inches.
The catalogue provides the following commentary:
"It is precisely by means of such deliberate and ostentatiously insouciant disharmonies that Picasso has fabricated in Guitare
a rollicking celebration of the later synthetic manner in Cubism,
employing that more elastic and inclusive apporach he had brought to
his painting on the eve of and during the Great War of 1914-1918, and
continued to pursue in the years following."
The scroll parentheses are terrible although the centered image is good.
The lot has an estimate of $3,000,000 to $5,000,000. It sold for $5,317,000.
Lot 2, "Sans Titre," by Joan Miró, gouache on paper, 12 5/8 by 15 7/8 inches, 1939Lot
2 is a fine untitled goauche on paper by Joan Miró that measures 12 5/8
by 15 7/8 inches. It was painted in 1939. It has an
estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $1,205,000.
Lot 22, "Tuilerie à Mont-roig," by Joan Miró, oil on canvas, 25 3/8 by 32 inches, 1918Lot
22 is a landscape by Joan Miró (1893-1983) entitled "Tuilerie à
Mont-roig." An oil on canvas, it measures 25 3/8 by 32 inches and
was painted in 1918. It has been very widely published and
exhibited.
The catalogue notes that Miró detested at the time of
this painting "all painters who want to theorize," adding that
what interested him the "most is the calligraphy of a tree or a
rooftop, leaf by leaf, twig by twiig, blade of glass by blade of grass,
tile by tile." It quoted an expert as declaring that a group of
these landscapes are "astonishing in their meticulousness and enchanted
realism" and the catalogue entry states that they are "most magically
imbued with a subtle poetry that arises from the particular beauty in
each and everything, regarded simply as it is..."
This very
primitive and not very beautiful work that has nothing to do with the
artist's great later works has an estimate of $5,000,000 to $8,000,000.
It sold for $8,677,000.
Lot 29, "Femme et oiseau," by Joan Miró, painted bronze, 47 1/2 inches high, 1967An
infinitely more pleasant work by Miró is Lot 29, a delightful painted
bronze sculpture of 1967 entitled "Femme et oiseau" that is 47 1/2
inches high. It has widely published and exhibited and has an
estimate of $1,500,000 to $2,500,000. It sold for $1,565,000.
Lot 11, "Symmetrical Torso," by Alexander Archipenko, white marble, 27 1/8 inches high, 1923
Lot
11, "Symmetrical Torse," is a fine white marble sculpture by Alexander
Archipenko (1887-1974). It is 27 1/8 inches high and was carved
in 1923. It has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It sold for $1,685,000.
Lot 26, "Stèle III," by Alberto Giacometti, bronze, 65 1/4 inches high, 6/6, 1962
Lot
26, "Stèle III," is a 65 1/4-inch high bronze sculpture by Alberto
Giacometti (1901-1966) with a bust atop a pole. It was conceived
in 1958 and cast in 1962 and is numbered 6/6. It has an estimate
of $4,500,000 to $6,500,000. It sold for $9,909,000!
Lot 38, "Les bourgeois de Calais, deuxieme maquette," by Auguste Rodin, No. 10, 1975Lot
38 consists of 6 bronze statues styled after figures in "Les Bourgeois
de Calais" by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). They come from the Musée
Rodin in Paris and are all about 27 inches high and are numbered 10 and
dated 1975. It has an estimate of $700,000 to $1,000,000. It sold for $1,805,000.
