Lot 8, "Nu Couche," by Amedeo Modigliani, oil on canvas, 23 5/8 by 36 1/4 inches, 1917-18
By
Carter B. Horsley
"The
Artist's Muse" is an auction at Christie's New York
November 9, 2015 that is highlighted by a very luscious nude
painting by Amedeo Modigliani, a reworked and expanded nude painting by
Lucien Freud, a very fine painting of two women in bed kissing by Toulouse-Lautrec, some
nudes at a beach by Kirchner, and a great nude by Courbet.
It is another major evening auction in which Christie's has combined major works from Impressionist and Modern Art with Contemporary Art. In May, a similar auction entitled "Looking Forward Toward The Past" offered 35 lots with an auction catalogue that weighed more than 7 pounds. This fall, the "curated" auction offers 34 lots with a catalogue that weighs a bit less. The audience, both in the room and on the phones, was undaunted and all but one of the lots sold then for $705,858,000 including the buyers' premiums, vastly higher than the pre-sale high estimate for that auction of about $500 million.
The cover lot for this auction is Lot 8, "Nu Couché," a sumptuous painting of a nude woman reclining on a red couch, by Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920). An oil on canvas, it measures 23 5/8 by 36 1/4 inches. It was once in the collection of Gianni Mattioli of Milan and has been widely exhibited and published. It has an estimate on request and Brett Gorvy of Christie's said at the press preview that it is anticipated to will fetch around $100 million. It is one of about 30 nudes that the artist painted and one of about 10 that he painted with the women reclining on the same red couch.
The lot takes up 27 pages in the catalogue!
An impressive work, it nonetheless is not likely to shatter new auction records as the last "mixed" sale did with its $178 million Picasso, a 1955 work that was one of a series the artist did based on a famous painter by Delacroix. That auction also set a record for sculpture with a $140 million for a standing male figure by Giacometti.
Jussi Pylkannen auctioning the Modigliani
Well, the Modigliani did very well and sold to a Chinese buyer for $170,405,000 including the buyer's premium as so all results mentioned in this article. It was a world auction record for the artist and the second most expensive painting to sell at auction since the $178 million Picasso. The previous record for Modigliani was set when a stone head sculpure sold at Sotheby's New York November 4, 2014 for $70,725,000. At the press conference following the auction, Jussi Pylkkanen, global president of Christie's and the auction's auctioneer, said that the Modigliani painting had been off the market for 60 years and was "probably the most beautiful I've sold." "There was extraordinary competition," he said, and Brett Gorvy, the head of the department, said that the market was "very dynamic" and that there were about six people bidding over $100 million for the Modigliani. A November 11, 2015 article in The New York Times by Amy Qin reported that the buyer was Liu Yiqian who "planned to bring the work back to Shanghai where he and wife have two private museums," the Long Museum Pudong, which opened in 2012, and the Long Museum West Bund, which opened last year." The article said that Mr. Liu "sold handbags on the street and later worked as a taxi driver...[and made] a fortune through stock trading in real estate and pharmaceuticals in the 1980s and 1990s."
The auction total was $491,352,000 with 24 of the 34 offered lots selling. The pre-sale low estimate for the auction was about $442,000,000 and the high estimate of about $540,000,000.
This auction does have some knockouts in addition to the Modigliani nude.
Lot 10, "Femme nue couchée," by Gustave Courbet, oil on canvas, 29 1/2 by 38 1/4 inches, 1862
Lot 16, "Au Lit: Le Baiser," by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, peinture à l'essence on board, 16 5/8 by 22 1/2 inches, 1892
Lot 15, "Woman," by Willem de Kooning, oil, enamel and charcoal on paper laid down on canvas, 22 5/8 by 19 inches, circa 1952-3
Lot 17, "Naked Portrait on a Red Sofa," by Lucien Freud, oil on canvas, 39 by 35 5/8 inches, 1989-1991
Lot 3, "Im See badende Madchen, Mortizburg," by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, oil on canvas, 35 7/87 by 47 1/4 inches, 1909
Lot 13, "Nurse," by Roy Lichtenstein, oil and magna on canvas, 48 inches square, 1964
Lot 12, "Jeune Fille s'évadiant," by Joan Mirò, painted bronze, 60 inches high, conceived in 1967 and cast in 1975
Lot 19, "James Lord," by Alberto Giacometti, oil on canvas, 45 3/4 by 31 3/4 inches, 1964
Lot 28, "Homme au blouson (Diego)," by Alberto Giacometti, plaster with parting compound, 20 inches high, 1953
Lot 5, "Thérèse," by Paul Gauguin, carved miro wood with gold gilding and copper nails, 26 inches high, 1902-3
Lot 20, "Homme à l'épée," by Pablo Picasso, oil on panel, 57 3/8 by 45 inches, 1969
Lot 25, "Femme à la couronne de fleurs (Marie-Thèrése), oil on canvas, 21 5/8 by 18 1/8 inches, 1937
Lot 7, "L'homme à la pipe (Etude pour un joueur de cartes) recto, the reverse is "Pere Alexandre") by Paul Cezanne, watercolor on paper, 19 by 12 5/8 inches, 1892-5
Lots 33 and 32, "Leslie" and "self-portrait," by Chuck Close, oil on linen, 72 by 60 inches, 2007
Following the auction the traditional press conference was delayed about 20 minutes and the press was herded into a narrow hallway to wait in a hall and when it was over members of the Christie's staff collected its press badges although they said there would be new ones the next day, a most unusual action.
It is another major evening auction in which Christie's has combined major works from Impressionist and Modern Art with Contemporary Art. In May, a similar auction entitled "Looking Forward Toward The Past" offered 35 lots with an auction catalogue that weighed more than 7 pounds. This fall, the "curated" auction offers 34 lots with a catalogue that weighs a bit less. The audience, both in the room and on the phones, was undaunted and all but one of the lots sold then for $705,858,000 including the buyers' premiums, vastly higher than the pre-sale high estimate for that auction of about $500 million.
The cover lot for this auction is Lot 8, "Nu Couché," a sumptuous painting of a nude woman reclining on a red couch, by Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920). An oil on canvas, it measures 23 5/8 by 36 1/4 inches. It was once in the collection of Gianni Mattioli of Milan and has been widely exhibited and published. It has an estimate on request and Brett Gorvy of Christie's said at the press preview that it is anticipated to will fetch around $100 million. It is one of about 30 nudes that the artist painted and one of about 10 that he painted with the women reclining on the same red couch.
The lot takes up 27 pages in the catalogue!
An impressive work, it nonetheless is not likely to shatter new auction records as the last "mixed" sale did with its $178 million Picasso, a 1955 work that was one of a series the artist did based on a famous painter by Delacroix. That auction also set a record for sculpture with a $140 million for a standing male figure by Giacometti.
Jussi Pylkannen auctioning the Modigliani
Well, the Modigliani did very well and sold to a Chinese buyer for $170,405,000 including the buyer's premium as so all results mentioned in this article. It was a world auction record for the artist and the second most expensive painting to sell at auction since the $178 million Picasso. The previous record for Modigliani was set when a stone head sculpure sold at Sotheby's New York November 4, 2014 for $70,725,000. At the press conference following the auction, Jussi Pylkkanen, global president of Christie's and the auction's auctioneer, said that the Modigliani painting had been off the market for 60 years and was "probably the most beautiful I've sold." "There was extraordinary competition," he said, and Brett Gorvy, the head of the department, said that the market was "very dynamic" and that there were about six people bidding over $100 million for the Modigliani. A November 11, 2015 article in The New York Times by Amy Qin reported that the buyer was Liu Yiqian who "planned to bring the work back to Shanghai where he and wife have two private museums," the Long Museum Pudong, which opened in 2012, and the Long Museum West Bund, which opened last year." The article said that Mr. Liu "sold handbags on the street and later worked as a taxi driver...[and made] a fortune through stock trading in real estate and pharmaceuticals in the 1980s and 1990s."
The auction total was $491,352,000 with 24 of the 34 offered lots selling. The pre-sale low estimate for the auction was about $442,000,000 and the high estimate of about $540,000,000.
This auction does have some knockouts in addition to the Modigliani nude.
Lot 10, "Femme nue couchée," by Gustave Courbet, oil on canvas, 29 1/2 by 38 1/4 inches, 1862
Lot
10 is a lovely and very fine nude women reclining by Gustave Courbet
(1819-1877). An oil on canvas, it measures 29 1/2 by 38 1/4
inches and was painted in 1862. It once belonged to Prince Wagram
of Paris and latert to Baron Ferenve Hatvary of Budapest from whom it
was confiscated by the Nazis and later restituted to his family.
It was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in
2008 and has been widely published. It has an estimate of
$15,000,000 to $25,000,000.
It sold for $15,285,000, an auction record for the artist,
breaking the previous record of $3,749,000 set at Sotheby's New York
November 6, 2013.
Lot 16, "Au Lit: Le Baiser," by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, peinture à l'essence on board, 16 5/8 by 22 1/2 inches, 1892
Lot
16 is a very fine peinture à l'essence on board by Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901). It is entitled "Au Lit: Le Baiser."
It measures 16 5/8 by 22 1/2 inches and was painted in 1892. It
has been widely published. It has an estimate of $10,000,000 to
$15,000,000. It sold for $12,485,000.
Lot 15, "Woman," by Willem de Kooning, oil, enamel and charcoal on paper laid down on canvas, 22 5/8 by 19 inches, circa 1952-3
Lot
15 is a great Willem de Kooning, an oil, enamel and charcoal on paper
laid down on canvas. It is entitled "Woman" and measures 22 5/8
by 19 inches and was painted 1952-3. It has been widely
exhibited. The catalogue entry provides the following quotation
from the artist: "Beauty becomes petulant to me. I like the
grotesque. It's more joyous." The entry also notes that the
Woman series by the artist "broke down the boundaries between
abstraction and figuraton with its radical representation of the female
figure." The lot has a modest estimate of $12,000,000 to
$18,000,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $12 million.
Lot 17, "Naked Portrait on a Red Sofa," by Lucien Freud, oil on canvas, 39 by 35 5/8 inches, 1989-1991
Lot
17 is a portrait of Bella, one of his 14 children, by Lucien Freud
(1922-2011). An oil on canvas, it measures 39 by 35 5/8 inches
high and was painted between 1989 and 1991. At the press preview,
Brett Gorvy said that the sitter was present during all aspects of the
artist's painting this picture, even when it was only the floorboards.
He said that she was self-conscious about her hips, but not about
posing nude. The work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of
Art in 1994. It is entitled "Naked Portrait on a Red Sofa."
Parts of the painted have heavy impasto and have been reworked.
As with many of his pictures, the artist enlarged the canvas
several times with additions, according to Mr. Gorvy. The lot has
an estimate of $20,000,000 to $30,000,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $19 million.
Lot 3, "Im See badende Madchen, Mortizburg," by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, oil on canvas, 35 7/87 by 47 1/4 inches, 1909
Lot
3 is a bright and colorful oil on canvas by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
(1880-1938) entitled "Im See badende Madchen, Moritzburg." It
measures 37 7/8 by 47 1/4 inches and was painted in 1909. The
catalogue entry notes that "Painted with a bold spontaneity and
striking vibrancy as streaks of bright, unmixed blue, green, red and
orange erupt across the large canvas, as pulsating with a vitality and
rawness of expression that characterizes the greatest of Kirchner's
work from these joyous and defining summers. The lot has an
estimate of $10,000,000 to $15,000,000. It sold for $13,605,000.
Lot 2, "Tanzerin mit gebabenem Bein," a carved and painted oakwood sculpture by Kirchner, had an estimate of $3,500,000 to $5,500,000. It sold for $8,005,000, an auction record for a sculpture by the artist, shattering the previous recored of $1,464,000 set for a carved and painted wood Karyatide sold at Christie's in London in 2006.
Lot 2, "Tanzerin mit gebabenem Bein," a carved and painted oakwood sculpture by Kirchner, had an estimate of $3,500,000 to $5,500,000. It sold for $8,005,000, an auction record for a sculpture by the artist, shattering the previous recored of $1,464,000 set for a carved and painted wood Karyatide sold at Christie's in London in 2006.
Lot 13, "Nurse," by Roy Lichtenstein, oil and magna on canvas, 48 inches square, 1964
Lot
13 is a 48-inch square oil and magna on canvas by Roy Lichtenstein
(1923-1997) entitled "Nurse." It has been owned by Leon Krashar
of New York, Karl Stroher of Darmstadt and Peter Brant of Greenwich,
Conn. It has been widely published and exhibited. It has an
estimate of about $80 million. It
sold for $95,365,000, an auction record for the artist. The
artist's previous auction record was $56,123,752 set at Christie's New
York May 15, 2013.
Lot 12, "Jeune Fille s'évadiant," by Joan Mirò, painted bronze, 60 inches high, conceived in 1967 and cast in 1975
Lot
12 is a sexy work in painted bronze by Joan Mirò (1893-1983) entitled
"Jeune fille s'évadiant." It is 60 inches high and was conceived
in 1967 and cast in 1975. It has been widely published. It
has an estimate of $4,000,000 to $6,000,000. It sold for $5,373,000.
Lot 19, "James Lord," by Alberto Giacometti, oil on canvas, 45 3/4 by 31 3/4 inches, 1964
Lot
19 is a pleasant and large grisaille portrait on canvas of James Lord
by Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966). It measures 45 3/4 by 31 3/4
inches and was painted in 1964. It has been widely published and
exhibited. It has an estimate of $22,000,000 to $30,000,000. It sold for $20,885,000.
Lot 28, "Homme au blouson (Diego)," by Alberto Giacometti, plaster with parting compound, 20 inches high, 1953
Lot
28 is an imposing bust of his brother Diego by Alberto Giacometti in
plaster with parting compound. It is 20 inches high and was made
in 1953. It is a unique plaster cast and was used to make nine
copies in bronze. The catalogue entry remarks that "Many would
judge Giacometti's Homme au blouson (Diego)...to be the most impressive
of the superb series of male heads and busts that the sculptor created
in the early and mid 1950s." It has an estimate of $6,000,000 to
$8,000,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $4.8 million.
Lot 5, "Thérèse," by Paul Gauguin, carved miro wood with gold gilding and copper nails, 26 inches high, 1902-3
Lot
5 is an imposing and impressive sculpture of "Thérèse" by Paul Gauguin
(1848-1903) made of carved miro wood with gold gilding and copper
nails. It is 26 inches high and was made 1902-3. It has
been widely exhibited and published. It has an estimate of
$15,000,000 to $25,000,000.
It sold for $30,865,000, a world auction record for a sculpture
by the artist, shattering the previous record of $11,282,500 set at
Sotheby's New York May 3, 2011.
Lot 20, "Homme à l'épée," by Pablo Picasso, oil on panel, 57 3/8 by 45 inches, 1969
Lot
20 is a strong, large oil on panel by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973).
Entitled "Homme à l'épée," it measures 57 3/8 by 45 inches and
was painted in 1969. It has an estimate on request. It sold for $22,565,000. The catalogue entry notes that this work was the cover illustration for the catalogue for the Avignon exhibition, "Picasso; Oeuvres 1969-1970," "the most controversial of the exhibitions held during Picasso's final years."
In that catalogue Rafael Alberti provided the following commentary:
"Pablo Picasso invades the Palais des Papes at the heaed of a column of over a hundred men...accompanied by more than thirty women, two dwarfs, two harlequins and one pierrot, various children....people of a great size, surging out of the most diverse costumes and backgrounds, with the most violent dissonances, insulting arabesques, and the most harminiously inharmonized explosions."
What else would you have expected from the most riotous of painters!
In that catalogue Rafael Alberti provided the following commentary:
"Pablo Picasso invades the Palais des Papes at the heaed of a column of over a hundred men...accompanied by more than thirty women, two dwarfs, two harlequins and one pierrot, various children....people of a great size, surging out of the most diverse costumes and backgrounds, with the most violent dissonances, insulting arabesques, and the most harminiously inharmonized explosions."
What else would you have expected from the most riotous of painters!
Lot 25, "Femme à la couronne de fleurs (Marie-Thèrése), oil on canvas, 21 5/8 by 18 1/8 inches, 1937
In
stark contrast with Lot 20, Lot 25 is a pleasant, sweet, innocent
portrait by Picasso of his mistress Marie-Thèrése Walter wearing a
crown of flowers. An oil on canvas, it measures 25 5/8 by 18 1/8
inches and was painted in 1937. It has an estimate of $12,000,000
to $16,000,000. It failed to sell and was passed for $10,500,000.
Lot 7, "L'homme à la pipe (Etude pour un joueur de cartes) recto, the reverse is "Pere Alexandre") by Paul Cezanne, watercolor on paper, 19 by 12 5/8 inches, 1892-5
Lot
7 is a double-sided watercolor on paper by Paul Cézanne (1839-1906)
that on one side shows a man with a pipe that is a study for the
artist's famous cardplayer series ande the other Pere Alexander.
It measures by 12 5/8 inches and they were painted between
1892 and 1895. The lot has an estimate of $18,000,000 to
$25,000,000. It sold for $20.885,000.
Lots 33 and 32, "Leslie" and "self-portrait," by Chuck Close, oil on linen, 72 by 60 inches, 2007
Lot
32 is a self-portrait by Chuck Close (b. 1940) that is an oil on linen
from 2007. It measures 72 by 60 inches. It has an estimate
of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It sold for $2,405,000.
Lot 33 is a portrait of "Leslie" that is an oil on linen from 2007 by Close. It also measures 72 by 60 inches. It has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $1,400,000.
Lot 33 is a portrait of "Leslie" that is an oil on linen from 2007 by Close. It also measures 72 by 60 inches. It has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $1,400,000.
Following the auction the traditional press conference was delayed about 20 minutes and the press was herded into a narrow hallway to wait in a hall and when it was over members of the Christie's staff collected its press badges although they said there would be new ones the next day, a most unusual action.
See The City Review article on the Spring 2015 Looking Forward to the Past auction at Christie's New York
See The City Review article on the Fall 2014 Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Sotheby's New York
See The City Review article on the Spring 2014 Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Sotheby's New York
See The City Review article on the Spring 2014 Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Christie's New York
See The City Review article on the Fall 2013 Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Sotheby's New York
See The City Review article on the Spring 2013 Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Christie's New York
See The City Review article on the Spring 2013 Impressionist & Modern Art evening auction at Sotheby's New York
See
The City Review article on the
Fall 2012 Impressionist & Modern
Art auction at Sotheby's New York
See The
City
Review article on the Fall 2012 Impressionist & Modern Art day
auction at Sotheby's New York
See The
City Review article on the Spring 2012 Impressionist & Modern
Art auction at Sotheby's
See The
City Review article on the Spring 2012 Impressionist & Modern
Art auction at Christie's
See The
City Review article on the Fall 2011 Impressionist & Modern Art
auction at Sotheby's
See The
City Review article on the Fall 2011 Impressionist & Modern Art
auction at Christie's
See The
City Review article on the Spring 2011 Impressionist & Modern
Art auction at Sotheby's
See The
City Review article on the Spring 2011 Impressionist & Modern
Art auction at Christie's
See The
City Review article on the Fall 2010 Impressionist & Modern Art
evening auction at Sotheby's
See The
City Review article on the Fall 2010 Impressionist & Modern Art
evening auction at Christie's
See The
City Review article on the Spring 2010 Impressionist & Modern
Art evening auction at Sotheby's
See The
City Review article on the Spring 2010 Impressionist & Modern
Art evening auction at Christie's
See The
City Review article on the Fall 2009 Impressionist & Modern Art
evening auction at Sotheby's
See The
City Review article on the Fall 2009 Impressionist & Modern Art
evening auction at Christie's
See The City
Review article on the Spring 2009 Impressionist & Modern Art
evening auction at Sotheby's
See The
City Review article on the Spring 2009 Impressionist & Modern
Art evening auction at Christie's
See The
City Review article on the Fall 2008 Impressionist & Modern Art
evening auction at Christie's
See The
City Review article on the Fall 2008 Impressionist & Modern Art
evening auction at Sotheby's
See The City Review article on the Christie's evening sale of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Art May 8, 2000
See The City Review article on the Christie's evening sale of Twentieth Century Art May 9, 2000