Lot
8, "Maisons du port, Saint-Tropez," by Paul Signac, oil on canvas, 18
3/8 by 21 3/4 inches, 1892
By
Carter B. Horsley
The
evening auction of Impressionist & Modern Art May 9, 2016 at
Sotheby's New York is highlighted by four great pictures of women by
Egon Schiele, wonderful seaside landscapes by Paul Signac and Claude
Monet, spectacular landscapes by Maurice de Vlaminck and Henri
Charles Manguin, and a superb rear view of Jane Avril by Henri de
Toulouse Lautrec.
Lot 8 is a very fine seascape oil on canvas of "Maisons du port,
Saint-Tropez," by Paul Signac (1863-1935). It measures 18 3/8 by
21 3/4 inches and was painted in 1892. It is from the collection
of Ambassador John Loeb and was formerly owned by Denys Cochin, the
French Minister of State during World War I, Rene Conus, the French
Ambassador to Moscow and Olga Spesivtseva, a ballerina with the Ballet
Russes.
Detail of Lot 8
It has an estimate of $8,000,000 to
$12,000,000. It sold for
$9,300,000 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in
this article.
The auction total was $144,546,000
with 41 of 62 offered lots selling. The pre-auction low estimate
was $164,800,000.
The top lot in the auction was Lot 17, a marble sculpture by Auguste
Rodin entiutled "L'Eternel Printemps" of two naked lovers kissing that
was conceived in 1884 and cast in 1902. It sold for $20,410,000, an
auction record for the artist. A May 10 article in The New York Times by Scott
Reyburn and Robin Pogrebin quoted Richard Nagy, a London dealer, as
saying that he did not understand "paying $20 million for a Rodin that
he never touched," adding that Nagy "regarded the work as carved by
assistants from a maquette." The article also noted that
the $144-million sale total for the auction was "far below the $368.3
million raiseded last May in an equivalent sale of 64 works."
"'Imps and mods," the powerhouse market of the 1980s, have became
far less fashionable than contemporary art. Last spring, in more
bullish times, and with wealthy Asian bidders active at New York
stales, Christie's and Sotheby's supported the prices of selected
p[re-1950's artists with some expansive guarantees. A year later,
many guarantees have disappeared - and so have many of the Asian
bidders who last year pursued three out of the five lots that sold for
more than $20 million...," the article noted.
Lot
13, "A Armenonville, en cabinet particulier," by Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec, peinture à l'essence on board, 26 3/8 by 20 1/2
inches, 1899
Lot
13 is a superb peinture à l'essence on board by Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) entitled "A Armenonville, en cabinet
particulier." It measures 26 3/8 by 20 1/2 inches and was
painted
in 1899. It has been widely published and is from the
collection
of Louis and Evelyn Franck. With its elements of interruption
and
surprise and with the flurry of the women's long blonde hair and the
interloper's impetuousness and its sprightly sketchiness, this is a
connoisseur's masterpiece.
Detail of Lot 13
The catalogue entry notes that
"the first private owner of the present work was Charles T. Yerkes, an
American financier who developed mass transit systems in Chicago and
London," adding that the painting was one of three Monet executed at
the cliffs of Petites-Dalles. It has an extremely modest
estimate of
$2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It
sold for $2,410,000.
Lot 14,
"Sous-Bois," by Maurice de Vlaminck, oil on canvas, 23 3/8 by 28 1/2
inches. 1905
Lot
14, "Sous-Boid," by Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1958), oil on canvas, 23
3/8 by 28 1/2 inches. It was painted in 1905. It was once
in the collection of Sarah Campbell Blaffer of Houston, the daughter of
William Thomas Campbell, the founder of the Texas Company that later
became known as Texaco, and she started her love for art on her
honeymoon with Robert E. Lee Blaffer (the founder of the Humble Oil
& Refining Company, now Exxon Mobil).
It has
an estimate of $12,000,000 to $18,000,000. It sold for $16,378,000.
Lot 24, "Les Voiles Rouges," by Andre Derain, oil on canvas, 30 by 39
inches, 1906
Another
major Fauve work that was once owned by Sarah Campbell Blaffer is Lot
24, "Les Voile Rouges," by Andre Derain. The oil on canvas, which
is the catalogue's back-cover illustration, measures 30 by 39 inches
and was painted in 1906. It was also once owned by the Toledo
Museum of Art. Mrs. Blaffer's daugher, Cecil Blaffer Hudson von
Furstenberg founded the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Gallery in 1973 at the
University of Houston. It has an estimate of $15,000,000 to
$20,000,000. It failed to sell.
Lot
33, "Les Oliviers a Cavaliere," by Henry Charles Manguin, oil on
canvas, 32 1/4 by 26 inches, 1906
Lot 33 is a gloriously radiant
landscape by Henry Charles Manguin (1874-1949) entitled "Les Oliviers a
Cavaliere." An oil on canvas, it measures 32 1/4 by 26 inches and
was painted in 1906. It has a modest estimate of $1,000,000 to
$1,500,000. It sold for
$1,115,000.
Lot 29, "Les
Sablons," by Alfred Sisley, oil on canvas, 19 1/8 by 28 1/4 inches, 1885
Lot 29 is a pleasant landscape
by Alfred Sisley (1839-1899) entitled "Les Sablons." An oil on
canvas, it measures 19 1/8 by 28 1/4 inches and was painted in
1885. It has an estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000. It sold for $706,000.
Lot
35, "Jane Avril," by Henry de Toulouse-Lautrec, oil on board laid down
on cradled panel, 18 5/8 by 13 inches, 1893
Lot 35
is a lovely sketch of Jane Avril from behind by Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901). It ian oil on board laiddown on
cradled panel. It measures 18 5/8 by 13 inches and was painted in
1893. It has a modest estimate of $600,000 to $900,000. It failed to sell.
Lot 22, "Chanteuse," by
Pablo Picasso, pastel on paper laid down on board, 25 by 16 1/8 inches,
1901
Lot
22 is a charming early pastel by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) of a
"Chanteuse." It measures 25 by 16 1/8 inches and was painted in
1901. It has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $1,314,000.
Lot 37,
"Marie brossant un vetement a la fenetre," by Edouard Vuillard, oil on
board, 10 1/2 by 8 5/8 inches,1893
Lot
37 is a very nice small oil on board by Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940)
entitled "Marie brossant un vetement a la fenetre." It measures
10 1/2 by 8 5/8 inches and was painted in 1893. It was exhibited
at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1965 and at the Los Angles County
Museum of Art in 1991. It has an estimate of $500,000 to
$700,000. It sold for $850,000.
Lot 36, "Camille a l'ombrelle verte," by
Claude Monet, oil on canvas, 32 by 23 3/8 inches, 1878
Lot
36 is a charming oil on canvas by Claude Monet entitled "Camille a
l'ombelle verte." It measures 32 by 23 3/8 inches and was painted
in 1878. It was once owned by Alfred Lindon Paris until it was
seized by the Germansin 1940 and thenowned by Reichsmarschal Hermann
Goering and then restituted to Mr. Lindon who sold it in the 1950s to
Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Rockefeller. Subsequently it was sold at Sotheby's
in London in 2007. It has an estimate of $9,000,000 to
$12,000,000. It sold for
$9,434,000.
Lot 43, "Portrait of a
Women with Blue and Green Scarf," by Egon Schiele, gouache and pencilon
paper, 17 7/8 by 11 5/8 inches, 1914
Lot
43 is a very lovely and strong gouache and pencil on paper by Egon
Schiele (1890-1918) and is entitled "Portrait of a Woman with Blue and
Green Scarf." It measures 17 7/8 by 11 5/8 inches and was painted
in 1914. It is
one of four very fine works by Schiele in the auction that were
consigned by "the collection of a notable lady" with "a discerning eye."
It has an estimate of $1,500,000 to $2,000,000. It sold for
$2,050,000.
Lot 44, "Standing Girl
with Green Dress," by Egon Schiele, gouache and pencil on paper, 18 7/8
by 12 1/2 inches, 1913
Lot
44 is a very fine gouache and pencil on paper by Egon Schiele of a
"Standing Girl with Green Dress." It measures 18 7/8 by 12 1/2
inches and was painted in 1913. It has an estimate of $1,500,000
to $2,000,000. It failled to
sell.
Lot 42, "Frau in
Unterwasche and Strumpfen (Valerie Neuzil)," by Egon Schiele, gouache,
watercolor and pencil on paper, 18 1/4 by 12 inches, 1913
Lot
6, "Ohne Titel," by Wassily Kandinsky, watercolor, pen and ink on paper
laid down on board, 13 by 18 3/4 inches. It was executed in
1923.
It has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It sold for $5,738,000.
Lot 45, "Woman in
Underclothes with Raised Right Arm," by Egon Schiele, pencil on paper,
18 5/8 by 12 1/4 inches, 1914
Lot
45 is a beautiful drawing of a "Woman in Underclothes with Raised Right
Arm" by Egon Schiele. A pencil on paper, it measures 18 5/8 by 12
1/4 inches and was drawn in 1914. It has an estimate of $300,000
to $500,000. It failed to sell.
Lot 54, "Boys Bathing,"
by Edvard Munch, oil on canvas, 26 3/4 by 35 1/2 inches, 1933
Lot
33, "Boys Bathing" is a large and good oil on canvas by Edvard Munch
(1863-1944). It measures 26 3/4 by 35 1/2 inches and was painted
in 1933. It has an estimate of $1,200,000 to $1,800,000. It failed to sell.
Lot 58, "Femme et
oiseau," by Joan Miro, painted bronze, 102 5/8 inches high, numbered
1/4, conceived and cast in 1967
Lot 58 is a striking and colorful painted bronze sculpture by Joan
Miro (1893-1983) entitled "Femme et oiseau." It is 102 5/8 inches
high and is numbered 1/4/ It was conceived and cast in
1967. It has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It failed to sell.
Lot 55, "Femme debout,"
by Alberto Giacometti," bronze, 25 1/2 inches high, conceived in 1958
and cast in 1963, numbered 1/5
Lot 55 is a bronze of a
standing woman by Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) that is 25 1/2 inches
high. It was conceived in 1958 and cast in 1963 and is numbered
1/5. Unlike many of his famous "stick" figures, this sculpture
has sensuous curves. It has an estimate of $1,500,000 to
$2,000,000. It sold for
$2,410,000.
