ARTE IMPRESSIONISTA E MODERNA. Sotheby’s

SOTHEBY’S. New York, 3 maggio 2011

La Evening Sale di Impressionist & Modern Art da Sotheby’s a New York ha totalizato$170,478,000, (stima pre-sala $158.9/229.7 milioni) con il 74.6% di venduto per lotto e 37 opere vendute sopra il milione di dollari. “Femmes lisant (Deux personnages)” di Pablo Picasso è stato uno dei top lot della serata, realizzando $21,362,500. Nuovo record d’asta stabilito dal pittore surrealista Paul Delvaux e per una scultura di Paul Gauguin.

“This evening’s sale saw solid bidding activity from around the world, both in the room and on the phones,” ha commentato Simon Shaw, Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department in New York. “Pablo Picasso was our dominant artist tonight. We sold a fabulous selection of eight works spanning his career which was led by our cover lot, an exceptional image of Marie-Thérèse Walter and her sister reading that sold for more than $21 million.Another high point of the night was the Jawlensky, a prime work by the artist and the finest we have seen since we achieved the world record in 2008.”

“What unified the top-selling lots in tonight’s sale was great visual presence and vibrant color,” ha commentato David Norman, Co-Chairman of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department Worldwide. “As always, fair and conservative estimates really whet the appetite and increase bidding. The results demonstrate demand across all of the different categories represented. Surrealism did wonderfully, as we saw with the record-breaking price achieved by the Delvaux, and the strong prices brought for both Dalí and Magritte. Impressionist works held up well, with the Monet selling for nearly $6.3 million–twice the price it brought in 2004. Sculpture also performed well, as did the spectacular Expressionist artist Jawlensky.”