New record for Matisse as New York art auction season opens
New York`s art auction season got under way late Tuesday with the record for a painting by French artist Henri Matisse falling at Christie`s sale of impressionist and modern art.
Matisse`s "L`Odalisque, harmonie bleu," painted in 1937 and portraying his Russian model at the time, went for 33.6 million dollars -- far above the upper estimate of 20 million dollars -- after a long battle between two bidders.
The previous record for the artist stood at 21.7 million dollars.
Other highlights of the sale were the 1916 work "Portrait du sculpteur Oscar Miestchaninoff" by Amedeo Modigliani, which fetched 30.8 million dollars, just below the current record for the Italian artist.
Pablo Picasso`s 1955 work "Femme accroupie au costume turc (Jacqueline)," also went for 30.8 million dollars, while his "Homme a la pipe," fetched 16.8 million dollars, roughly in line with expectations.
His "Tete de femme (Dora Maar)," meanwhile reached 16.2 million dollars.
The record for a painting by Alberto Giacometti fell twice during the sale, first with "Atelier I," a 1950 painting of the Swiss artist`s studio, and later with the portrait "Annette au manteau," which fetched 11.2 million dollars.
Other notable lots included a still life by French post-impressionist Paul Gauguin, "Nature morte aux fruits et piments," which went for 12.3 million, and a pointillist landscape, "Cassis, Cap Canaille," by Paul Signac, which fetched 14 million dollars and set a new record for the artist.
However, several works by Picasso, Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Marc Chagall disappointingly failed to meet their reserves.
In total, the sale netted 394.9 million dollars, the second highest total ever for a fine art sale, apparently shaking off concerns that a crunch in the US housing and credit markets might hit the art world.
"The enduring importance of works of art as a stable and consistent store of cultural and economic values was demonstrated in tonight`s dazzling sale," said Marc Porter, the head of Christie`s Americas.
"Matisse, Picasso, Monet and Signac continue to captivate and delight a worldwide audience of collectors," he added.
The buyers in the sale came mostly from America and Europe, but more than a quarter came from other parts of the world including Russia, Asia and Latin America, Christie`s said.
The impressionist and modern sales continue at Sotheby`s auction house on Wednesday, with works by Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh and Picasso among the highlights.
|
