Master works by Monet, Picasso and Gauguin will be highlights of a spring auction of impressionist and modern art this week in New York.
“We are feeling confident and expect a very busy few days,” said Conor Jordan, head of auction house Christie’s Impressionist & Modern Art. The sales are expected to make in total some $160 million.
Claude Monet’s 1891 oil painting masterpiece Les Peupliers, valued between $20 and $30 million, is one of the main attractions at the Impressionist and Modern evening. The other star attractions will be the large Picasso Femmes d’Alger, also valued at $20 to $30 million, and the La fenêtre ouverte by Matisse, estimated at between $8 and $12 million.
Slightly more accessible – at a few million dollars less – are De Chrico’s Ettore e Andromaca for $5 to $7 millon, and Dali’s Chevaliers en Parade, expected to raise $1.2 to $1.8 million.
One of the top objects is to be Paul Gauguin 1890-93 wood carved piece Jeune Tahitienne, with a $10 to $15 millon pre-sale estimate.
“This is an extraordinary object. It could be one of the big surprises of the evening,” said Simon Shaw, senior vice president and head of Impressionist & Modern Art.
Christie’s expects to sell a total of $230 million with other works by Warhol, Rothko and Francis Bacon at its sale on May 11.
That night, modern master drawing Kiss V by Roy Lichtenstein, which was won in a lottery in 1965 for $10, is estimated to sell for a cool $1 million.