Upcoming Impressionist Sales

Scott Reyburn of Bloomberg has good preview of the upcoming London Impressionist sales. The positive news is there is some very good lots being offered, including the recent edition of Dresdner Bank AG’s Alberto Giacometti sculpture Walking Man (life size) expect to bring close to $30 million. The London evening sales at Christie's and Sotheby's are expect to bring over $200 million. Sotheby's is offering 39 lots while Chirsties is offering 86 lots. In addition to the Giacometti, the sales will offer a Klimnt, a Cezanne, and two Picassos.

The article states one collector saying confidence is coming back to the market, and the quality offerings seem to confirm that opinion.

Reyburn states

“Commerzbank has a big collection, we have a big collection,” Martin Halusa, Dresdner’s head of media relations, said in a telephone interview. “The Giacometti is one of a group of works being sold or donated to museums as part of the general reorganization of the company.”

The Dresdner sculpture, from an edition of six, is the first example cast in the artist’s lifetime offered at auction, said Sotheby’s. It is valued at 12 million pounds to 18 million pounds, as is Klimt’s 1913 painting, “Church in Cassone -- Landscape with Cypresses.”

Cezanne’s Fruit

Cezanne’s 1893 to 1894 still life, “Pichet et Fruits Sur une Table,” was executed on paper laid down on panel.

The Cezanne had been sold by the Barnes Collection in Philadelphia in 1936, according to Sotheby’s.

“The presence of these three works shows visible confidence in the market,” Newman said in a telephone interview. “While we’ve had plenty of private sales, they don’t get reported.”

To read the full Bloomberg article, click HERE.