Results: Sotheby's Impressionst and Modern Sale

On Wednesday Sotheby's held its NY Impressionist and Modern evening sale.  The sale, like Christies, was considered a success, although the top lot did not approach the $100+ million Picasso from Tuesday evening. The top selling lot at Sotheby's was a Henri Matisse, Bouquet de Fleurs pour le Quatorze Juillet, an oil on canvas painted July 14, 1919. It sold for $28.6 million including buyers premium (see image).

Overall, the sale totaled $195.7 million including buyers premium. The pre sale estimate for the sale was $141 to $204 million, with sales coming close to the top end of the range. The sale offered 57 pieces with 50 selling for a 87.7% sell through rate.

The second highest lot was Claude Monet's Effet de Printemps and Givery oil on canvas, selling for $15.2 million to an Asian private collector. The Matisse buyers was listed as anonymous.

Sotheys's stated about the sale,

Tonight’s sale result of $195.7 million was close to the high estimate, and it was wonderful to see things moving in the right direction,” said Simon Shaw, Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Department in New York. “We saw very vigorous and spirited bidding and achieved a total that surpassed that of November and tripled the results achieved in May 2009. We are absolutely delighted with these results.

We witnessed a quest for quality this evening, continued Emmanuel Di Donna, Vice Chairman of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department Worldwide. “This was especially evident in the sale of Modigliani’s Jeanne Hébuterne au collier, believed to be the very first portrait of Modigliani’s future wife and muse; the Matisse’s Bouquet pour le quatorze juillet, a still life of considerable color and scale; and Rodin’s Penseur, a rare lifetime cast with a fully documented provenance. What was also notable was the depth of spirited bidding, illustrated by multiple bidders on many lots from clients who came from all over the world.

Tobias Meyer, Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art and tonight’s auctioneer noted, “The activity in tonight’s salesroom showed that art is globally desired.”

The sale was led by Henri Matisse’s Bouquet pour le quatorze juillet, which climbed to $28,642,500 (est. $18/25 million). This work heralds the fresh and colorful style that would define Matisse’s career from 1919 onward, and signals the artist’s renewed sense of optimism following one of the most troubling periods of his career. Amedeo Modigliani’s beautiful Jeanne Hébuterne au collier, circa 1916-17, which had not appeared at auction in nearly 70 years, was also hotly contested in a battle and purchased by a Japanese private collector for $13,802,500 (est. $8/12 million).

Demand for classic Impressionist pictures remained strong, with Monet’s 1890 landscape Effet de printemps à Giverny climbing to $15,202,500 (est. $10/15 million). Also by Monet, Fin d’après-midi, Vétheuil, 1880, brought $6,242,500, exceeding its estimate of $2.8/3.5 million. The first lot of the sale, Le Jardin d’Octave Mirbeau à Dampes (Eure), 1892, by Camille Pissarro climbed to $2,658,500 (est. $1.2/1.8 million), selling to a European private collector.