Can You Say Kandinsky?

The Business Insider is reporting on a Wassily Kandinsky painting entitled Study for Improvisation 8, painted in 1909 (see image) will be selling at Christie's November sale with a pre-sale estimate of $20-$30 million.  The existing auction high is $10 million.

BI reports

Christie's highly-anticipated evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art is already poised to set records this November. Wassily Kandinsky's "Study For Improvisation 8" (1909) is expected to fetch $20-$30 million at auction, potentially surpassing the previous Kandinsky record by $10 million.

The painting depicts a conquering hero wielding a golden sword, and exemplifies the bright colors and early abstract techniques the Fauvist painter was known for.

If the estimate price is met, the painting has the potential to set a new record price for a work by Kandinsky at auction. The current record was set in 1990 for $20.9 million.

The work of art is offered from the Volkart Foundation collection, a charitable trust founded by the Swiss commodities trading firm Volkart Brothers, with proceeds from the sale will benefit the Foundation.

Since 1960, "Study For Improvisation 8" has been featured at the Tate Modern, Kunstmuseum Basel, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Montréal, and many others. Though widely exhibited throughout Europe, Christie's pre-sale exhibition will mark this important work's first foray into the United States. It will be included at a public exhibition at Christie's Rockefeller Center Galleries from November 3-7, 2012.

Source: Business Insider