Kees van Dongen has had a rocky auction history of late, alternately setting new records then drawing less than stellar work onto the market only to have it fail. But in yesterday’s Christie’s sale there were four pictures that all sold well. Here’s Scott Reyburn on the matter:

A group of four colorful Kees van Dongen paintings of women, fresh to the market from the same private collection, all sold for a total of 6.4 million pounds, with fees, against a low estimate of 4.1 million pounds.

The 4-foot 3-inch wide canvas, “La cuirasse d’or,’’ showing a cabaret actress lounging in a gold dress, headed the group with a price of 2.9 million pounds with fees. Thought to have been painted around 1907, it had a low estimate of 1.5 million pounds.

“These paintings were valued 30 to 40 percent higher when they were originally estimated in July last year,” Thomas Seydoux, Christie’s international co-head of Impressionist and modern art, said. “But because they were priced more reasonably we achieved our original valuations at the sale itself.”

Monet, Modigliani, Low Estimates Boost Christie’s London Sale (Bloomberg)