Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

The Cabinet of Dr. B

June 9, 2009 by Marion Maneker

The New York Times website runs this story from an International Herald Tribune special art market section that tells the story of a provincial auctioneer assigned the task of creating an inventory of a dentist’s estate for his heir. In the apartment, Osenat found stolid furniture but some serious paintings by Bonnard and Vlaminck:

When he descended into the basement, Mr. Osenat discovered, neatly stacked in their original packaging and concealed under dusty piles of discarded rags, some 20 works by master painters of the postwar era.

“It was an incredible find. When a single work by Mitchell appears on the market, it usually makes the cover of any sale catalogue,” Mr. Osenat said during an interview, referring to the American Abstract Expressionist painter Joan Mitchell. “We have four large Joan Mitchells; the rest are works not seen on the market in 60 years.”

On June 14, “The Estate of Doctor B” will go under the hammer at Osenat Fontainebleau, Mr. Osenat’s saleroom near the Château de Fontainebleau, the 16th-century royal residence built by the renaissance king François I, about 60 kilometers, or 37 miles, southeast of Paris. For privacy reasons, the heir, a surviving daughter, has wished not to reveal her or her parents’ name.

Beside the four oil paintings by Ms. Mitchell, the sale will offer 19 works by other major 20th-century and postwar artists, including Nicolas de Staël, Sam Francis, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Georges Mathieu, André Lanskoy and Alfred Manessier, alongside more classic works, including the Vlaminck.

“This collection, rare in its quality, is extremely well preserved,” said Michel Maket, expert for the sale and a specialist in late 19th- and 20th-century paintings in Paris. “Dr. B was a private person who did not show his collection.”

Estate Yields Works by Postwar Masters (New York Times)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Christie’s American Art = $76.8mChristie’s American Art = $76.8m
  • US News Ranks Top Fine Arts ProgramsUS News Ranks Top Fine Arts Programs
  • "Fake" Feininger Makes €5.7m for UNESCO"Fake" Feininger Makes €5.7m for UNESCO
  • Out of the Spotlight, Old Masters Struggle to Compete with Contemporary WorksOut of the Spotlight, Old Masters Struggle to Compete with Contemporary Works
  • Dan Colen Bird Dropping Paintings Are RisingDan Colen Bird Dropping Paintings Are Rising
  • Artelligence Survey: Looking for ValueArtelligence Survey: Looking for Value

Filed Under: Collectors

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • British Modernists Draw Deep Bidding in Christie's $42 M. London Sales
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • How to Chant Like an Auctioneer
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • $10 M. Picasso Portrait Unseen for Decades to Sell at Bonhams
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Christie’s to Sell Its First Fully Digital Work of Art in Test of Emerging Market
  • Collection of Texas Heiress Anne Marion Expected to Fetch $150 M. at Sotheby’s
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor