Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

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

Marie-Therese Mania Punctured by Sotheby's Star Lot

May 4, 2011 by Marion Maneker

The star lot of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern sale—Picasso’s painting of his mistress Marie-Therese Walter—last night failed to impress the man who is currently making the most of the Picasso market. Speaking to Judd Tully, Larry Gagosian gave Sotheby’s a short, sharp rap on the knuckles for messing around in his bailiwick:
“They got lucky, I think,” he said, “and I’m glad they sold it.”
The buyer was identified by observers as a casually dressed Chinese man who was set upon by handlers from Sotheby’s soon after the sale ended but not before he had picked up another item, according to Tully:
The Asian buyer, bidding on the aisle with a cell phone glued to his ear, found another bargain later in the evening, nabbing Camille Pissarro‘s “L’Hermitage en Ete, Pontoise,” a prime Impressionist work from 1877, for $4,282,500 (est. $4-6 million). It was last offered at Christie’s London in December 1999, when it was bought in against a presale estimate of £1.5-2 million.

Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Sale Cruises to a Smooth But Uninspired $170 Million (Artinfo.com)

 

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Sotheby’s Has $25m 1932 Picasso ‘Le Repos’ for MaySotheby’s Has $25m 1932 Picasso ‘Le Repos’ for May
  • This Week's GuaranteesThis Week's Guarantees
  • Sotheby’s Brings $30m Pollock to New YorkSotheby’s Brings $30m Pollock to New York
  • Picasso’s Late Matador Looks for £14m at Sotheby’sPicasso’s Late Matador Looks for £14m at Sotheby’s
  • Sotheby’s Has 1937 Marie-Thérèse for London SaleSotheby’s Has 1937 Marie-Thérèse for London Sale
  • Picasso Portait of Jacqueline Leads Christie’s NY Sale in NovemberPicasso Portait of Jacqueline Leads Christie’s NY Sale in November

Filed Under: Auction Results Tagged With: Gagosian, New York, Picasso, Sotheby's

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

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

  • 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