A Miró to Run for a Record

Sotheby’s takes another run at the Miró market which has not quite roared since the Tate show. Christie’s made a record in February in London and Sotheby’s sold Tete Humaine well in May. But this time they’ve got a work that previously set a record ($16.7m in Paris in 2007), and we’ll know a lot more on June 19th:

With the market for iconic works of the late 19th and early 20th centuries at an all-time high, Sotheby’s today announces the sale of Joan Miró’s, Peinture (Étoile Bleue) (1927) – among the most important works by the artist ever to come to the market and a painting that he himself identified as absolutely key to his oeuvre.

Having made a record for the artist at auction when it sold in France in 2007, Peinture (Étoile Bleue) is now estimated at £15-20 million. Only four works offered at Sotheby’s in London have ever carried a pre-sale estimate of £15 million or more. Miró’s star is currently at an all-time high: he was recently the subject of hugely successful retrospectives in London, Barcelona and Washington, and a new auction record for the artist of £16.8m was established just three months ago.