Wisdom from The Master, Judd Tully, imbues the report from Christie’s London Impressionist and Modern art evening sale
- Picasso’s “Femme assise” from 1949 grabbed the top lot, selling toWilliam Acquavella of New York’s Acquavella Galleries for £8,553,250 ($13,445,709), well above its £5-7 million estimate. The 1949 Picasso last sold at auction at New York’s Parke-Bernet Galleries, a forerunner of Sotheby’s, for £37,000 in 1960. Asked about the evening, Acquavella succinctly observed, “good things do better and other things have a tough time.”
- Late Magrittes typically outperform the tougher and darker early paintings but as David Rogath, a Magritte collector and art dealer from Greenwich, Connecticut, observed, “I think the prices are justified and in a short period of time will go much higher. Magritte is still undervalued.”
Scott Reyburn has his share of sharp observations too:
- Art collector Ross, seated in the front of the saleroom, was asked by Bloomberg News what he thought of the price, the second highest given for the Belgian Surrealist. [£7,209,250 ($11,332,941), over four times its £1.5m high estimate] “Well, I paid it,” said Ross
Christie’s London Tallies Robust $145-Million Imp/Mod Sale Fueled by Degas, Picasso, and Magritte (Artinfo)
Ross Buys Magritte Work For $11.3 Million, Nine Times Estimate (Bloomberg)
