Phillips announces a major Joan Miró work painted during World War II and acquired by Pierre Matisse. Like the celebrated Constellations, these works passed through Matisse and were featured later at Acquavella. There’s a good case that the work is a bit of an event in the  Colin Gleadell had the news of the consignment first. He commented on the market for these works:

Other examples are in museum collections in New York, Buffalo, Dusseldorf and Madrid. This one has been in the same private collection in Switzerland since the Seventies, and is only the third from this series to appear at auction since 1986, when another Femme dans la Nuit, 1945, sold for a record $2.3 million.

Phillips press release gives more background on the work:Continue Reading