By Carter B. Horsley
The Impressionist & Modern
Art evening Sale at Sotheby's November 3, 2008 is full of several
major works with very high estimates set before this fall's global
fiscal crisis and is likely to be a very difficult test for the
One of the auction's star lots,
"Arlequin," Lot 41, a 1909 oil on canvas by Pablo Picasso
was withdrawn from the auction "for private reasons,"
according to an article by Carol Vogel in the October 28, 2008
edition of The New York Times. The article quoted David
Norman, a co-chairman of Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art
department worldwide, who was "speaking on behalf of the
seller," Enrico Donati, who had bought it for about $12,000
in the late 1940s and who had died in New York in April at the
age of 99.
The painted, which measures
28 1/4 by 23 5/8 inches, was executed in 1909 and, according to
the catalogue entry, "Stylistically "Arlequin
occupies a momemt of exceptional balance in the rapid erratic
development of analytic cubism. Painting in the spring of 1909
around six months after the critic Louis Vauxcelles first derided
Braque's use of 'cubes,' Arqeuin nestles between the flat,
heavily-outlined panes of Picasso's 'African' works following
Les Demooiselles d'Avignon (1907) and the densely-sculptural
style he used to depict his lover, Fernande Olivier...., in both
painting and a plaster bust during the summer and fall of 1909;
Arlequin represents a point of remarkable resolution between
these two dramatically accented styles. Its almost amber tonality
largely avoids the strong contrasts of ight and dark hues Picasso
so frequehntly emjployed and may reflect his collaboration with
Braque as the two artits investnted cubism. Arlequin's closer-keyed
values create an unusually harmonious image, one that is further
unified by Picasso's brushwork. Each color is laid on with loose
strokes and allows the light underpaint and interspersed touches
to brighten the entire canvas. The effect is a luminous field
of subtle tones and fluidity through the layers of the composition."
Another major work in the auction
is Lot 6, "Suprematist Composition," by Kasimir Malevich
(1879-1935). An oil on canvas, it measures 34 by 28 inches and
was painted in 1916. It carries the auction's highest pre-sale
high estimate of $60 million. The painting sold for $60,002,400
including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this
article. The previous auction record for the artist was $17 million.
The painting was executed the same year as the artist's published
his "Suprematist Manifesto" and for the past 50 years
had been exhibited in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam until
it and four other works by Malevich were restituted to the artist's
At the May 11, 2000 auction at Phillips, the
auction's star lot and cover illustration, Lot 31, "Suprematist
Composition," by Malevich sold for $17,052,500, which included
the buyer's premium, a very impressive price for such a severly
intellectual, sophisticated pure abstraction by an artist whose
name is not bandied about in most households. That work was much
simpler than the Malevich being offered at Sotheby's.
In the lead article in the Arts & Leisure
section November 2, 2008 of The New York Times, Carol Vogel
wrote that "Last spring, descendants of Malevich gained titled
to the painting and four others from the collection in an accord
with the Stedeijk after a court battle in the United States. Now,
after the heirs tried to sell the five paintings privately for
around $300 million but failed, they are trying to sell one of
them at auction. Often pubic relations are a last resort as well
as a way to reach an international pool of possible buyers....Determined
to offset some of the risk, Sotheby's has lined up what it calls
an irrevocable bid on the painting. That means the auction house
has a buyer who has contractually agreed to purchase the painting
for an undisclosed sum. If someone elese is willing to pay more,
the original bidder will get a share of what is called the upside:
the difference between what he was willing to pay and the higher
price." The Stedelijk Museum at one point had about 15 Malevich
Ms. Vogel's article, whose headline was "Tapped
out? With Anxiety in the Air, the Big Auction Houses Brace for
the Fall Sales," noted that "only ten days ago, Sotheby's
reported a loss of $15 million in guarantees - the undisclosed
amount that the houses promise to sellers regardless of the outcome
of a sale - from recent auctions in Hong Kong and London,"
adding that "While Sotheby's has said that it has provided
only half the number of guarantees it did a year ago, the company
still has outstanding guarantees of $285.5 million."
The article quoted Marc Porter, president of
Christie's in America as stating that "prices of all assets
have fallen - stocks, gold, oil, real estate - and it would be
unrealistic to expect works of art to be immune to the market's
pressures," adding "we are actively encouraging consignors
to set reasonable reserves."
While it has not been uncommon in recent years
for the auction houses to pressure consignors at the last minute
to adjust their reserves when other economic indicators are down,
the art market generally lags somewhat behind other major economic
markets because of the individuality of the specific works, the
fact that consignors and buyers are generally well-off, and that
fact that it can be quite illiquid and not able to be offered
again quickly in the marketplace. Furthermore, most buyers have
long-term plans for their collections about which they can very
passionate, which is to say that normal economic rules don't count
for much in the art market, at least in the art market that existed
before some of the auction houses began to offer guarantees, and,
perhaps more importantly, also began to superinflate estimates,
especially in the field of contemporary art.
It should also be noted that while art can
be illiquid and not easy to sell in a short time period, it is
probably the greatest long-term investment as long as one buys
only what one loves, and becomes knowledgeable about, and without
any intention of quick turnover. Thousand-fold increases in value
are not uncommon over the period of a few decades. While it is
true that some areas of art collecting go in an out of favor to
a certain extent, the major categories are well established and
fairly consistent. Furthermore, the burgeoning expertise and continued
explosion of new museums have further fueled demand.
In their defense, the auction houses have in
the last couple of years been inundated with material and have
increased the number of lots in many evening sales by 30 to 50
percent taxing not only their specialist departments but buyers
The phenomenal ascendance in values attached
to some contemporary artists, nonetheless, astounds veteran collectors
and virtually every major auction contains some real surprises
This auction has 71 lots and the cover illustration
is a detail from "The Vampire," by Edvard Munch (1863-1944),
which has an estimate of "in excess of $30 million."
It sold for $38,162,500. Painted in 1894, the oil on canvas,
Lot 21, measures 39 3/8 by 43 3/8 inches.
The catalogue provides the following commentary:
"Few images in the history of western
art possess the symbolic resonance and visual impact of Munch's
spectacular Vampire. Second only to the Scream, Vampire
is Munch's most recognizable composition, and its powerful iconography
has resonated with artists for over a century. This unforgettable
picture features an intoxicating brew of sex, death and willful
abandon in the form of a vampire seductress enveloping the object
of her desire. At the heart of Munch's portrayal is the paradoxical
nature of love, with its components of struggle and release, fear
and desire. The present work is the very embodiment of these intense
and on conflicting emotions. Visually, it is one of the most gripping
pictures in the artist's entire oeuvre. The kaleidoscopic background
of deep blue, purple and red swells to a visual crescendo, illuminating
the central figures in the throes of their dark embrace. The present
oil…is one of the four original versions of Vampire
that Munch executed between 1893 and 1894….Munch intended
that this passionate image be one of the meditations on love for
his grand series, the Frieze of Life, which he first exhibited
to great acclaim at the Berlin Secession of 1902."
Lot 14, "Danceuse au Repos," by Edgar
Degas (1834-1917), was the lead illustration in Ms. Vogel's November
2, 2008 article in The Times. She identified the consignor as
Henry Kravis and his wife, Marie-Josée Kravis, president
of the Museum of Modern Art. The work is a pastel and gouache
on joined paper and measures 23 ¼ by 25 ¼ inches.
It was painted circa 1879. It had been acquired by a friend of
the artist in 1885 and remained in his family for more than 100
years before being sold in London at Sotheby's in 1999 "for
a price which remains the auction record for the artist to this
day" of more than $27 million. The lot now has an ambitious
estimate of "more than $40 million." It sold for
Despite the impressive results for the Malevich,
Munch and Degas, the results were very disappointing with only
64.3 percent of the 70 offered lots selling for a total of $223,812,500.
The pre-sale estimates were $337,800,000 to $475,400,000. Most
of the lots that did sell, sold below their low estimates.
Lot 51 is an early landscape by Paul Cézanne
(1839-1906) that is an oil on canvas that measures 29 1/8 by 36
5/8 inches. It was painted in 1873-4 and was once in the collection
of Auguste Pellerin, Sam Salz and William and Edith Mayer Goetz.
It has a modest estimate of $8,000,000 to $12,000,000. It was
passed at $7,250,000.
Lot 8 is a quite striking and very bright oil
on canvas of a marble torso of a woman by Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890).
It measures 28 ¾ by 21 ¼ inches and was painted
I 1887. It has an estimate of $7,000,000 to $10,000,000. It
was passed at $5,300,000.
Rouen Cathedral was one of the great subjects
of the serial pictures of Claude Monet (1840-1926). Lot 54 is
from that series and is an oil on canvas that measures 41 ¾
by 28 ¾ inches. It was painted in 1893. It is almost monogrammatic
in its light blue coloration and has almost no details. It was
once in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Roger L. Stevens of New
York. It has an ambitious estimate of $16,000,000 to $22,000,000.
It was passed at $11,250,000. There are about 20 paintings
in the Rouen series.
Lot 23 is a very pretty still life by Henri
Matisse (189-1954) that was painted in 1933. An oil on canvas,
it measures 28 7/8 by 25 ¾ inches and has an estimate of
$8,000,000 to $12,000,000. It was passed at $6,750,000.
It was once in the collection of Evelyn Sharp of New York.
There are several other works by Degas in the
auction including Lot 18, "Femme se Coiffant," a pastel
on joined paper that measures 29 1/8 by 33 1/8 inches. Executed
circa 1892-5, the lot has an estimate of $3,000,000 to $4,000,000
and was belonged to Jacques Seligmann, Ambrose Vollard and Sam
Salz. It was passed at $1,900,000.
While many of the auction's lots have quite
high estimate, some do not. Lot 19, for example, is a very beautiful
and very impressionistic landscape by Claude Monet (1840-1926)
entitled "Printemps a Vetheuil." An oil on canvas, it
measures 23 ½ by 31 7/8 inches and was executed in 1881.
"This remarkably prescient depiction of the Seine at Vetheuil
from 1881 foreshadows the many luminous depictions of his water
lily pond that Monet would paint nearly two decades later,"
the catalogue entry notes. The lot has a very conservative estimate
of $1,500,000 to $2,000,000. It sold for $1,100,000.
Lot 43 is a very good "reclining figure:
open pose" bronze sculpture by Henry Moore (1898-1986). Cast
in 1982 in an edition of 9 plus 1 artist's proof, it has an estimate
of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. Its base is 37 3/8 inches long. It
sold for $950,000.
Lot 24 is a fine black and white study of a
masked ball by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901). An oil on
card that measures 25 5/8 by 23 5/8 inches, it was executed in
1888. It has an estimate of $4,000,000 to $6,000,000. It sold
for $4 million.
Naum Gabo (1890-1977) was a Russian artist
fascinated by the "interplay of lines and rhythmic dimension.
Lot 33, "Construction: Stone with a Collar," is a small
but wonderful stone and plastic with slate base sculpture. It
is 8 inches high. It has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000.
It was passed at $320,000.
Lot 26 is a large painting of a man seated
in a chair leaning on a cane and wearing a hat by Amedeo Modigliani
(1884-1920). An oil on canvas, it measures 49 5/8 by 29 ½
inches and was painted in 1918. It has a very ambitious estimate
of $18,000,000 to $25,000,000 especially since the lower third
appears a bit unfinished. It was passed at $15,500,000.
A better Modigliani is Lot 35, "Louise,"
an oil on canvas, 21 ¼ by 17 ¼ inches, 1917. It
has an estimate of $7,000,000 to $10,000,000. It passed at
Lot 30 is a simple painting of a woman in a
coat and hat by Henri Matisse that was painted in 1934. An oil
on canvas, it measures 28 by 23 inches. It has a very, very ambitious
estimate of $12,000,000 to $18,000,000. It was passed at $8,750,000.
The auction has several good works by Wassily
Kandinsky (1866-1944). Lot 46, "Violet-Green," is an
oil on board that measures 25 ¼ by 21 1/8 inches and was
painted in 1926. It has an estimate of $1,800,000 to $2,500,000.
It sold for $2,000,000.
Lot 2 is an untitled watercolor, India ink
and pencil on paper drawn by Kandinsky in 1917. It measures 20
by 13 3/8 inches and has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
It passed at $700,000.
Lot 3 is a handsome oil on canvas by Maurice
de Vlaminck (1876-1958). Entitled "Le Remorqueur," it
measures 23 ¼ by 31 ½ inches and was painted in
1906. It has an estimate of $4.000,000 to $6,000,000 and was once
in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Leigh B. Block of Chicago. It
sold for $3,200,000.
Lot 62, "Rider Astray," is a whimsical
and charming work by Paul Klee (1879-1940). An oil on canvas that
measures 21 1.8 by 16 7/8 inches, it was painted in 1929. It has
an estimate of $700,000 to $1,000,000. It sold for $500,000.
The auction houses are now included more Russian
works than usual in an attempt to appeal to new Russian collectors.
The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, has consigned
several Russian works to this auction. The museum was founded
in 1903 by Zenas Crane, a grandson of the founder of Crane &
Company, a stationery concern that also supplied paper used for
United States currency.
Boris Dmitrievich Grigoriev (1886-1959) is
represented by several works. Lot 37 is entitled "Shepherd
of the Hills" and is an oil on canvas that measures 38 by
33 inches. Painted in 1920, it has an ambitious estimate of $2,500,000
to $3,500,000. It sold for $3,250,000. Lot 38 is entitled
"Pipe Player," and is an oil on canvas that measures
81 by 59 ¼ inches and was executed in 1924. It has an ambitious
estimate of $4,000,000 to $6,000,000. It sold for $2,800,000.
After the sale, Tobias Meyer told a news
conference that "we are addressing a very intelligent market,
and William F. Ruprecht said that the auction did away with most
guarantees." David Norman, vice chairman of the Impressionist
and Modern Art Worldwide department, remarked that "more
than half the sale was bought by Americans," and that "the
sale demonstrated that the high endis just as strong." Mr.
Norman also said that the sales were not made by consignors "in
distress" and he reminded the press that "the market
in all other fields is frozen and that there still is a lot of
wealth in the world."