Eight Picassos raise $ 92.5 million at Christie’s auction
New York, Nov 11 (EFE).- The works of Pablo Picasso shone Thursday in a 20th century art auction held at Christie’s New York headquarters, where eight pieces from different stages of the artist’s life went on sale and raised more than $ 92.5 million.
The one that aroused the greatest expectations, “Mousquetaire a la Pipe II,” was sold for $ 30 million, exactly what Christie’s had estimated, reaching a total price of $ 34.7 million after taxes.
The piece, more than 1.5 meters in height and about 1 meter in length, was going up for auction for the first time and was painted by the artist from Malaga in a single day in November 1968.
“Femme Accroupie en Costume Turc II (Jacqueline)” (1955), also debuted at a sale to the highest bidder, having remained in the hands of the same family for three generations after being purchased in 1957, and was sold for $ 25.5 million, within Christie’s calculations.
In addition, “Homme a la Pipe” (1968) sold for $ 15.4 million; “Profil” (1930), a portrait of his first wife, Olga Khokhlova, for $ 7.3 million; “Le Repas de l’Acrobate” (1905), for $ 7.1 million; “Homme a la Guitare” (1912-1913), for $ 846,000; “Verre et Bouteille sur une Table” (1913), for $ 587,000; and “Tete d’Homme Barbu A la Cigarette” (1964) for $ 1.1 million.
At the same auction, Andy Warhol’s “Jean-Michel Basquiat” exceeded expectations, selling for $ 40 million with duties and taxes following a bidding war between a buyer from New York and another from London, going for double than that estimated by experts. A Cy Twombly called “Untitled” sold below expectations at $ 32 million, instead of the estimated $ 40 million.
An impressionist sale held shortly before, featuring the collection of American oil magnate Edwin L. Cox, who died last year, saw featured pieces such as “Cabanes de Bois Parmi les Oliviers et Cypres (1889)” by Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh, a piece that had not been auctioned since 1923 and was enthusiastically received.
Up to eight people bid for the piece in the first instance, both by phone and in the Christie’s room in New York, finally selling for $ 71.3 million, well above the estimated $ 40 million.
“Jeune Homme au Bleuet,” a second work by Van Gogh painted in June 1890 a few weeks before his death, sold for six times the estimated price at $ 46.7 million after a long bidding war between buyers in New York and Hong Kong.
“L’Estaque aux Toits Rouges” (1883-1885), by Paul Cezzane, exhibited in public only once since it was painted in 1889, started with a starting price of $ 23 million, and took less than a minute to reach the $ 40 million mark, selling for $ 55.3 million, within experts’ estimates.
As expected, “Jeune Homme a sa Fenetre,” by French impressionist Gustave Cailebotte, broke an artist record, reaching $ 46 million and $ 53 million after tax.
“L’hotel de Mademoiselle Ernestine, Saint-Jouin (Finistere) ou Le verger de Mademoiselle Ernestine, Saint-Jouin” (1908), by Gustave Loiseau, a piece valued at between $ 20,000 and $ 30,000 sold for $ 774,000, 25 times asking price and a world record for the artist at auction. EFE
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