Sotheby’s to auction $450M trove led by $180M van Gogh

Sotheby's said Wednesday that 12 Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings from an Argentine private collection, most of them kept out of public view for decades, will be sold in New York on Nov. 18. The auction house expects the group to bring in about $450 million. The sale is led by Vincent van Gogh's "Châtaigniers en fleurs," estimated at $180 million, and Paul Cézanne's "Arlequin," estimated at about $120 million. Sotheby's expects both paintings to set auction records for their artists.kdhnews+3

The paintings belonged to Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier and her husband, sugar magnate Carlos Pedro Blaquier. Their children are selling the works following Nelly's death in 2020 and Carlos's in 2023. Helena Newman, Sotheby's chairman of Europe, told Reuters the group is "amongst the most valuable collections ever offered at auction".news.yahoo+2

Two potential records

Van Gogh painted the chestnut trees in May 1890 at Auvers-sur-Oise, the village where he spent the last two months of his life. The painting was last shown publicly at New York's Guggenheim Museum in 1964. The artist's current auction record is about $117 million, set in 2022 by "Orchard with Cypresses" from the collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Newman told The Art Newspaper the new painting could sell for "$200m or more".theartnewspaper+1

"Arlequin" is a portrait of Cézanne's son dressed as Harlequin. It is one of four versions, and the other three are held by museums. Cézanne's auction record is $137.8 million, set by "La Montagne Sainte-Victoire" at the same Allen sale. "The Card Players" was reportedly sold privately to Qatar for about $250 million.news.artnet+2

The collection also includes:

• Claude Monet's "Le Jardin des Tuileries," estimated at $15 million to $20 million
• Camille Pissarro's 1898 Paris streetscape, estimated at $30 million to $40 million
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "En Canot," estimated at $25 million to $35 million
• Edgar Degas's pastel "Avant la Course," estimated at $20 million to $30 million

It also has works by Gauguin, Sisley, Toulouse-Lautrec, Derain and Vlaminck.independent+1

A guaranteed bet

Sotheby's has guaranteed the sale but has not said for how much. Five of the paintings went on view in London on Wednesday. The collection will then travel to Taipei, Hong Kong and Paris before the auction. Seven of the 12 works were bought from London's Lefevre Gallery in the 1970s.telegraph+2

Philip Hook, a former Sotheby's specialist, said the collection "really is the stuff of legend" because the couple never lent the works for exhibitions. The family's history also comes with the sale. In his final years, Carlos Blaquier was investigated for alleged crimes against humanity tied to Argentina's 1976–83 dictatorship. He denied the allegations and died without facing trial. Sotheby's has noted that he was never convicted.cbsnews+1

Newman said buyers could include American tech billionaires and Middle Eastern institutions. "In times where there's a lot of global macro geopolitical uncertainty, it's almost like there's a return to really established, tried and tested" works, she said.cbsnews