Reuters
source: Reuters
A collection of 12 long-unseen paintings, including works by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cezanne and Claude Monet, is expected to fetch around $450 million when it goes on sale in New York in November.
Five of the paintings were unveiled at Sotheby’s in London on Wednesday, including Cezanne’s “Arlequin” and Monet’s “Le Jardin des Tuileries”.
The rest of the collection is currently being showcased digitally, including Van Gogh’s “Chataigniers en fleurs”, which is estimated to be worth about $180 million. Some of the paintings will travel to galleries worldwide ahead of the New York sale on November 18.
It is “amongst the most valuable collections ever offered at auction,” said Helena Newman, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, adding that the pieces by Cezanne and Van Gogh are expected to achieve record prices.
She said in an interview that Van Gogh’s masterpiece is “an incredibly exciting revelation and discovery,” painted at the end of his life in Auvers-sur-Oise, just after he was released from the psychiatric asylum in Saint-Remy-de-Provence.
“It is exploding with positivity and joy and exuberance. Of course, we know from the history of what is to come, that it is just three months before his untimely death,” added Newman, who is also Chairman of Impressionist and Modern Art Worldwide.
