Impressionist and Modern Art sales generate USD 291 million November 5 The Impressionist and Modern Art sales held on 1 and 2 November by Christie's and Sotheby's respectively were a huge success. The two auction houses generated a total of USD 291 million from the sale of 110 of the 123 lots on offer. The highlight of these auctions was the impressive sale at Christie's of 'La blanchisseuse', a painting by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, for USD 20 million, compared with its estimation of USD 20-25 million). In addition to this transaction, three other records were broken on 1 November: USD 2.8 million for Tho RYSSELBERGHE van with Port de Cette, les tartans; USD 1.3 million for Hans ARP with Sculpture de silence, Corneille; and a record for a Henri LAURENS bronze. Another splendid result was for a still life by Paul CeZANNE entitled Pommes et gteaux that fetched USD 9.2 million (compared with its estimation of USD 3.5-4.5 million). The second highest sale of the evening was for a version of Claude MONET's Nymphas (1907) which was knocked down at USD 12.5 million and which fetched USD 10.5 million in 1989. This result tends to confirm that prices for Impressionist works are at their highest.
November 2005
