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The Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale and the auction of Art of the Surreal which took place on February 9, 2011 at Christie's in London realized £84,879,800 / $136,316,959 / €99,903,525 selling 79% by lot and 84% by value. The sales had a pre-sale estimate of £72,580,000 to £107,060,000.

The good results fetched during this auction seemed to illustrate a solid market for both classic impressionism and the masterpieces of the avant-garde.

Colour continued to draw fierce competition, from the glowing yellow of Degas' ballerinas to the vibrant red in the Fauve Derain. In a buzzing saleroom, buyers from 20 different countries bought works at the sale with a deep pool of international bidders and more than 10 clients competing on several lots. The most intense interest was for the works which were released from private collections for the first time – nearly all of the top 10 lots had been in the same hands for a generation or more."

Olivier Camu, International Director of Impressionist and Modern Art, Christie's said : "Since we staged the first auction dedicated to Surrealist art in 2001 we have seen the market continue to grow in stature and tonight we realized a record total for the category, and a record price for any work by Dali. This pioneering movement of 20th century art now attracts collectors from every corner of the world and from other collecting areas, in particular contemporary art. This is driving the market to new levels."

The top price was paid for Terrasse à Vernon by Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) which realized £7,209,250 / $11,578,056 / €8,485,287 – a world record price for the artist at auction. A masterclass in colourist painting executed in 1923, it was one of only 3 works that Bonnard selected to be exhibited at the Salon d'Automne that year where it was very well received. Acquired by the family of the vendor in 1935, it had since passed by descent and was offered at auction for the first time with a pre-sale estimate of £3 million to £4 million.


Further leading highlights of the sale:

• Bateaux à Collioure by André Derain (1880-1954) sold for £5,865,250 / $9,419,592 / €6,903,399 (estimate: £4 million to £6 million). Painted in 1905, this work is from a pivotal, early moment of the Fauve movement. Executed in Collioure where the artist was painting alongside his great champion Henri Matisse, it is an exceptionally vibrant work that had been in the collection of the vendor since circa 1960 and which had last been seen in public in 1965.

• Danseuses jupes jaunes (Deux danseuses en jaune), by Edgar Degas (1834-1917) realized £5,417,250 / $8,700,104 / €6,376,103 (estimate: £3 million to £5 million). A stunning pastel in exceptional condition, it had been acquired by the family of the vendor in 1899 and had since passed by descent. A highly finished work from circa 1896, it shows the artist's favoured theme, the ballet, captured in the explosive palette that marked his works from this period.

• The auction offered 4 works from the Art Institute of Chicago which realized a total of £10,043,400 / $16,129,702 / €11,821,081 led by Sur l'impériale traversant la Seine, an early painting executed in Paris by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) in 1901 which sold for £4,857,250/ $7,800,744 / €5,716,983 (estimate: £2 million to £3 million). Nature morte à la guitare (rideaux rouge), 1938, by Georges Braque (1882-1963) realized £3,961,250 / $6,361,768 /€4,662,391 (estimate: £3.5 million to £5.5 million); Femme au fauteuil, 1919, a striking portrait by Henri Matisse, sold for £791,650 / $1,271,390 / €931,772 (estimate: £1 million to £1.5 million); and Verre et pipe, 1919, a cubist jewel by Pablo Picasso, realized £433,250 / $695,800 / €509,935 (estimate: £450,000 to £650,000).

• L'aimant (The Magnet) by René Magritte (1898-1967), a monumental canvas painted in 1941, sold for £4,745,250 / $7,620,872 / €5,585,159 (estimate: £3.5 million to £5.5 million).

• Etude pour 'Le miel est plus doux que le sang', 1926-27, a landmark work and one of the first Surreal paintings executed by Salvador Dalí (1904-1989), realized £4,073,250 / $6,541,640 / €4,794,215, a world record price for the artist at auction (estimate: £2 million to £3 million).

Art of the Surreal
Since 2001, Christie's have dedicated a section of the February evening sale in London to surrealist art. This evening's auction of Art of the Surreal realized £22,999,250 / $36,936,795 / €27,070,117
(included in the sale totals above).