Sotheby's Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art Totals $227.6 million -- New Auction Record Set for Amedeo Modigliani
Tonight’s sale of Impressionist and Modern Art at Sotheby’s in New York brought a strong total of $227,561,000, comfortably within the pre-sale estimate of $195/266 million. The sale was led by the record-setting price brought by Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu assis sur un divan (La Belle Romaine) -- $68,962,500 -- which was well above pre-sale expectations and the strongest price achieved in this category at Sotheby’s in New York since May 2006. The stunning nude was sought-after by five different bidders, and the price realized is more than four times the then record $16.8 million paid for the work in 1999. There were multiple bidders on most of the major lots this evening with participation coming from all over the world. Four works were sold for more than $15 million and 38 sold for over $1 million.
Two of the other highlights this evening were sold to benefit YoungArts, the Core Program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Le Bassin aux Nymphéas, the spectacular canvas from Claude Monet's iconic water lilies series, sold for $24,722,500 (est. $20/30 million) and Jeanne Hébuterne (au chapeau), one of the first portraits Amedeo Modigliani painted of his great love, sold for $19,122,500, well in excess of the high estimate (est. $9/12 million).
