June 22nd, 2011

The impressionist & Modern Art Evening sale this June will feature a rare and important cityscape by Egon Schiele, Häuser mit bunter Wäsche (Vorstadt II), painted in 1914. One of the artist’s most significant oils ever to come to the market, this composition is inspired by the Medieval town of Krumau, and is being sold by the Leopold Museum in Vienna, which is home to one of the world’s most significant collections of works by Schiele and Klimt. Among other highlights are the bronze Trois hommes qui marchent II, an iconic sculpture by Alberto Giacometti cast during the artist’s lifetime, and Picasso’s impressive oil Couple, le baiser from 1969, a bold and colourful painting characteristic of Picasso’s late style. The auction will also present a strong group of Surrealist works, including an oil and two exceptional gouaches by Magritte, as well as works by artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Signac, Rodin, Miró, Lempicka and Van Dongen.

June 23rd. 2011

Highlights from this season’s Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale include Alberto Giacometti’s Figurine of 1947, a remarkable work from a pivotal year in the artist’s extraordinary development. This is complemented by other masterpieces of modernism: a fantastically bold Miró, two Leger oils, and a magnificent Chagall, whose celebrated dreamscape is here located in the charming hill town of Saint-Paul de Vence. Two very different artists, Dalí and Pechstein, are united by their equally glamorous and imposing portraits of women. Sotheby’s is honoured to be including property from two important private European collections: the first a fascinating group of Post-Cubist works, featuring key works by Lhote, Marcoussis, Valmier and Herbin; the second made up of eleven wonderfully varied and experimental works on paper by Joan Miró, which are a testament to the artist’s appetite for innovation, and the owner’s subsequent appreciation for it. The strong German and Austrian section includes a vibrant 1906 landscape by Jawlensky, a monumental Pechstein bathers scene, and a beautifully nuanced seascape by Klee. Other highlights include a rare Cézanne landscape, an Arp relief, and two sublime depictions of Venice, by de Chirico and Marquet.