19th/20th C. American and European Art – Saturday, May 14, 11 a.m.

Post-War and Contemporary Art – Saturday, May 14, 1 p.m.

Hong Kong – May 31st

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This May, Sotheby’s Fine Chinese Paintings department is thrilled to offer its first ever off-season sale, The Mei Yun Tang Collection of Paintings by Chang Dai-Chien. This monumental collection was assembled by the late Mr. and Mrs. Kao Ling-Mei over the course of half a century, and is internationally recognized as the most comprehensive Zhang Daqian paintings collection of all times. The sale features 25 works from the collection and is estimated to bring more than HKD 130 million. It represents the very first time that any of these works have appeared on the market.

The selection for sale offers a detailed account of the stylistic evolution of the artist, from his early traditional styles to the bold splashed ink and colour of his later years. It also reveals the close friendship and camaraderie between the celebrated artist and Mr. and Mrs. Kao Ling-Mei – dear friends for over 40 years. The couple acquired many of Zhang Daqian’s most prized works from exhibitions or as gifts from the artist himself. Lotus and the Mandarin Ducks (Lot 4), was bought in an exhibition of the artist’s work; and Children Playing under a Pomegranate Tree (Lot 13) – painted especially to compliment the couple’s large family – was received as a present from the artist.

The May 2011 Latin American Sale is historic in its inclusion of the Fernando Botero: a Celebration auction as well as a single owner sale A Discerning Eye. These three catalogues form the Evening Session of the Latin American Art Sales.

There are several re-discoveries of historical note such as Emilio Boggio’s 19th century masterpiece La Lecture, lot 52, which has not been seen publicly since it was exhibited in 1888 at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris, Tilsa Tschusiya’s mysterious 1962 Untitled painting from her early period and Benito Quinquela Martin’s 1923 Buque en Descarga (en Pleno Trabajo) which, when cleaned of its old varnish, revealed a rainbow of dazzling color and expressionistic impressionist brushstrokes.

Latin American Art – Browse E-Catalogue

Fernando Botero: A Celebration – Browse E-Catalogue

A Discerning Eye: Latin American Masterpieces from a Private Collection – Browse E-Catalogue

On Thursday, May 5, Swann Galleries will conduct their annual spring auction of Modernist Posters. As always, the sale features rare avant-garde images from the U.S., Europe and Asia that appeal to fans of cutting-edge design.

There is a rare exhibition poster by Dutch architect and designer Hendrikus T. Wijdeveld for a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition held in Amsterdam, 1931.

Art Deco classics include Jean Dupas, Bal des Etudiants, 1927, in a rare large format. The image appealed to Andy Warhol, who at one time owned a version of the poster.

A 1935 poster by an unknown artist for the film [Peach Blossom Dream], starring Chinese movie star Pearl Ing.

David Shubow, Moments with Genius, circa 1936 is a classic WPA-era image.

Edward McKnight Kauffer’s Power / The Nerve Centre of London’s Underground, 1931, is among the scarce British rail posters in the sale.

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The Evill/Frost Collection is the most prestigious group of 20^th Century British Art ever to come to auction.  The works were collected by London solicitor Wilfrid Evill between 1925 and 1960 and will not be sold by the executors of the estate of Honor Frost, the pioneering marine archaeologist, to benefit charitable causes.  The central element of the collection is a group of paintings and drawings by Stanley Spencer including some of the most important examples of his work (lots 7-9, 15-18).

Beyond these we find a rich vein of paintings, drawings, watercolors and sculptures that evince the knowledge and understanding of a true collector with works by Lucian Freud (lots 2, 25), Henry Moore (lots 4, 20), Edward Burra (lots 1,  21, 30), and William Roberts (lots 5, 11, 22).  This collection also includes a very fine group of 18^th Century French porcelain and important Regency furniture as well as other decorative arts from a variety of periods.

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London – Phillips de Pury & Company is pleased to announce the highlights of the forthcoming London Photographs sale on Thursday May 19, 2011. The London photographs department, a leader in the European market, will offer a full range of exciting works from diverse genres and movements integral to 20^th and 21^st century photography.

“The May 19^th London Photographs auction builds on our recent successes by including quality material by value and aesthetic that is on the cutting edge of what is most desirable in today’s worldwide photographs market.” Vanessa Kramer, Worldwide Director, Photographs.

“I am ecstatic about offering such a diverse and appealing section of photography, the sale fully embraces and pays homage to all genres and mediums, offering a vibrant composite of great iconic works and exciting contemporary artists. If you are looking for a known fashion image the sale will appeal, if you are looking for a more conceptual contemporary image you will love it – there really is something for every type of collector and collection.” Lou Proud, Head of Photographs London.

Sotheby’s is immensely honored and proud to offer A Discerning Eye: Latin American Masterpieces from a Private Collection.  Rarely are we able to offer for auction a group of masterworks from a single collection of such quality, variety and depth.

This striking assembly of works acquired over a period of two decades represents some of the finest examples of Latin American art of diverse styles and cultural origins.  From Rivera to Matta, from Pelaez to Tamayo and from Botero to Figari, the common denominator that prevails throughout is the discerning eyes that chose the pieces and the high level of taste and refinement that is reflected in this grouping.

This evening sale includes works by masters from several Latin American countries.  From Mexico the collection includes three paintings by Rufino Tamayo representing his greatest periods: the colorful and iconic Sandias of 1941; Madre Diviertiendo a su Hijo of 1946, a sensitive and whimsical depiction of a loving mother and child; and the vibrant and monumental Mujer en Extasis of 1973.

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The Contemporary Art auction at Sotheby’s will be held in New York on May 9th, 10th and 11th.  Exhibitions open May 6th.

The Contemporary Art Evening Auction will be held on May 10th

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The Collection of Allan Stone will be auctioned off on May 9th

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The undoubted highlight of the Old Master Paintings sale this May is Jan Steen’s School class with a sleeping schoolmaster, one of his finest treatments of a schoolroom interior. It is his only representation of a schoolroom still remaining in private hands which is both signed and dated. It has a remarkable provenance, going as far back as 1764, which includes the distinguished Baring collection in the 19th Century. This exciting picture perfectly demonstrates Steen’s mastery at depicting the humorous side of everyday life, which remains as true to life and as successful in capturing our attention today as it was to his viewers in the 17th Century.

Another highlight in the sale is a grand and joyful Village Kermesse with numerous peasants feasting by Joost Cornelisz. Droochsloot. This picture is one of his largest and most successful pictures.

The sale also features a strong selection of early Netherlandish, Flemish and German paintings, including a delightful Virgin and Child with an apple by the Master of the Female Half-Lengths, and a portrait of the Elector Frederick II ‘the Wise’ of Saxony (1463-1525) by Lucas Cranach the Elder. This portrait is one of a number of portraits Cranach painted of his most important early patron, and was possibly commissioned by John Frederick the Magnanimous (1503-1554) in 1532.

Other highlights include an amusing Interior of a Guardroom by Jacob Duck, and an attractive View of the Weesperplein with the Weesperpoort in Amsterdam, by Isaak Ouwater.

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The forthcoming Swiss Art sale in Zurich includes a wide range of classic paintings by Switzerland’s most important artists such as Albert Anker, Alexandre Calame, Robert Zünd, Cuno Amiet, Ernest Biéler, Giovanni and Gottardo Segantini, Louis Soutter, Alberto Giacometti and Otto Morach. Works by Modern and Contemporary artists such as Max Bill, Daniel Spoerri, Andreas Rickenbacher also are featured.

The multifarious and outstanding selection reflects more than 150 years of Swiss Art. The most spectacular works in the sale includes a small group of paintings of women by the distinguished artists from the Swiss avant-garde at the early 20th century such as Ferdinand Hodler, Félix Vallotton and Augusto and Giovanni Giacometti. The top lots are a standing women in a blue dress with a dancing gesture, Fröhliches Weib (Joyful Woman), painted circa 1909 by Ferdinand Hodler, as well as Giovanni Giacometti’s Theodora from 1914, which depicts a beautiful naked woman laying on a canapé.

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