Sotheby's to Sell $450m Blaquier-Arrieta Impressionist Collection, Van Gogh Could Break Auction Record
In November, Sotheby's New York will auction twelve Impressionist and Modern artworks from the Blaquier-Arrieta collection, with an estimated total value of approximately $450 million. Before the auction, five pieces will be showcased at Sotheby's London and then embark on an international tour. Notable highlights include Paul Cezanne's Harlequin (1888–90), valued at $120 million, and Vincent van Gogh's Châtaignier en fleurs roses et blanches (1890), estimated at $180 million. Additional pieces feature Camille Pissarro's La Place du Théâtre-Français (estimated at $30 million to $40 million) and Claude Monet's Le Jardin des Tuileries (estimated at $15 million to $20 million). Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier passed away in 2020, followed by Carlos Pedro Blaquier in 2023. Sotheby's has guaranteed the collection, though the amount remains undisclosed.
Key facts
- Twelve Impressionist and Modern paintings from the Blaquier-Arrieta collection will be auctioned at Sotheby's New York in November, expected to fetch around $450m.
- Five works are being unveiled at Sotheby's London before an international tour to Taipei, Hong Kong, and Paris.
- Paul Cezanne's late Harlequin (1888–90) is estimated around $120m, which would be a record for the artist at auction.
- Vincent van Gogh's Châtaignier en fleurs roses et blanches (1890) is estimated at $180m and could exceed the artist's auction record of $117m set in 2022.
- Seven of the 12 paintings were bought from the Lefevre Gallery on Bruton Street in the 1970s.
- The collection was assembled by Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier and Carlos Pedro Blaquier; Nelly died in 2020 and Carlos in 2023.
- A dispute with Argentinian customs over the export of about a dozen paintings to Luxembourg in 2023 was resolved earlier this year.
- Sotheby's guaranteed the collection; Helena Newman, chairman of Impressionist and Modern art, believes the Van Gogh could reach $200m or more.
Entities
Artists
- Paul Cezanne
- Camille Pissarro
- Claude Monet
- Maurice de Vlaminck
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Vincent van Gogh
- Pablo Picasso
- Paul Signac
- Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier
- Carlos Pedro Blaquier
- Helena Newman
- Paul Allen
- Paul Cézanne
- Edgar Degas
- Paul Gauguin
- Alfred Sisley
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
- André Derain
- Ambroise Vollard
- Paul Rosenberg
- Paul G. Allen
- Paul Cézanne fils
- Auguste Renoir
- Paul Cezanne's son Paul
- Gustav Klimt
- Marguerite Legrand
- Paul Cezanne fils
- Théo van Gogh
- Carlos Blaquier Arrieta
- Nelly Blaquier Arrieta
- Simon Shaw
- Nelly Arrieta
- Thomas Seydoux
- Alexander Reid
- Ernest Lefèvre
- Herminio Arrieta
- Marie Potard
- S. I. Newhouse
- Lewis
- Schlumberger
- Durand-Ruel
- Nelly Blaquier de Arrieta
- Henri Matisse
- Theo van Gogh
- Johanna van Gogh-Bonger
- Samuel Fischer
- Buddy DeSylva
- Harriet Harris-Jonas
- Victor Chocquet
- Felix Baumann
- Paul Cézanne Jr.
- Mary Cassatt
- Philip Hook
- George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva
Institutions
- Sotheby's
- Lefevre Gallery
- Christie's
- Guggenheim
- Royal Academy
- National Gallery
- Ledesma
- New York Times
- Friends of Argentina's National Museum of Fine Arts
- Wildenstein
- Durand-Ruel
- Musée d'Orsay
- Salon d'Automne
- MoMA
- Tate
- Blaquier-Arrieta collection
- Salon d'automne
- Beaux Arts
- Wildenstein Gallery
- Connaissance des Arts
- Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
- Artnet
- Le Journal des Arts
- L'ŒIL
- The Guardian
- Capitol Records
- Metropolitan Museum
- Merton Hall
- Rothschild family
- Artlyst
- Galerie Magazine
Locations
- Buenos Aires
- Argentina
- London
- United Kingdom
- New York
- United States
- Auvers-sur-Oise
- Paris
- France
- Taipei
- Taiwan
- Hong Kong
- Luxembourg
- Bruton Street
- La Biznaga
- Europe
- China
- Aix-en-Provence
- Collioure
- Saint-Rémy
- Cambridge
- Saint-Rémy-de-Provence