Christie's vs Sotheby's: Van Gogh and Pollock Headline May Auctions in New York

The May auction season in New York is set to feature two major lots from Christie's and Sotheby's. Christie's will offer Vincent van Gogh's "Vue de l'Asile et de la Chapelle de Saint-Rémy" (1889) on May 15, estimated to potentially double its 2012 sale price of $16 million. The painting, depicting the exterior of the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Provence, was previously owned by Elizabeth Taylor. Sotheby's will counter on May 16 with Jackson Pollock's "Number 32" (1949), estimated at $30-40 million, from a private New York collection. The Pollock, part of a rare series of 16 works on paper mounted on canvas, aims to surpass the artist's record of $58 million set by "Number 19" in 2013. The painting was previewed at Art Basel in Hong Kong and will tour Los Angeles and London before the sale. Both auctions underscore New York's dominance in the art market, following record sales like Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi" ($450 million at Christie's) and Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Untitled" (1982) ($110 million at Sotheby's).