Matisse leads Sotheby's $303.3m Modern art evening sale in New York

On May 19 in New York, Sotheby’s Modern evening auction achieved a total of $303.3 million, including fees, falling within the projected range of $244 million to $322.8 million. The highlight of the auction was Henri Matisse’s 1919 artwork La Chaise lorraine from the Barbier Mueller Collection, which sold for $48.4 million after a ten-minute bidding contest, making it the second most expensive Matisse painting ever sold at auction. Pablo Picasso’s Arlequin (Buste, 1909) from the Adele and Enrico Donati collection garnered $42.6 million, while Alberto Giacometti’s La Clairière (Composition avec neuf figures) from the Wingate collection fetched $23.1 million. Noteworthy results were also seen for works on paper by Mark Rothko, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Vincent van Gogh. Demand for female Surrealists Leonor Fini and Leonora Carrington was robust. Notably, Auguste Rodin’s Penseur Taille de la Porte was not sold, and Adolph Gottlieb’s Crescendo was withdrawn. This auction marked Sotheby’s highest Modern Evening Auction result since November 2022, featuring five single-owner collections.