Renoir's 'La femme aux lilas' from Whitney family collection to lead Christie's May sale with $25-35M estimate

On May 18, Christie's will feature Pierre-Auguste Renoir's 'La femme aux lilas (Portrait de Nini Lopez)' as the highlight of its 20th Century Evening Sale. This masterpiece is estimated to fetch between $25-35 million, making it a standout Impressionist piece and one of the most important Renoir works ever to be auctioned. The painting is part of Lorinda Payson de Roulet's collection, linked to the influential Whitney family. Her mother, Joan Whitney Payson, purchased the artwork in 1929, which initiated her passion for collecting. Joan was inspired by her parents, Helen Hay Whitney and William Payne Whitney, continuing a rich tradition of art collection, with connections to Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, founder of New York's Whitney Museum of American Art.