Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art sale on Tuesday night in New York showed that art collectors still love works by Picasso, Cezanne and others and are willing to pay. A painting by Cezanne of just apples went for nearly $42 million.
According to The New York Times, Sotheby’s managed to sell 60 of the 71 pieces that were up for auction during the sale, for a combined $230 million total. The works were owned by Alexander and Elisabeth Lewyt and their heirs finally decided to put them on the market. The heirs had donated most of their collection to the Museum of Modern Art, so what was left were up for grabs.
This included Les pommes, a painting by Cezanne that went for $41.6 million, even though, as the Times notes, Cezanne created even better works of apples during his career.
L’Amazone by Amedeo Modigliani skyrocketed to $25.92 million, while Berthe Morisot’s Femme à l'éventail surprisingly went for $4.36 million. Morisot is considered an underrated Impressionist and the Times speculates that if it weren’t a part of the Lewyt collection, it wouldn’t have reached that amount.
Forbes notes that Le Penseur, Taille de la Porte dit Moyen Modele by Auguste Rodin reached $15.2 million with buyer’s premium, the highest price for a cast of ‘The Thinker.’
Sotheby’s also sold a Fernand Leger painting owned by Madonna last night. It went for over $7 million and the proceeds will go to the pop star’s Ray of Light Foundation.