Yesterday at London auction house Sotheby's evening auction held Impressionist and Modern, and a separate auction of Surrealist art. The sum total of two auctions was 121 million pounds ($ 190 million), of which 104.4 million pounds (164 million dollars) is for Impressionist and modern art, and 16.67 million pounds (26.2 million dollars) - in a surreal string. Percentage of lots sold at both auctions was 85%, in the first case, 34 out of 40 works found buyers, and the second were sold 18 of 21 lots Surrealists.

• Pablo Picasso A woman sitting by a window. 1932
  Sotheby's. 05.02.2012
  Estimate: 25-35 million pounds
  Result: 28.6 million pounds
  Source: Press Release Sotheby's

Picasso painting "Woman Seated at the window" (1932), depicting the artist's mistress Marie-Therese Walter, was bought for 28.6 million pounds ($ 45 million ). Result in the estimate of 25-35 million pounds was quite predictable. Portraits of Marie-Thérèse period of her secret meetings with the artist in the Chateau de Buazhelu are always in demand by collectors. Relating to the same 1932 painting "Reading" in February 2011, was sold for 40.7 million . At the auction in November 2012 with «Still Life with Tulips" (and sculptural bust of Marie-Therese Walter) of the same year a new owner in cost 41.5 million dollars . And finally, the absolute record price for a work by Picasso also owned the painting in 1932 with the image of his blond muse. This, of course, is a cubist canvas " Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, "sold in May 2010 for 106.5 million dollars .

• Egon Schiele Lovers
  (Self-Portrait with Wally). 1914-1915
  Sotheby's. 5.02.2013
  Estimate: 6,5-8,5 million pounds
  Result: 7.88 million pounds
  Source: Press Release Sotheby's

Three drawings by Egon Schiele in the Leopold Museum's collection brought a total of 14 million pounds (22 million dollars). Gouache and pencil work "Lovers (Self-Portrait with Wally)" set a new record for the graphics of this Austrian artist: while the estimate 6.5-8.5 million pounds of work bought for 7.88 million pounds (12.4 million dollars). "Self-portrait with eyes closed in the green shirt" (1914-1915) doubled its estimate 1.8-2.5 million pounds and got a new owner for 5 million pounds (7.99 million dollars).

Vienna Leopold Museum, founded by the late collector Rudolf Leopold, has one of the world's finest collections of works by Egon Schiele. In recent years, this is the museum supplies for auction of Impressionist and Modern outstanding works by Schiele. For example, paintings by Egon Schiele «Houses with colorful laundry. Suburb II »from the Museum Leopold in June 2011 at Sotheby's brought $ 40 million (a record for a painting by Schiele). Selling a very good collection of exhibits might seem surprising, if not well-known reasons for the museum to let the hammer their work. Since the late 1990s, a collection of Rudolf Leopold surrounded scrutiny heirs of Jewish collectors - the Holocaust. Some of the meeting are clean no provenance, they were stolen by the Nazis in pre-war owners, and then overbought Rudolf Leopold, not much delve into the history of those years in existence works. In the late 1990s, a collector encountered the restitution claims. One of the best pieces of work from the collection of Schiele - "Portrait of Wally" - has been arrested in the U.S. for a temporary exhibition. Initially collector denied pandering acquiring the stolen goods, but in the end the heirs Leah Bondi Yaray yet to prove their rights to the picture. to post a "Portrait of Wally" in the museum, for it is obliged to pay compensation to $ 19 million . After the death of Rudolf Leopold in 2010 for settlement of restitution disputes took his son Ditard . Already during his the heirs Jenny Steiner bought the rights to view Schiele "Houses on the sea» ( the exact amount of compensation is not known, but it is a total of about $ 15 million). Presumably this is to pay compensation and will go with the proceeds from the sale of paintings by Schiele at Sotheby's.

• Claude Monet Frost in Giverny. 1885
  Sotheby's. 5.02.2013
  Estimate: 4-6 million pounds
  Result: 8.77 million pounds
  Source: Press Release Sotheby's

In yesterday's string of Impressionist and Modern sale is also worth noting the work of Claude Monet's "Water Lilies. Green reflection "for 9 million pounds (14.16 million dollars), the only phone buyer. The result was even lower than the estimate of 12-18 million pounds. But another work by Monet, without pads, but with snow-covered trees, in contrast, estimate exceeded. Winter Landscape "Rime in Giverny" in 1885 from the collection of the English Earl Jersey was estimated at 4.6 million pounds, and was sold for 8.77 million pounds (13.8 million dollars).

pastel by Edgar Degas' After the bath (wipes woman) "significantly exceeded the estimate 2.5-3.5 million pounds and sold for 7.7 million pounds (12.2 million dollars). This bed was in the artist's studio until his death in 1917.

• Joan Miró A woman who dreams of escape. 1945
  Sotheby's. 05.02.2012
  Estimate: 8.12 million pounds
  Result: 8.44 million pounds
  Source: Press Release Sotheby's

Fresh for the art market work by Joan Miro "The woman who dreams of escape" in 1945 has been sold for 8.44 million pounds (13.2 million dollars). This is the first appearance of the picture at auction in the last 50 years. Collectors Miriam and Ira David Wallach got the job a year after it was written in the art dealer Miro - Pierre Matisse.

Prepared Maria Onuchina, AI

Sources : Press Release Sotheby's, artinvestment.ru