Christie’s achieved a combined total of €58,592,125 for the Paris Avant-Garde and Art Moderne sales during FIAC, with Nicolas de Staël’s masterpiece, Parc des princes (les grands footballeurs), making top billing.
Our Paris Avant-Garde sale kicked off the sale series on 17 October with a total of €46,389,500 and excellent sell-through rates of 91% by lot and 96% by value. On top of the record-breaking €20,000,000 for the de Staël painting, further successes included Picasso’s Mousquetaire, which sold for €3,464,000, and a Baule mask from Helena Rubinstein’s collection, which surpassed its pre-sale high estimate of €500,000 to reach €946,000 – a testament to the significant influence of African works of art on modern European art movements
On 18 October, our Art Moderne sale totalled €12,237,625, the highest result for this auction since its creation in 2016. The top lot was Paul Signac’s Les Andelys. Soleil couchant, Opus 135, which achieved €1,150,000 against a pre-sale high estimate of €450,000. The Musée d’Orsay acquired the self-portrait of Emile Bernard for €778,000, reaffirming the exceptional quality of works offered at Christie’s.