Never-before-seen works by Chagall exhibit in Paris ahead of a sale in London at the end of June
These unpublished works in shimmering colors, painted by Chagall between 1938 and 1984, have never been exhibited or put into circulation on the art market in their vast majority, since the death of the artist in 1985 in Saint-Paul. -de-Vence where he is buried, according to Christie’s. They are presented for the first time by the auction company, from May 13 to 17, 2022 at Christie’s Paris, before being sold in London on June 28.
All the symbols dear to the painter and to his singular dreamlike universe are present: the flying wedding couple, the horses, the rooster, the musicians, Judaism, the circus and the cities dear to his heart. They are part of an important fund of oils on canvas, works on paper, prints and books belonging to the estate of the painter, born in 1887 in Vitebsk, Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire, and who lived in Paris between the wars (1923-1939) then in the United States (1941-1947) where he went into exile before returning to France in 1948.
The six key works presented in Paris will be offered at auction in London with 16 other original works (oils and gouaches) on June 28 in duplex with Christie’s Paris. An online sale of a selection of books that belonged to the artist or that he participated in, as well as works on paper and reproductions, will be ordered at the same time, the auction house told AFP. .
Among the works presented in Paris, there are two oils on canvas, of which Couple and Violinistestimated between 1.4 million and 2.1 million euros and painted in the 70s by Chagall. another canvas, The Painter and the Married Three Colorsmade in 1984 by the painter then 97 years old, is estimated between 1.1 and 1.7 million euros. Four other works on paper, combining gouache, pastel, ink and pencil techniques, are estimated between 140,000 euros and 351,000 euros. Among them, one Study for the Red Horse (1938-1944) and a Rooster on red background (nineteen eighty one).
Other auctions of unpublished works collected in the collection are presented in the fall in Hong Kong, then again in Paris and New York, according to Christie’s, which did not wish to provide more details as to the total number of works. works includes in this fund belonging to the family patrimony of Chagall, and to its overall estimate.