A rare painting from René Magritte’s renowned “L’empire des lumières” series is expected to sell for over $95 million at Christie’s New York auction this fall. This sale would not only break the Surrealist artist’s auction record but also represent a significant triumph for the auction house, which has faced softened sales across the industry.
Painted in 1954, this particular piece is one of 27 in which Magritte explored the interplay of light, depicting a sunlit sky above a shadowy street scene. The anticipation for this auction is heightened by a previous sale from the same series, which in 2022 nearly tripled Magritte’s earlier record when it fetched £59.4 million (approximately $79.7 million) at Sotheby’s in London.
The current painting is from the estate of the late Mica Ertegun, an interior designer married to Ahmet Ertegun, co-founder of Atlantic Records and a well-known art collector. Other notable works in her collection include pieces by iconic artists such as Joan Miró, David Hockney, and even a Polaroid taken by Andy Warhol featuring Ertegun herself.
Max Carter, Christie’s vice chairman of 20th and 21st-century art, remarked on the significance of the piece: “But of all the works she lived with, Magritte’s ‘L’empire des lumières’ most nearly captures her aesthetic philosophy in its balance and restraint. An icon of Surrealism, the Ertegun Magritte is arguably the finest, most deftly rendered, and hauntingly beautiful of the series. Like Mica’s eye, it is perfect.”
A dedicated evening sale featuring Ertegun’s collection is scheduled for November 19 in New York, accompanied by subsequent daytime auctions and two online sales. A substantial portion of the proceeds is earmarked for philanthropic initiatives, reflecting Ertegun’s commitment to various causes during her lifetime, including the Graduate Scholarship Programme in the Humanities at Oxford University, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the World Monuments Fund.
Despite reporting a 22% year-on-year drop in total revenue from live and online auction sales during the first half of 2024, Christie’s achieved a total of $2.1 billion worldwide, with metrics like sell-through rates remaining robust. Recently, the auction house announced its acquisition of Gooding & Company, a collector car auctioneer, marking its return to the car market after a 17-year absence.
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