It was the sale that all enthusiasts, finally back in auction houses in New York after two years of the pandemic, were waiting above all for everything.
The famous Cox collection, named after the Texas industrialist who died in 2020 (Ed Cox) who brought together the best of the Impressionists, was likely to panic the counters, Thursday evening, at Christie's.
In the opinion of specialist Thomas Seydoux, formerly of the house who set up his own practice in Paris, this collection was "
one of the most beautiful and most important of the last fifty years to come at auction, for the quality and freshness
oeu
lips proposed
. "
And obviously, a very important test for the market which, however, has shown no signs of weakness with the Covid-19.
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The high point of this collection which aligns the prestigious names of Impressionism: the
Young Man at his Window
by Gustave Caillebotte which was purchased for $ 53 million (including fees) by the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The latter welcomed the purchase of this "
masterpiece of modern urban realism of the 19th century (...) considered to be the most important painting by the French impressionist still in private hands
". He announced that he will exhibit the canvas (116 x 81 cm) from 2022. "
A consecration like this was missing, in a public sale and in addition with a destination which is a very large museum"
, added Guillaume Cerutti , Managing Director of Christie's.
Young Man at His Window,
Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894), (116 x 81 cm.) Christie's images limited
This
Young Man at the Window
thus shatters the record of the French painter who had not exceeded 22 million dollars, with
Chemin Rising,
at Christie's in London in 2019. In 2003, the painting was sold for 6.8 million. of dollars.
Famous for his
Planeurs de parquet
preserved in Orsay - which museum received as a donation, two years ago, five of his works via the will of an unknown resident of Levallois -, Caillebotte has become the darling of the market because he is rare, very rare, much more than a Monet or Renoir.
Collector and friend of his two most famous figures of Impressionism, Caillebotte has always been apart.
To rural subjects, he prefers those of the city that he captures in compositions with framing that will make his notoriety.
Even if he has caught up with this new record, his rating is still far from that of Monet: $ 110 million for a canvas from the most sought-after series of the
Meules
(around 98.7 million euros), in 2010, at Sotheby's, New York.
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In the record series, a gouache and watercolor on paper by Van Gogh, soared to $ 35.8 million.
The work had been seized by the Nazis during World War II and had disappeared, before being bought by Ed Cox.
Christie's had specified before the sale that an agreement had been made with the heirs of Max Meirowsky and those of Alexandrine de Rothschild, to whom this gouache had successively belonged.
Paul Cézanne's
L'Estaque aux toits rouges went
for $ 55.3 million.
With only 23 lots, the Cox collection (100% sold!) Totaled $ 332 million.
A sale "in white gloves" where the auctions have rocketed from all sides, with "
21 telephone lines from around the world"
said Adrien Meyer, director of the private sales department of Christie's in New York and co-director of the Impressionist and Modern sector.
This success portends the best for the even more anticipated sale, on November 15, under the hammer of Sotheby's, of the very famous Macklowe collection.
Sold in two stages, in the fall and in the spring, the whole, solidly guaranteed by the house of Patrick Drahi, should exceed $ 600 million.
And thus beat the record for the Rockefeller collection which totaled $ 828 million after three days of relentless sales in 2018 at Christie's in New York.