Sotheby’s announced a blockbuster November auction in New York that will feature two of the most coveted works in the Impressionist and Post‑Impressionist market. A previously unseen Vincent van Gogh painting, titled “Chataignier en fleurs roses et blanches,” is expected to fetch around $180 million, while Paul Cézanne’s vibrant “Arlequin” is estimated at roughly $120 million.
Historic collection on the market
The two masterpieces belong to the Blaquier‑Arrieta collection, held by the family since the 1970s. The auction will also include ten additional works, such as a Monet and a Renoir, marketed by Sotheby’s as the “El Dorado” of private art collections. If the top lots achieve their estimates, the sale could exceed $450 million in less than an hour.
Family legacy and controversy
The collection was assembled by the late Argentine businessman Carlos Pedro Blaquier and art patron Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier. Their children are now selling the works after the parents’ deaths in 2020 and 2023. Blaquier, a former sugar‑mill president, faced allegations of crimes against humanity during Argentina’s 1976‑83 military dictatorship, which he denied and was never convicted of before his death.
Why the auction matters
Helena Newman, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, called the group “one of the greatest remaining collections of Impressionist and Post‑Impressionist art in private hands,” likening it to a “mini Musée d’Orsay.” She noted that the sale represents a generational shift as collections built in the 1960s‑80s come to market.
Both works have not been publicly displayed for about fifty years. The Van Gogh piece, created in the final months of the artist’s life in Auvers‑sur‑Oise, will travel to Hong Kong for a preview before the New York auction. The Cézanne painting, part of a set of four Harlequin works, is the only one still in private hands.
Market context
Breaking auction records for both artists on the same night would echo Christie’s 2022 sale of Paul Allen’s collection, which set previous records of $117 million for Van Gogh’s “Verger avec cyprès” and $137.7 million for Cézanne’s “La Montagne Sainte‑Victoire.” The upcoming sale underscores the role of high‑end art as a “safety net” during economic uncertainty.
Collectors with the means to acquire museum‑quality pieces see this as a rare opportunity to compete for works that have long been out of public view.
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
