Leonora Carrington Takes Place As Most Valuable British-Born Woman Artist-Les Distractions de Dagobert Sells For Record-Shattering $28.5m at Sotheby’s
“An iconic painting, The Distractions of Dagobert, is one the most admired works in the history of surrealism and an unparalleled masterpiece of Latin American art. I was the underbidder when she reached the artist’s record 30 years ago and tonight once again, we made a new auction record! This masterpiece will be part of a collection where amongst other two important works by Remedios Varo and another record breaking Frida Kahlo are also found.” Eduardo F. Costantini, the founder of Malba, Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires – Fundación Costantini, and buyer of Les Distractions de Dagobert by Leonora Carrington
Record Achieved During Sotheby’s Modern Auction in New York Tonight:
- Lot 20, in a historic moment, Leonora Carrington’s Les Distractions de Dagobert, sold for a record-breaking $28.5m (est. $12-18m) after a ten minute bidding battle – smashing her former record of $3.3m, set at Sotheby’s in 2022
- New record price places Carrington within the top 5 most valuable women artists at auction, alongside Georgia O’Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, Louise Bourgeois, and Joan Mitchell & top 4 most valuable Surrealist artists at auction, overtaking Max Ernst and Salvador Dali
- It also makes Carrington the most valuable British-born woman artist at auction
- The painting was acquired by Eduardo F. Costantini, a renowned collector with a longstanding commitment to supporting Latin American art and artists. Costantini is the founder of Malba, Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires – Fundación Costantini
- Full press release available here for additional background
- Key Facts & Figures From Sotheby’s Modern Sale:
- Tonight’s Modern Evening Auction totaled $235.1m – near the top end of the pre-sale estimate ($180.9 – $250.7m) – and up on last season’s sale
- 96% sold by lot
- 8 works sell for more than $10m
- Buyers from Asia accounted for nearly quarter of tonight’s sale value: Lot 8 (Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Roses dans un vase de cristal), Lot 11 (Claude Monet, Meules à Giverny), Lot 13 (Claude Monet, Bennecourt), Lot 19 (Remedios Varo, Esquiador (Viajero), Lot 40 (Joan Miró, Personnage gothique, oiseau éclair), Lot 44 (Edvard Munch, Fjordlandskap (Fjord Landscape))
- Deep bidding: Alexander Calder (Lot 3) 6 bidders; Claude Monet (Lot 11) 3 bidders who chased for ten minutes, Remedios Varo (Lot 19) 4 bidders; Leonora Carrington (Lot 20) 6 bidders competed for 10 minutes; Édouard Manet (Lot 31) 4 bidders
Elsewhere in Tonight’s Sale:
- Lot 11, Claude Monet’s Meules à Giverny sold for $34.8m (est. in excess of $30m)
- Contested by three bidders for 8 minutes before selling on the phone to Jen Hua, Deputy Chairman, Sotheby’s Asia
- One of three canvases painted two years after the famous Haystack series (1890 – 91), and the only example from this moment remaining in private hands
- Appearing on the auction market for the first time in four decades (sold for $420,000 in 1983)
- An exceptional example from the last moment in which Monet depicts large haystacks, revisiting the subject with renewed energy, two years after completing his famed series
- Lot 3, Alexander Calder, Blue Moon, sold for $14.4m – doubling its low estimate (est. 7-10m)
- Blue Moon has the largest span of any Calder mobile (25 feet) to ever appear at auction
- Five determined bidders chased the work for over five minutes at its auction debut
- Lot 31, Édouard Manet’s Vase de fleurs, roses et lilas achieved $10.1m (est. $7-10m)
- Painted during the final years of Manet’s life, works from this series, which are among the final painting by the artist, are very rare to appear at auction, with only three other examples offered in the past 35 years
- Lot 39, Le Banquetby Rene Magritte sold for $18.1m (est. $15-20m)
One of only four paintings from Magritte’s Le Banquet series - Created in the late 1950s, each of the works features the motif of the setting sun in front of a copse of trees in a horizontal format
Momentum for Women Artists Surges:
- Following a strong showing for women artists in the Contemporary and The Now Evening Auctions on Monday, women artists continued to attract demand and achieve record prices.
- Women Surrealists: In addition to the standout result for Carrington’s Les Distractions de Dagobert, Carrington’s Who art thou, White Face? achieved $2.5m, with further works by Remedios Varo ($4.2m), and Leonor Fini ($445k) both selling tonight above their high estimates – bringing the group’s total to $35.6m, more than doubling their combined low estimate (est. $15m – $22.3m)
- Evening Sale debut for Sophie Taeuber-Arp: an exceptionally rare example of the artist’s relief works sold for $889,000 – the most significant work by the artist to appear at auction in 20 years
- The work had previously remained in the collection of noted Venezuelan modernist architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva and his family since its acquisition from Taeuber-Arp’s husband, celebrated sculptor Jean Arp, circa 1957
Celebrating Defining Art Historical Movements:
- 2024 marks historic milestones for the Impressionist and Surrealist movements: the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist exhibition and the 100th anniversary of the Surrealist Manifesto–both propelling radical changes in the history of art
- An Eye for Impressionism Collection:
- Among the moments celebrating the history of Impressionism was an exceptional group of 8 works from an important American estate, which totaled $47m
- Among the highlights was Claude Monet’s Meules à Giverny, which sold for $34.8m, alongside works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Le Sidaner, Claude Pissaro, Childe Hassam, and others
- 100% of Surrealist works on offer tonight sold, surpassing their combined high estimate.
