A Vincent van Gogh painting is expected to hammer for its $50 million high estimate at Christie’s Hong Kong on Thursday. It is being offered in the 20th/21st Century evening art sale that will inaugurate the house’s new Asia Pacific HQ, The Henderson.
Les canots amarrés (1887) – translated as The moored boats – is owned by Princess Camilla of Bourbon Two Sicilies. Christie’s hopes it will set the record for the most expensive painting sold in Asia.
To date, the most expensive Western painting sold in the region is Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Warrior (1982), sold in 2021 for $42 million by Christie’s.
“[Les canots amarrés] is very dear to my family and my family’s trust,” Princess Camilla, who is part of the House of Bourbon that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily from 1734 to 1861, told the South China Morning Post. “It’s a painting of incredible history in the very particular moment of the artist’s [career].”
Why did the princess decide to sell in Hong Kong as opposed to waiting for New York’s November auctions? Apparently, she was drawn to “the rapidly growing and dynamic Asian art market” and the “strong and expanding base of collectors who are increasingly interested in Western art.”
“I am very happy to imagine that in the new owner, the new place it will go, whether it’s for this person or museum, it will bring new joy to new people that will have the chance to see it,” she added.
Princess Camilla’s mother, the Italian actress Edy Vessel, bought Les canots amarrés for around $2 million at Sotheby’s in London in 1991.
Jacky Ho, the deputy head of department for 20th/21st century art at Christie’s Asia Pacific, said the painting is “renowned for its striking colors and intricate brushwork, characteristic of Van Gogh’s distinct style.”
Princess Camilla reportedly spent a decade at war with her sister wrangling over their mothers $130 million inheritance, but she said the Van Gogh painting is not related to the family feud.
“No, there are no legal proceedings at all,” she said.
Sotheby’s Hong Kong sold Van Gogh’s Still Life: Vase With Gladioli (1886) in 2021 for $9.11 million, setting a record for the artist in the region.
Christie’s 21st/20th Century evening sale on Thursday includes Claude Monet’s Nymphéas (circa 1897-1899) which has a high estimate of $35 million.
Paintings by Van Gogh and Monet rarely go to auction in Asia, so their inclusion may signal a change in strategy by Christie’s.
There have not been noteworthy sales in Hong Kong since the pandemic, and it takes time to rebuild the attention of international collectors,” art advisor Heiman Ng told the South China Morning Post. “If they see something familiar such as Monet sold not in New York or London, but Hong Kong, they may also notice other lots on offer here such as those by Asian artists.”
Thursday’s sale of 46 lots also features Triptyque (1980) by Zao Wou-Ki, which has a high estimate of $16.5 million.