The Little Sargent Watercolor That Sold for $7M

"Though last night's 20th Century Evening Sale at Christie's, the first of New York City's fall marquee week, was by all accounts a successful auction, there were not many surprises. It was not exactly shocking that the night's top lot, a desirable flame-colored Rothko from the Weis Collection, went for $62 million. Few eyebrows were raised when Matisse's "Figure et bouquet (Tete ocre)," already requested by MoMA for a show next year, climbed from $10 million to $13 million in seconds, eventually fetching three times that."

"The sale of "Gondolier's Siesta" (1902-03), which set a new record for a work on paper by the artist, accounted for just one percent of the auction's $690 million total. Yet it briefly disrupted the narrative of market doom and gloom, rarely punctuated by anything other than splashy big-ticket items, proving that collectors are still willing to wave their paddles for an exquisite little specimen that checks the boxes of provenance, condition, and quality."

""Many Sargent watercolors, rather like Matisse oils, are wonderful, but they have a small imperfection or flaw," said the winning bidder, art advisor Ray Waterhouse on behalf of a private client, in a phone call from a taxi on his way back to Christie's this morning. "The Matisse might have slightly unbeautiful hands or arms. We are not asking for perfection," he continued. "But this was just perfect in every way.""

Christie's 20th Century Evening Sale in New York achieved strong results led by a flame-colored Rothko that sold for $62 million and a Matisse that rose quickly to triple its estimate. Lot 19, John Singer Sargent's 14-by-20-inch watercolor 'Gondolier's Siesta' (1902–03), hammered at $6 million ($7.2 million with fees) and set a new record for a work on paper by the artist. The Sargent sale, though only one percent of the $690 million total, galvanized the room and signaled continued collector appetite for small, well-provenanced, high-quality works. Buyer Ray Waterhouse described the Sargent as 'perfect in every way.'

Read at Hyperallergic