SOTHEBY'S
Press Release
SOTHEBY'S TO SELL THREE IMPRESSIONIST WORKS
CONSIGNED BY THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON
TO BENEFIT ACQUISITION FUNDS
TWO PASTELS BY DEGAS AND A PAINTING BY RENOIR WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE
MAY 6, 2003 EVENING SALE OF IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART IN NEW YORK
Sotheby's May 6, 2003 evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art will
feature three outstanding works by Edgar Degas and Pierre-Auguste Renoir
being sold by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) to benefit acquisition
funds. Danseuse and Danseuses près d'un portant, two exceptional examples of
Degas' ballet theme, and Gabrielle et Coco jouant aux dominos, a charming
scene by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, are together expected to bring $12.7/17.1
million.
Charles Moffett, Co-Chairman of Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art
Department Worldwide, said: "Sotheby's is honored to have been entrusted
with the sale of these works on behalf of one of America's great museums,
which is renowned for its significant holdings of Impressionist art. Both
Degas works in our sale are classic explorations of the world of dance for
which the artist is celebrated, the Renoir is a charming and playful
depiction of the artist's son."
"We are fortunate to have a world renowned collection of Impressionist art
at the MFA," said Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston. "Boston collectors were among the first to appreciate
the revolutionary developments of nineteenth-century French art, and
consequently, the MFA amassed remarkable holdings of these works. The
proceeds from this sale will benefit future acquisitions for the MFA's Art
of Europe department."
The two works by Edgar Degas - Danseuse and Danseuses près d'un portant -
are both concerned with ballet themes but differ markedly in style and
approach. As early as the 1860s there is evidence that Degas was fixated on
the rarefied world of dance and theater. For the next two decades the
theaters on the rue Le Peletier were to become indispensable to Degas'
social and working life. Not only were the practice rooms and the stage
productions the subject of many of his most important works during this
period but many of his closest friends were either musicians or abonnés of
the opera. Degas' earliest ballet pictures were much like his carefully
documented studies of the racing world, laundries, cafés and cabarets of the
same period. From the subdued, dedicated atmosphere of the rehearsal room,
Degas gradually moved to the stage itself, viewing performances from the
wings as well as from a variety of positions in front of the stage.
Danseuse, circa 1880, is a beautiful pastel in fresh, crisp condition which
demonstrates the artist's mastery of strong color. Described by Mr. Moffett
as "one of the greatest of Degas' images of dancers that has been on the
market," it depicts a young, graceful dancer as she is about to take her
bow. Her softly rounded form is bathed in a warm, flattering light as she
is silhouetted against a richly-colored backdrop. This luminous pastel,
which is completely and fully realized, is estimated to sell for $9/12
million.
Danseuses près d'un portant was executed circa 1888. This finely worked
study of two dancers in the wings, one holding a fan and the other leaning
against the stage set, belongs to an extended family of works executed by
Degas over a period in the late 1880s and 1890s. By the middle of the 1880s
Degas was spending an increasing amount of time in his studio at 37, rue
Victor Masse. In these final decades the stimulus came not from particular
performers and moments - whether in the practice room or on the stage - but
from memory. From the vast trove of possible movements, certain poses and
groupings of figures became the focus of his attention, themes that became
the subject of an infinite number of variations. Thus the two dancers in
Danseuses pres d'un portant can be recognized in numerous works, ranging
from preliminary charcoal studies of the two figures, both nude and clothed,
to larger frieze-like compositions such as Danseuses dans les coulisse,
circa 1897-1901, now at the St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri. This pastel is
estimated at $2.5/3.5 million.
Gabrielle et Coco jouant aux dominos by Pierre-Auguste Renoir was painted in
1905. Born in 1901, Claude (nicknamed Coco) was Renoir's third son and for
the first ten years of his life was one of his father's favorite models. In
this painting, Coco is seated at a table playing dominoes, watched over by
Gabrielle (Gabrielle Renard), the faithful housemaid/model who had joined
the Renoir household in 1895. Although small in scale, this work was
prepared with as much deliberation as the most ambitious of Renoir's
compositions, as can be seen from the existence of several preliminary
studies. This charming depiction is estimated to sell for $1.2/1.6 million.
"The works that the MFA is deaccessioning are of superb quality and
provenance, and would be important acquisitions for any museum or private
collection," said George Shackelford, Chair, Art of Europe at the MFA. "The
MFA is in the extremely fortunate position of retaining in its collection
other distinguished Degas pastels of dancers and landscapes, as well as
many other major works in oil and pastel by Renoir."
The MFA's collection of European art includes one of the finest holdings of
Impressionist works in the world. In addition to the works being sold at
Sotheby's public auction, the MFA's collections of paintings, sculpture, and
works on paper include 71 works by Degas and 38 works by Renoir. Among
these works are other examples of Degas' dancers including Ballet Dancer
with Arms Crossed, 1872 (oil on canvas), Dancers Resting, 1881-1885 (pastel)
and Dancers in Rose, about 1900 (pastel), and a cast of his Little
Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer, 1878-81, cast after 1922 (bronze). Similarly, the
MFA owns such renowned figurative paintings by Renoir as Woman with a
Parasol and Small Child on a Sunlit Hillside, about 1874-76 (oil on canvas),
Dance at Bougival, 1883, (oil on canvas) and Girl Picking Flowers in a
Meadow, about 1890 (oil on canvas).
# # #
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, founded in 1870, is recognized for the
quality and scope of its encyclopedic collection, which includes an
estimated 350,000 objects. In addition to European paintings, sculpture,
and decorative arts, the Museum's collection is composed of works in the
following areas: Art of the Americas; Contemporary Art; Art of Asia, Oceania
and Africa; Art of the Ancient World; Prints, Drawings and Photographs;
Textiles and Fashion Arts; and Musical Instruments.
Beeldmateriaal van de drie werken is beschikbaar
Met vriendelijke groet,
Diana Ridderikhoff
Press Office / Marketing
Sotheby's Amsterdam
De Boelelaan 30, 1083 HJ Amsterdam
T. +31 20 550 2205 F +31 20 550 2310
E: diana.ridderikhoff@sothebys.com
