Hundreds of art lovers queued in Hong Kong on Tuesday to view a Vincent van Gogh painting that has not been publicly exhibited for more than six decades.
The artwork, titled Châtaigniers en fleurs or Chestnut Trees in Blossom, will go under the hammer at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on November 18. Experts expect it to fetch around $180 million.
The sale will test the strength of the high-end art market. Collectors continue to compete for rare, highly sought-after works despite wider economic uncertainty.
Van Gogh Masterpiece Could Set Auction Record
Van Gogh painted Chestnut Trees in Blossom in May 1890. The work belongs to the Dutch artist’s final period in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, where he died about two months later at the age of 37.
Scott Niichel, from Sotheby’s modern and contemporary art department in New York, said the painting could set a new auction record for a Van Gogh work.
“This is a moment of extraordinary optimism, frenetic energy, enthusiasm, passion, and colour in the artist’s body of work,” he said.
Works from Van Gogh’s final period in Auvers-sur-Oise rarely appear on the market. As a result, the upcoming sale is expected to attract collectors, museums and investors.
Van Gogh created these works after leaving a psychiatric asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
Art Lovers Queue to See Rare Painting
Li Shanshan, a 50-year-old art enthusiast, travelled around two and a half hours from Shenzhen to see the painting in Hong Kong.
“I’d never heard of this painting before, so I wanted to see it with my own eyes,” she said.
The painting features a large chestnut tree in full bloom. Its flowering canopy dominates the composition.
The work forms part of a collection of 12 pieces that have rarely been seen publicly. The group also includes paintings by Paul Cézanne and Claude Monet.
Sotheby’s unveiled five of the works in London in late September. These included Cézanne’s Arlequin and Monet’s Le Jardin des Tuileries.
Painting Passed Through Several Notable Collections
After Van Gogh died in July 1890, the painting passed to his brother, Theo. It later went to Theo’s widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, and their son, Vincent Willem.
German publisher Samuel Fischer, founder of S. Fischer Verlag, subsequently owned the artwork. It then entered the collection of George “Buddy” DeSylva, an American songwriter, film producer and co-founder of Capitol Records.
Collector Harriet Harris-Jonas acquired the painting in 1953. Her art collection was so significant that New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art arranged visits for patrons to view works in her Fifth Avenue apartment.
In 1975, the Blaquier family acquired the painting from the art dealer Wildenstein.
Now, after decades away from public view, the work is set to return to the spotlight. Its November auction will offer a rare opportunity to acquire a painting from one of the most important periods of Van Gogh’s career.
