Auctions

Long Unseen Magritte Sells for $9.9 million at Bonhams

Amalia de Schulthess collection makes $15. 2 million with strong Giacometti sale

Bonhams sale of the collection of Amalia de Schulthess totaled $15.2 million in New York today. The bulk of the value of the collection lay in two works, a Magritte from 1937 that had not been seen in public for seven decades and a piece of furniture-cum-sculpture by Alberto Giacometti. 

The Magritte, Torse nu dans les nuages, made $9.978 million selling toward the high end of the estimate range. Among Magritte’s works, the price is the fourth highest for a work from the 1930s. But it is the highest price paid for a female torso, an important theme for the artist.

The Giacometti was estimated at $1.2 million hammer but sold for a robust $4.9 million premium price. The last time one of the 6 editions of this work was sold at auction, it made $2.09 million in 2002

Amalia de Schulthess grew up in Switzerland interacting closely with artist Paul Klee, a friend of her parents who were comitted art collectors. Klee had encouraged de Schulthess’s interest in creating her own art. She was further inspired by her friendship with, and patronage of, Piet Mondrian with whom she was re-acquainted in the US during World War II. 

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