'Rare' 1910 oil painting grabs spotlight at auction
STORY: This ‘rare’ 1910 oil painting may steal the show at Christie’s spring auctions
‘Les Flamants’ by French post-impressionist Henri Rousseau is expected to fetch up to $30 million
Location: New York
[Max Carter, Christie's]
“The rarest painting in this sale, the rarest painting of this season, the rarest painting we’ll sell this year, I'd venture to say one of the two or three rarest paintings we've sold in the last 15 years, or will sell in the next 15 years, is a 1910 jungle masterpiece by Henri Rousseau.”
The tropical scene was envisioned by the self-taught artist, who never left France
"So, this is, this is immensely special for us. It's immensely special for the market. The last great jungle painting to sell privately or at auction was in the 1950s when MoMA bought "The Dream." So, it's been a good long while. The estimate today is $20 to $30 million."
Date: May 3, 2023
Other highlights in Christie’s spring sale include works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Pablo Picasso
