While not a designated historic American art sale, major works in this category do come to market during Christie’s 20/21 Marquis Week, a grouping of sales held each May and November, anchored by the 20th Century Evening Sale and the 21st Century Evening Sale. They feature the most valuable private collections and artworks “from the “revolutionary Impressionists to the cutting-edge artists of today,” and are Christie’s biggest moneymakers of the year. 

To put it in perspective, in 2024 Marquee Week raked in nearly $689 million, led by Rene Magritte’s L’empire des lumieres, which sold for a record-breaking $121.2 million. Among the most anticipated lots this year are works by Monet, Renoir, Matisse, Henry Moore, JMW Turner, Lucian Freud, Richard Diebenkorn, Joan Mitchell, David Hockney, Picasso, Ernst, Mondrian, Rothko and more.

Frederick Carl Frieseke (1874-1939), White Lilies, ca. 1911. Oil on canvas, 29 x 36½ in. Estimate: $1/1.5 million

 

Leading the 20th Century Evening Sale among the American artworks is Georgia O’Keeffe’s The Red Maple at Lake George, which has an estimate of $10 million to $15 million. Painted in 1926, and “employing a dramatic contrast of sensuous and angular forms, and bright red and cool gray hues, The Red Maple at Lake George demonstrates why, of all her Lake George subjects, the leaf pictures are perhaps her most personal and autobiographical statement that O’Keeffe left of her years in northern New York,” notes the lot essay by E.B. Coe.

Also on offer are three impressive canvases by John Singer Sargent from the Collection of Carol and Terry Wall. “Corner of the Church of San Stae, Venice, estimated at $6 to $8 million is a marvel of light that represents Sargent’s adoration for the city’s singular architecture,” says Quincie Dixon, American paintings specialist at Christies. “Gondolier’s Siesta, estimated at $2 to $3 million, is an extraordinary example of Sargent’s mastery of the watercolor medium and stands apart from his celebrated Venetian watercolors for its rare inclusion of figures so prominently depicted in the foreground. Capri, estimated at $4 to $6 million, was painted when Sargent was just 22 and represents an important departure from the society portraits that had garnered him fame.” 

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Corner of the Church of San Stae, Venice, 1913. Oil on canvas, 28¼ x 22 in. Estimate: $6/8,000,000 million

 

Childe Hassam (1859-1935), The Big Parade, 1917. Oil on board, 8 x 9 in. Estimate: $800/1,200,000

 

Several other auctions take place during Christie’s 20/21 Marquee Week, including the Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale, Post-War & Contemporary Sale and Impressionist and Modern Art Works on Paper.

Highlights in the Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale include Mary Cassatt’s Femme portant un bonnet noir et vert, cousant (est. $800/1,200,000); Frederick Carl Frieseke’s White Lilies (est. $1/1.5 million); and two works by Childe Hassam, including one of the artist’s flag paintings The Big Parade (est. $800/1,200,000), and the New York scene Flower Seller (est. $1/1.5 million).

With an estimate of $2 to $3 million, Jacob Lawrence’s Marble Players leads the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale.  

Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), The Marble Players, 1949. Tempera on board, 20 x 24 in. Estimate: $2/3,000,000 million

 

“The works of American art being offered in the November sales are noteworthy for their extraordinary quality and in some cases exceptional rarity, and also for their distinguished provenance,” says Dixon. “We are certain such important objects with such inspiring histories, will resonate with international clientele who come to Christie’s to acquire the best of the best during our marquee sales.”

20/21 Marquee Week is slated for mid-November. Visit Christie’s website for updates. —

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