NEW YORK, 9 May 2016 – Simon Shaw, Co-Head, Worldwide, Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department, commented: “Tonight we saw a discerning and efficient market at work. Connoisseurs were drawn to works that displayed a key combination of unrivaled quality, great rarity and exceptional provenance. Such was the case with Auguste Rodin’s romantic marble sculpture L'Éternel Printemps, which inspired competitive and international bidding that drove the work to achieve $20.4 million – marking a new auction record for the artist. Tonight was the first time a marble of this subject has come to auction in over two decades, demonstrating the type of rarity that is a main driver of success in today’s market.”

Auguste Rodin’s Celebrated L’Éternel Printemps Achieves $20.4 Million / £14.2 Million / HK$159.1 — NEW AUCTION RECORD FOR THE ARTIST —

Maurice de Vlaminck's Fauve Landscape Sous-bois Brings $16.4 Million / £11.4 Million / HK$127.7 Million

Paul Signac’s Pointillist View of Saint-Tropez Sells for $10.7 Million / £7.4 Million / HK$83.2 Million — A Coveted ‘Opus’ Painting from 1892 —

- Tonight’s auction was led by Auguste Rodin’s L'Éternel Printemps, an iconic marble of embracing lovers which sold for $20.4 million -- marking a new auction record for the artist (estimate $8/12 million).
o Conceived in 1884 and carved in 1901-03 from a single block of marble, it ranks among Rodin’s most skillful renderings of embracing lovers.
o Tonight’sauctionofL’ÉternelPrintempsfollowsSotheby’sFebruary2016saleofIris, Messagère des dieux in London, which achieved a then-auction record for Rodin in GBP when it sold for £11.6 million / $16.7 million.

- Paintings were led by Maurice de Vlaminck’s explosive Fauve landscape, Sous-bois, sold for $16.4 million (estimate $12/18 million).
o Acquiredin1954byartpatronandphilanthropistSarahCampbellBlafferofHouston, Texas, it has remained in the family’s collection since.
o TheworkdepictsascenenearChatou,alongtheSeineinParis,whereVlamincklived at the time. o AnotherFauveworkfrom1906,HenriCharlesManguin’sLesOliviersàCavalièreset a new auction record for the artist at $1.2 million

- After a prolonged bidding battle, Paul Signac’s Pointillist view of Saint-Tropez, Maisons du port, Saint-Tropez, sold for $10.7 million (estimate $8/12 million). o The ‘Opus’ painting has remained in the family collection of Ambassador John Langeloth Loeb, Jr. since his parents acquired it in July 1958, and appeared at auction for the first time tonight.
o Paintedin1892,hisfirstyearvisitingthecoastaltown,Maisonsduport,Saint-Tropez was created at the peak of Signac's time as the leader of the Neo-Impressionist painters.

- Six works from the collection of prominent New York philanthropists Mamdouha & Elmer Holmes Bobst totaled $20.6 million, exceeding the group’s high estimate of $16.1 million o Led by Claude Monet’s Marée bassee aux Petites-Dalles, which soared to $9.9 million -- double its high estimate. o AssembledbytheBobstsinthe1960s,theircollectionofImpressionist&ModernArt has remained untouched for half a century. o TheImpressionist&ModernArtDaySaleon10Maywillfeature17furtherworksfrom the collection.

- An exquisite example of Claude Monet’s early Impressionist technique, Camille à l'ombrelle verte, sold for $9.4 million o Paintedin1876,itdepictshiswifeinthegardenoftheirfamilyhomeinArgenteuil. o An1883coastalscenebyMonet,PrèsMonte-Carlo,soldfor$7.1million,meetingits high estimate.