Tamara de Lempicka put Women in Glory

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Tamara de Lempicka is along with Picasso the star of the modern art sales of next month in New York. Her love of freedom, from the 1920s, and the portraits of women she painted at that time make her increasingly one of the best symbols of the woman artist.

Three paintings are in competition for the highest price recorded on a work of Lempicka. We see at Sotheby's on May 5 the Portrait de la Duchesse de la Salle, 162 x 97 cm, 1925, and the Portrait de Marjorie Ferry, 100 x 65, 1932, each estimated $ 4 million. The next day, May 6, at Christie's, the Portrait de Madame M, 100 x 65 cm, 1932, is estimated $ 6 million.

Female portraits made by Lempicka are powerful, with clean lines and colors that can be compared to the French Cubists including André Lhote. Her sitters have a strong and not necessarily easy personality, that the artist reinforces by a darkening of the face at eye level. This feature of the Portrait de Madame M makes this painting comparable to the Portrait of Mrs. Bush, 122 x 66 cm, 1929, which sold $ 4.6 million charge included in Christie's on May 4, 2004.

Marjorie is represented as a blonde goddess in an antique draped and architecture, with a naked back. She turns to us for aguiche.

The Duchesse de La Salle, dressed for horse riding, open collar, is a surprisingly modern representation of the Woman.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Tamara de Lempicka has well begun the week. The goddess was a little more expensive than the modern duchess, respectively at $ 4.9 and 4.4 million including premium, thus very close to the estimates.

A third painting, 92 x 47 cm, obtained an excellent result: $ 3 million premium included for a portrait of a girl holding her teddy bear tightly against her, with a watering can in her other hand.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

At Christie's, it was even better. The press release announced that the sale at $ 6.1 million premium included of the portrait of Madame M is a record for the artist.

An excellent result was also obtained on a small painting, 41 x 32 cm. Entitled La Chemise Rose, it shows a young woman with bare chest. Estimated $ 1.3 million, it sold $ 3.2 million including premium.