Sotheby's will offer works from the collections of many leading Old Master dealers in two dedicated online sales, The Dealer's Eye: London and The Dealer's Eye: New York (June 18-25). Bringing together 39 internationally renowned dealers, each of whom has carefully selected three works for inclusion, the simultaneous sales will feature outstanding examples of Old Master and XNUMXth-century paintings and drawings.
Presenting over 66 lots representing 22 esteemed gallerists, The Dealer's Eye: London will feature works by masters including Jacopo Bassano, Thomas Gainsborough and Anthony Van Dyck, while The Dealer's Eye: New York will offer 51 works by artists including Govert Flinck and Elisabeth -Louise Vigée Le Brun, selected from the collections of 17 retailers. Being drawn from the inventories of industry leaders, each work has the highest backing in terms of taste, attribution and condition.
With galleries temporarily closed and art fairs postponed in light of current global circumstances, The Dealer's Eye offers an unprecedented opportunity to bring the wider Old Master community to new audiences through digital mediums and continues Sotheby's long tradition of collaboration in the sector. In the last two months alone, Sotheby's has held two successful online auctions dedicated to Old Masters dealers: in April, a collection of works from Rafael Valls' gallery more than tripled its pre-sale estimate to fetch £1,6m, while in May Refining Taste: Works Selected by Danny Katz saw a strong sell rate of 92%, with over 60% of lots selling above their high estimates.
Among the highlights of The Dealer's Eye: New York will be works from some of the city's leading galleries, including an elegant bust portrait of a young girl in ancient costume by Elisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun (estimate $60.000-80.000 ) delivered by Wildenstein & Co.; a beautiful pair of flower still lifes by 80.000th-century French painter Jean Michel Picart (estimate $120.000-70.000), consigned by Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts; and a full-length portrait of James Abbott McNeill Whistler, with his distinctive monocle and top hat, by 90.000th-century British artist Walter Greaves (estimate $60.000-80.000), consigned by Adam Williams Fine Art. The auction of New York also includes a number of works presented by European dealers, including an exuberant genre scene from Gerrit van Honthorst's Shepherdess Holding Plums, consigned by Salomon Lilian (estimate $70.000-90.000); and a French landscape painting of Fontainbleau Wood by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, delivered by Galerie Sanct Lucas, estimated at $XNUMX-XNUMX.
Running simultaneously, The Dealer's Eye: London will offer exceptional works consigned by distinguished dealers across Europe, including Antonio Ponce's jewel Still Life with Shells, offered by Caylus Gallery, Madrid (estimate £40.000-60.0000); a lively and colorful costume designed by Henri de Gissey delivered by Day & Faber (estimate £60.000-80.000), and an idyllic painting of the city of Florence and the Ponte alle Grazie by British painter Thomas Patch offered by Robilant Fine Art (estimate £200.000 -300.000). The sale also features a number of noteworthy portraits, such as the partially completed self-portrait of John Hamilton Mortimer, offered by the London-based Lowell Libson and Jonny Yarker (estimate £30.000-50.000); and Pseudo-Tommaso Salini's enigmatic Portrait of a Young Man as Bacchus, consigned by Benappi Fine Art, estimated to fetch £40.000-60.000.
