'Figures in a Garden' by late renowned Vietnamese painter Le Pho has been sold for HK$17.9 million (2.3 million USD) at Sotheby's Hong Kong’s modern and contemporary art evening sales, nearly six times the pre-sale estimate. (Photo courtesy of Sotheby's) The work has been sold for 17.9 million HKD (2.3 million USD) at Sotheby'sHong Kong’s modern and contemporary art evening sales, nearly six times thepre-sale estimate.
Earlier, Nude, an oil-on-canvaspainting featuring a nude woman by Le Pho was sold for nearly 1.4 million USDat an auction at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2019 and became his most expensivework at that time.
Figures in a Garden, an oil-in-canvas paintingmeasuring 75x209cm, was part of a private American collection. Le Pho’ssignature in both Vietnamese and Chinese can be seen in the lower right of thepainting.
The painting was purchased from the Wally Findlay Gallery in Palm Beach,the US, in 1973, belonging to a private collection before being put underthe hammer. Its sale marks the second-highest price ever paid for a piece ofVietnamese art.
Previously,Mai Trung Thu’s oil on canvas entitled Portraitde Mademoiselle Phuong (Portrait of Mademoiselle Phuong) was alsoauctioned in Hong Kong for a record price of 3.1 million USD in April 2021.
“Figures in a Garden is the largestknown composition by the celebrated artist, and the only three-panelled canvascomposition to surface in the market. Grand in scale and painted with avibrant, jovial palette, the present work features six life-sized figuresbasking in a blanket of yellow sunshine, ensconced within a plethora of floraand foliage in a garden. Figures in a garden dates to the artist’s prolificFindlay period, named after Wally Findlay Galleries, the gallery thatrepresented Le Pho and Vu Cao Dam from 1963 onwards. The works from this periodare characterised by vivacious tones and large oil-on-canvas compositions thatappealed to the American collector base,” wrote Sotheby’s on its website.
“The artist skillfully imbues the composition with a sense of depth byincluding a maiden with cascading, black hair daydreaming in the distance. Sheappears almost suspended in mid-air, bringing a surreal quality to the work.”
Bornon August 2, 1907, in Hanoi, Le Pho was a prominent Vietnamese painter whodeveloped a successful and prolific career in France, with thousands ofartworks to his credit. His works are keenly hunted by art collectors all overthe world.
The images of Vietnamese women in ao dai (Vietnamesetraditional dress) were the painter’s endless inspiration and frequentlyfeatured in his works, which also demonstrate his nostalgia for his homelandduring his years living abroad.
In France where Le Pho lived and worked, he soon became popular in the early1930s when his first works were exhibited and warmly received by the French artcritics and enthusiasts.
In his paintings, the artist always portrayed the most beautiful, elegant,sincere and purest images of Vietnamese women, thereby expressing his love andadmiration as well as his thoughts and feelings.
Theimages of Vietnamese women depicted in the early stages of his paintings(1934-45) were often fragile, elegant, and gentle. In the next period, sincethe 1950s, his oil paintings still put women at the centre but integrated moreliberal features.
Atauctions of paintings by two of the world's most prestigious auction houses,Christie's and Sotheby's, works by Le Pho have received great attention fromcollectors and constantly set price records.
He is the first Vietnamese artist to have paintings sold for 1 million USD andbeyond at public auctions. Some of his typical artworks include The Family Life which fetched over 1million USD, Nude which wassold at 1.4 million USD and ASelf-Portrait In The Forest for 1.052 million USD./.
VNA
