A painting by Le Pho sold for $2.37 million.

The painting "Family in the Garden" by renowned artist Le Pho sold for $2.37 million (over 55 billion VND) at Sotheby's auction on the evening of April 5th. The price, including fees, was set during the 50th Anniversary Contemporary Evening Auction, celebrating Sotheby's 50 years in the Asian market.

"Family in the Garden" (La famille dans le jardin), ink and watercolor on silk, measuring 91.3 x 61.5 cm, depicts a woman in a white dress sitting and sewing on a bench in a garden, with a child reading beside her. In the distance, three people in traditional clothing are performing various tasks. The work was created around 1938 and bears the artist's signature and seal in the lower right corner. The painting comes with a certificate of authenticity provided by the artist's son.

The buyer was an anonymous collector who bid by telephone. The work was previously auctioned at Christie's Singapore in March 1999.

Collector Do Viet Tuan, who followed the online auction, commented that the price of $2.37 million was not too surprising. “This is the only silk painting Le Pho created after graduating from the Indochina College of Fine Arts until his death. Furthermore, the painting is large in size, well-preserved, and intact after 85 years, so it easily surpasses the million-dollar mark,” Do Viet Tuan said. In addition, the collector highly appreciated the family theme and the poetic, rural Northern Vietnamese atmosphere depicted in the painting.

The painting "Family in the Garden". Photo: Sotheby's

According to Sotheby's, the painting resembles a photograph, showcasing Le Pho's vivid technique and imagination. Similar to French Impressionist paintings, Le Pho's work evokes privacy and leisure in an outdoor setting. The layered, expansive composition creates depth. He pays attention to small details such as plants and animals. This is the second large-scale silk painting by Le Pho to appear at auction.

The artwork is on display at the auction house. Photo: Sotheby's

"Family in the Garden" became the second highest-priced artwork in Vietnamese art auction history, after Mai Trung Thu's "Portrait of Miss Phuong" which sold for $3.1 million. Le Pho is also the Vietnamese artist with the most million-dollar paintings – six works. Previously, "Figures in the Garden" fetched $2.28 million at Sotheby's in 2022. "The et Sympathie" sold for $1.36 million (32.4 billion VND) in October 2022.

The painting "Girl with a Scarf" sold for $1.1 million at Christie's Hong Kong auction in May 2021. The painting "Nude" fetched $1.4 million at the "20th Century & Contemporary Art" auction in May 2019. The painting "Family Life" sold for $1.1 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong in April 2017.

Le Pho was born in 1907 in the former Ha Dong province. He was a master painter in Vietnam and internationally , with many valuable works. He is hailed as "a renowned Vietnamese painter in France." His name is among the four great masters of Vietnamese painting, alongside Mai Trung Thu, Le Thi Luu, and Vu Cao Dam. From 1937, he moved to France and resided there until his death in 2001 in Paris.

Le Pho's painting "Figures in the Garden" fetched $2.38 million. Photo: Sotheby's

The 50th Anniversary Contemporary Evening Auction features 43 works by major contemporary painters from around the world and Asia, including Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Yoshitomo Nara, Joan Miro, Ngô Quán Trung, Zao Wou Ki, Georgette Chen, and others.

At the same auction, Vu Cao Dam's painting "Girl in a Blue Dress" fetched nearly $900,000 (21 billion VND), while Mai Trung Thu's "Women and Children by the River" sold for over $700,000 (17 billion VND).

According to Hieu Nhan/VnExpress

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/giai-tri/tranh-le-pho-ban-gia-2-37-trieu-usd/246713.htm