Entertainment · Books & Arts · 7 hrs ago
Mondrian, restituted Kandinsky and Roman sculpture head October auctions
Several major artworks are due to be auctioned in London and New York in October.
At Christie’s in London on 14 October, Piet Mondrian’s 1920 painting Composition III is estimated at £20 million to £30 million.
It is one of a small number of paintings from a key year in Mondrian’s development that remain in private hands.
The same sale includes Wassily Kandinsky’s 1907 painting Das bunte Leben, estimated at more than $30 million.
The painting was returned in 2023 to the heirs of Emanuel and Hedwig Lewenstein, who lost possession of it during the Holocaust, and its sale will be its first time on the market since restitution.
Sotheby’s will offer a marble torso believed to depict a Roman emperor and other ancient works in New York on 21 October.
The auctions will give buyers a chance to bid on the works, including the restituted Kandinsky, after decades out of public view or on display.
A 1920 Piet Mondrian painting and a recently restituted Wassily Kandinsky work are among the leading lots in October auctions.
Mondrian’s Composition III is estimated at £20m to £30m at Christie’s London sale on 14 October.
Kandinsky’s Das bunte Leben is estimated at more than $30m and will return to the market after its restitution to the Lewenstein heirs.
Sotheby’s New York will offer a Roman marble torso estimated at $8m to $12m on 21 October.
The torso, believed to depict Augustus, Tiberius or Claudius, previously sold for $7.36m with fees in 2010.
- Who
- Christie’s and Sotheby’s are offering the works; the Kandinsky was restituted to the Lewenstein heirs.
- What
- October auctions will feature a Mondrian painting, a Kandinsky painting and Roman sculptures.
- When
- The Christie’s London sale is on 14 October and Sotheby’s New York sale is on 21 October.
- Where
- Christie’s London and Sotheby’s New York.
- Why
- The works are being offered as part of the houses’ October sales; further reasons are not stated.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Emanuel Albert Lewenstein and his wife, Hedwig Lewenstein-Weyermann, acquired Kandinsky’s Das bunte Leben.
The Kandinsky painting was sold at auction after being removed from the Stedelijk Museum.
Bayerische Landesbank acquired the painting from the family of collector Salomon B. Slijper.
The Lewenstein heirs sued Bayerische Landesbank for the painting’s return.
The Lewenstein heirs secured restitution of the Kandinsky painting.
Christie’s is scheduled to offer the Mondrian and Kandinsky paintings in London.
- Mondrian estimate
- £20m-£30m
- Mondrian sale
- Christie’s London, 14 October
- Kandinsky estimate
- In excess of $30m
- Roman torso estimate
- $8m-$12m
- Roman torso sale
- Sotheby’s New York, 21 October
- Roman torso’s 2010 sale
- $7.36m with fees
Sources
Related news
Sacha Baron Cohen to star in Tarantino’s first West End play
Morante faces hostility on return to Madrid’s Las Ventas bullring
Rosana Paulino honored in New York for work challenging scientific racism
Regina Duarte criticizes Lula stickers placed over her theatre poster
Tarek Atoui fills Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall with sound and sculpture
Pumpkinferno returns to Dynamic Earth with more than 7,000 pumpkins
Frieze London grows to 176 galleries from 43 countries
Anne Carson wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature
HBO is developing an eight-episode Crazy Rich Asians series
Two galleries will pair works by Leonora Carrington and Cecilia Vicuña
Sacha Baron Cohen to star in Tarantino’s first stage play
