< strong>Rare painting from the famous series “L'empire des lumières“ (“Empire of Lights“) by René Magritte will be sold for more than 95 million dollars in New York this fall, bTV reported.
The sum will break the surrealist artist's record at auction and will represent a major victory for the Christie's auction house. following industry-wide sales declines.
„L'empire des lumières“ from 1954 is one of 27 paintings in which Magritte explores light, painting a sunlit sky over a gloomy street scene, CNN reports.
In 2022, another work from the series nearly tripled the Belgian artist's previous record when it sold for $79.7 million in London.
This painting is from the legacy of the late Mika Ertegun, an interior designer married to Ahmet Ertegun, co-founder of Atlantic Records and an avid art collector.
Other works to be included in the sales of her collection include works by famous names such as Joan Miró, David Hockney and even a Polaroid photograph of Ertegun herself taken by Andy Warhol.
A special evening sale of Mika Ertegun's collection will take place on November 19 in New York.
A significant part of the proceeds will go to charity, a spokesperson for the auction house said.
In July “Christie“ announced that its total revenue from live and online auction sales in the first half of 2024 reached $2.1 billion globally, down 22% year-over-year and down about $600 million less compared to the first six months of 2023