Rare Cezanne watercolor study coming to NY auction

[March 28, 2012]  NEW YORK (AP) -- A rare watercolor study by Paul Cezanne believed lost and last seen in 1953 will be auctioned in New York City where it's expected to fetch up to $20 million.

It's being offered May 1 at Christie's.

The work was rediscovered this year in the collection of the late Dr. Heinz Eichenwald, a well-known pediatrics expert from Texas. It's a study for one of the French Post-impressionist's paintings in the series "Card Players," created between 1890 and 1896.

The five-painting series was recently part of a traveling exhibition organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and London's Courtauld Gallery.

It depicts a card player wearing a hat and jacket, rendered in hues of blue and ochre.

It was previously known only from a black-and-white photograph.

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Online: http://www.christies.com/

[Associated Press]

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