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The three oil paintings are the highlights of
the upcoming "20th Century Evening Sale" on May 13 in New York.
They were previously on show in Hong Kong.
The sale will be led by Picasso's 1932 work "Femme assise près
d'une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse)", a portrait of the artist's
mistress, which is seen selling around $55 million.
"It's an incredibly iconic image. It hasn't been seen up at
auction since 2013," Keith Gill, head of the Impressionist and
Modern Art department at Christie's London, told Reuters.
"And the appreciation of Marie-Therese portraits, particularly
from 1932, has very much grown since that time. So this will be
a stand-out price for the artist."
Mondrian's "Composition: No. II, with Yellow, Red and Blue"
makes its first public outing in nearly 30 years. The painting
has been in private hands since it last appeared at auction in
1993, Gill said. It is estimated to sell in the region of $25
million.
"Mondrians of this quality, of this iconic sort of modernist
image, are incredibly rare. The vast majority are in museums and
... we haven't had a Mondrian of this quality at auction since
2015," he said.
Van Gogh's "Le pont de Trinquetaille" is seen selling for $25
million to $35 million.
To see the artworks, visitors must book viewings online, with
numbers capped in line with local COVID-19 restrictions. Under
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's roadmap out of lockdown, museums
are set to open doors from May 17.
"There is this perception that you have to arrive at the front
door and be met by various security staff to walk in the
building but Christie's is very much an open door policy," Gill
said.
"This art may well disappear from view now for 20, 30 years. It
is a fantastic opportunity for people to come and see art that
is museum quality when unfortunately the museums are still not
yet open."
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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