The Paper learned that two auction records for Vincent van Gogh's works were broken during the recently concluded New York fall auction week. His still life painting "Parisian Novels," created in 1887, sold for $62.7 million, setting a new high price for a work from van Gogh's "Paris period" and ranking among the top five highest-priced works in the artist's auction history.
On November 20th, local time in the United States, Sotheby's New York held a special sale of the Pritzker Family Collection, where Vincent van Gogh's *Parisian Novels* (November-December 1887) sold for $62.7 million, setting a new auction record for the artist's works created during his Paris period (all prices in this article include fees). This painting originally belonged to the Van Gogh family collection and was sold for $12.2 million at Christie's London in 1988. It was later acquired by the Chicago-based collectors Jay and Cindy Pritzker. This auction marked the first time the painting had entered the public market in 37 years.
Sotheby's New York auction
This result far exceeded expectations, with an initial estimate (excluding fees) of $40 million. The $62.7 million sale price also set a new auction record for Van Gogh's still life paintings. However, when adjusted for inflation, two earlier sales prices were still higher in "real value": one in 2014, where "Still Life, Vase with Daisies and Poppies" (June 1890) sold for $61.8 million; and another in 1987, where "Sunflowers" (December 1888 – January 1889) sold for $39.9 million.
Van Gogh's *Parisian Novels* (1887)
According to previous media reports, this painting is considered a landmark work from Van Gogh's stylistic transition and one of his nine known paintings on the theme of "books." Van Gogh moved to Paris in March 1886 and, influenced by Impressionism and Pointillism, began to shift from realism towards a brighter style of color and brushstrokes. This painting, *Paris Novels*, depicts a group of paperback novels scattered on a desk with vibrant colors and varied brushstrokes. The yellow covers were typical of the affordable novels published by the Parisian publisher Charpentier at the time. The colorful book covers blend harmoniously with the wallpaper and flowers, creating a comfortable and bright atmosphere.
This oil painting is one of three works Van Gogh exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris in 1888, witnessing a major breakthrough in his artistic career. It is worth mentioning that Van Gogh especially loved the novels of French writers such as Émile Zola and Gustave Flaubert, and this painting can also be seen as a "self-portrait" completed by Van Gogh in another way.
Van Gogh's "Paris Novel" hangs in the Pritzker couple's study.
Four Van Gogh works were auctioned during last week's New York fall auction week. "The Paris Novel," a core piece from the collection of Chicago collectors Jay and Cindy Pritzker, was the focus of the sale. Another Van Gogh work in the "Pritzker Family Collection" sale was the drawing "Public Garden with Benches in Place Lamartine" (April 1888), depicting Van Gogh's garden in Place Lamartine outside the "Yellow House" in Arles. This drawing ultimately sold for nearly $3 million.
Van Gogh's sketch of "Public Garden with Benches in Place Lamartine" (April 1888)
Furthermore, at a Sotheby's auction on November 18th local time, Van Gogh's drawing "Sower in a Wheatfield with Setting Sun" (July 1888) sold for $11.2 million, becoming the most expensive Van Gogh drawing ever sold. The previous record was held by "La Mousmé" (August 1888, portrait of a young woman), which sold for $10.4 million at Christie's in 2021.
Van Gogh's sketch, *Sower in a Wheatfield with Setting Sun* (July 1888).
This sketch was done by Van Gogh for his artist friend Émile Bernard, a copy of an oil painting. The original, titled *The Sower* (June 1888), is now in the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otero, eastern Netherlands. On June 19, 1888, Van Gogh wrote to Bernard, describing his work: “A vast field, the tilled clods of earth mostly violet. The ripe wheat fields are yellowish-ochre, tinged with deep red.” “The sky is almost as bright as the sun.” Van Gogh did not pursue realistic colors; “I don’t care at all about the truthfulness of color,” he wrote.
Van Gogh, *The Sower*, 1888, Kröller-Müller Museum.
"The Sower in the Wheat Field at Sunset" comes from the Leonard Lauder Collection. Lauder is an heir to the founding family of Estée Lauder. The Leonard Lauder Collection auction also made headlines when Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elizabeth Lederer" (1914–1916) sold for $236.3 million—the second most expensive work of art ever sold at auction and the highest price ever paid for modern art at auction.
Van Gogh's early sketch, "Fisherman with Basket on his Back" (January-February 1883)
On November 18th local time, Christie's New York also auctioned Van Gogh's early Hague period drawing, "Fisherman with Basket on his Back" (January-February 1883), for $698,500. Because Van Gogh's works from his French period are more sought after, his early drawings typically fetch lower prices.
According to foreign media reports, "The Paris Novel" has now entered the top ten most expensive Van Gogh works sold at auction—ranking fifth. The buyer of "The Paris Novel" remains anonymous, but is likely from East Asia. At least three (and possibly more) of the "ten most expensive Van Gogh works" were purchased by buyers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
