1918
See also : Top 10 Painting Austria Italy Modigliani Northern Europe Munch The Woman Nude Far West Horse Pond by Monet Stamps US stamps
1917-1918 The Ideal of Intimacy
2015 SOLD for $ 170M including premium
The still young artist endeavors to show the perfect woman while going beyond his own life plagued by tuberculosis and alcohol. Around 1911, the heads carved by Modigliani transcend all artistic styles.
In 1917, he found that ideal in the nude. He has no money but that does not mind. His small workshop contains two chairs, a sofa and a bottle of cognac. He is alone with a girl paid by his dealer. Zborowski had a good perception : the girls are pretty. Around them is war. The time is not conducive to shameless exhibits. Modigliani's nudes are a scandal.
Amedeo is a nice guy. He establishes empathy with those anonymous visitors for a day. He expresses tenderness and intimacy better than any other artist. He obtained this effect by a subtle color work. Pink is not warm enough to express the skin: the artist creates rich colors tending to reddish or apricot.
On November 9 in New York, Christie's sells a Nudo Rosso, oil on canvas 60 x 92 cm painted in 1917 or 1918, lot 8A.
This reclining nude is a masterpiece of harmony, similar on that way as the Belle Romaine seated nude that was sold for $ 69M including premium by Sotheby's on November 2, 2010.
The voluptuous curves emphasizes the confidence of the model with her back slightly arched above the couch and her outstretched arms. Eyes without pupils are monochrome, enabling the viewer to better capture the quiet waiting of her gaze. The wild locks on the forehead indicate that this ideal woman is a character from real life and not a model prepared for art.
The press release of September 3 announced a hope beyond $ 100M. Let me add a comment: this superb painting is worth such an expectation.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's.
In 1917, he found that ideal in the nude. He has no money but that does not mind. His small workshop contains two chairs, a sofa and a bottle of cognac. He is alone with a girl paid by his dealer. Zborowski had a good perception : the girls are pretty. Around them is war. The time is not conducive to shameless exhibits. Modigliani's nudes are a scandal.
Amedeo is a nice guy. He establishes empathy with those anonymous visitors for a day. He expresses tenderness and intimacy better than any other artist. He obtained this effect by a subtle color work. Pink is not warm enough to express the skin: the artist creates rich colors tending to reddish or apricot.
On November 9 in New York, Christie's sells a Nudo Rosso, oil on canvas 60 x 92 cm painted in 1917 or 1918, lot 8A.
This reclining nude is a masterpiece of harmony, similar on that way as the Belle Romaine seated nude that was sold for $ 69M including premium by Sotheby's on November 2, 2010.
The voluptuous curves emphasizes the confidence of the model with her back slightly arched above the couch and her outstretched arms. Eyes without pupils are monochrome, enabling the viewer to better capture the quiet waiting of her gaze. The wild locks on the forehead indicate that this ideal woman is a character from real life and not a model prepared for art.
The press release of September 3 announced a hope beyond $ 100M. Let me add a comment: this superb painting is worth such an expectation.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's.
1918-1919 Preparation of the Grandes Décorations
2018 SOLD for $ 32M including premium
From 1914 Claude Monet conceives the project of the Grandes Décorations, which will occupy the last phase of his life and will be his artistic legation. In accordance with his signature artistic vision, these paintings will be limited to a specific theme shown in all the shades of the seasons, hours of the day and weather.
The artist is aging and suffering from cataract. This last theme is once again the nymphéas of his water garden which since 1904 satisfy his passion for gardening while being close to his workshop.
When he finished the project a few months before he died in 1926, Les Grandes Décorations consisted of eight compositions using 22 canvases in a unique height of 2 m for a total length of 90 m.
During the war years, the artist made about 60 paintings of his water lilies for trying his theme on large formats. The global design is gradually built. It then becomes necessary to test the panoramic formats. This new phase is made more challenging by his desire to concentrate the image on flowers and on reflections while eliminating the edges of the pond and the horizon.
In 1918 Monet buys the canvases necessary for this new series. He executes 14 paintings 100 x 200 cm and 5 paintings 130 x 200 cm over a short period ending in the following year. One of them is dated 1917 which is the year of the conception of this phase.
A Bassin aux Nymphéas 100 x 200 cm dated 1919 was sold for £ 41M including premium by Christie's on June 24, 2008. A few other canvases have been cut. Dated in the same year, a 100 x 100 cm fragment whose other half is in a museum was sold for $ 27M including premium by Christie's on May 12, 2016.
On November 11 in New York, Christie's sells an undated Bassin aux Nymphéas 100 x 200 cm, lot 32 A estimated $ 30M. This example offers a very pleasant homogeneity of tone between the blue reflections of the sky and the green reflections of the big trees. The flowers are rare.
The artist is aging and suffering from cataract. This last theme is once again the nymphéas of his water garden which since 1904 satisfy his passion for gardening while being close to his workshop.
When he finished the project a few months before he died in 1926, Les Grandes Décorations consisted of eight compositions using 22 canvases in a unique height of 2 m for a total length of 90 m.
During the war years, the artist made about 60 paintings of his water lilies for trying his theme on large formats. The global design is gradually built. It then becomes necessary to test the panoramic formats. This new phase is made more challenging by his desire to concentrate the image on flowers and on reflections while eliminating the edges of the pond and the horizon.
In 1918 Monet buys the canvases necessary for this new series. He executes 14 paintings 100 x 200 cm and 5 paintings 130 x 200 cm over a short period ending in the following year. One of them is dated 1917 which is the year of the conception of this phase.
A Bassin aux Nymphéas 100 x 200 cm dated 1919 was sold for £ 41M including premium by Christie's on June 24, 2008. A few other canvases have been cut. Dated in the same year, a 100 x 100 cm fragment whose other half is in a museum was sold for $ 27M including premium by Christie's on May 12, 2016.
On November 11 in New York, Christie's sells an undated Bassin aux Nymphéas 100 x 200 cm, lot 32 A estimated $ 30M. This example offers a very pleasant homogeneity of tone between the blue reflections of the sky and the green reflections of the big trees. The flowers are rare.
Christie’s Has $30m Monet Nymphéas from Penultimate Series https://t.co/yvnKWEfutg pic.twitter.com/T18M9LRHEs
— Art Market Monitor (@artmarket) September 27, 2018
1918 A Post Mortem Portrait by Klimt
2010 SOLD 18.8 M£ including premium
In the last century, the proliferation of images has fortunately removed the need of post-mortem portrait. The sudden death of a loved one made aware that his image would disappear, and the family had recourse to a painter or a photographer to preserve his look.
In 1911, the niece of a patron of Klimt makes a love suicide at the age of 24, and the painter gets the order of a portrait of the deceased. This is not an easy job, and the first two trials are rejected by the family.
At his death in 1918, Klimt left unfinished the portrait of Ria Munk III. The oil and charcoal on canvas, 181 x 90 cm, is for sale by Christie's in London on June 23. It is illustrated in the press release shared by Art Knowledge News.
By its composition, it resembles the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907). Ria is life size. The face is sharp, and the gown and the background blend into a luxurious color scheme inspired by both Orientalism and Jugendstil.
Stop here the comparison. Adele I was decorated with gold and silver. This masterpiece was sold $ 135 million in 2006 to Ronald Lauder. Ria III, which does not have this quality of materials, is estimated £ 14 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was well targeted for this work that had the qualities of composition of the best portraits of Klimt without the sumptuous materials. It was sold £ 18.8 million including premium.
In 1911, the niece of a patron of Klimt makes a love suicide at the age of 24, and the painter gets the order of a portrait of the deceased. This is not an easy job, and the first two trials are rejected by the family.
At his death in 1918, Klimt left unfinished the portrait of Ria Munk III. The oil and charcoal on canvas, 181 x 90 cm, is for sale by Christie's in London on June 23. It is illustrated in the press release shared by Art Knowledge News.
By its composition, it resembles the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907). Ria is life size. The face is sharp, and the gown and the background blend into a luxurious color scheme inspired by both Orientalism and Jugendstil.
Stop here the comparison. Adele I was decorated with gold and silver. This masterpiece was sold $ 135 million in 2006 to Ronald Lauder. Ria III, which does not have this quality of materials, is estimated £ 14 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was well targeted for this work that had the qualities of composition of the best portraits of Klimt without the sumptuous materials. It was sold £ 18.8 million including premium.
1918-1919 Monet in his Garden
2010 SOLD 24.7 M$ including premium
During the last twenty years of his life, Monet maintained the pond in his garden at Giverny. His paintings of nympheas, however, are not repetitive but evolving. He put his subtle vision at the service of ever-changing views on the role and techniques of art.
Around 1906, as a true magician of light and perspective, Monet uses reflection to show the position in space of the invisible surface of the water. His touchis then impressionistic, with pastel tones.
Ten years later, he turns to more decorative effects on larger areas of canvas. The surface of the water is still controlled, but the line is sharper and the colors are more vivid. The nympheas of that time made Monet being considered as a major influencer of abstract art.
On June 24, 2008, Christie's sold £ 40.9 million including premium a large 1919 painting, 100 x 201 cm. The image is focused exclusively on the pond with no shore and no horizon.
The oil on canvas for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 2 has similar qualities. Painted between 1917 and 1919, 98 x 198 cm, it is less quiet, with contrasting colors and swirling lines. It is illustrated on the press release shared by Artdaily.
Sold to benefit a foundation helping young artists, it is estimated $ 20M.
POST SALE COMMENT
These Nymphéas were sold $ 24.7 million including premium. This result is very close to the estimate. I am not surprised as this painting did not have the same beautiful serenity as the specimen sold two years ago.
Around 1906, as a true magician of light and perspective, Monet uses reflection to show the position in space of the invisible surface of the water. His touchis then impressionistic, with pastel tones.
Ten years later, he turns to more decorative effects on larger areas of canvas. The surface of the water is still controlled, but the line is sharper and the colors are more vivid. The nympheas of that time made Monet being considered as a major influencer of abstract art.
On June 24, 2008, Christie's sold £ 40.9 million including premium a large 1919 painting, 100 x 201 cm. The image is focused exclusively on the pond with no shore and no horizon.
The oil on canvas for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 2 has similar qualities. Painted between 1917 and 1919, 98 x 198 cm, it is less quiet, with contrasting colors and swirling lines. It is illustrated on the press release shared by Artdaily.
Sold to benefit a foundation helping young artists, it is estimated $ 20M.
POST SALE COMMENT
These Nymphéas were sold $ 24.7 million including premium. This result is very close to the estimate. I am not surprised as this painting did not have the same beautiful serenity as the specimen sold two years ago.
1918 A Mannerist Fellow in Montparnasse
2017 SOLD for £ 16M including premium
The portrait by Modigliani of a young man from the circle of Zborowski went unsold at Christie's on November 5, 2013 where it had been offered with a very high estimate. It comes now for sale at Sotheby's in London on March 1, lot 10 estimated £ 10M.
I discussed it as follows in 2013 :
Leopold Zborowski was a Polish exile in Paris during the war. This very young student wanted to become an art dealer and joined the artistic community of Montparnasse.
Modigliani knows everyone and loves to paint portraits of his fellow artists. Zborowski, who himself does not yet live in ease, captures his confidence by promising to supply him with an unlimited amount of drink.
Zborowski is now controling the artistic output of the best portrait painter of their time, and he organizes his career. He pushes Amedeo to specialize in those female nudes whose exhibition made a scandal at Berthe Weill gallery in December 1917 and provided a deserved fame to the painter.
The purpose of Zborowski is commercial. He now directs Amedeo towards achieving more mundane portraits for appealing the customers. Painted in 1918, probably early in the year, the oil on canvas titled Monsieur Baranowski, 112 x 56 cm, is one from that series.
Baranowski is very young. Elegantly dressed, he wants to make a career as an artist. With his pale skin, too long hair, charming mouth and an attitude mannered to the extreme, he appears as an androgynous.
The too formal title, Monsieur Baranowski, not providing the first name nor the abbreviated 'Bara', shows that this young esthete wanted to be seriously considered, and certainly indicates that Baranowski was in the circle of Zborowski without being intimate with Amedeo. This artwork is a wonderful psychological portrait of one of those weird people who constituted the bohemian life of Montparnasse.
I discussed it as follows in 2013 :
Leopold Zborowski was a Polish exile in Paris during the war. This very young student wanted to become an art dealer and joined the artistic community of Montparnasse.
Modigliani knows everyone and loves to paint portraits of his fellow artists. Zborowski, who himself does not yet live in ease, captures his confidence by promising to supply him with an unlimited amount of drink.
Zborowski is now controling the artistic output of the best portrait painter of their time, and he organizes his career. He pushes Amedeo to specialize in those female nudes whose exhibition made a scandal at Berthe Weill gallery in December 1917 and provided a deserved fame to the painter.
The purpose of Zborowski is commercial. He now directs Amedeo towards achieving more mundane portraits for appealing the customers. Painted in 1918, probably early in the year, the oil on canvas titled Monsieur Baranowski, 112 x 56 cm, is one from that series.
Baranowski is very young. Elegantly dressed, he wants to make a career as an artist. With his pale skin, too long hair, charming mouth and an attitude mannered to the extreme, he appears as an androgynous.
The too formal title, Monsieur Baranowski, not providing the first name nor the abbreviated 'Bara', shows that this young esthete wanted to be seriously considered, and certainly indicates that Baranowski was in the circle of Zborowski without being intimate with Amedeo. This artwork is a wonderful psychological portrait of one of those weird people who constituted the bohemian life of Montparnasse.
#AuctionUpdate Modigliani’s elegant depiction of an androgynous young man with fragile good looks, Portrait de Baranowski, soars to £16.1m pic.twitter.com/ubzOb6Mhcl
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) March 1, 2017
1918 The Gears of Abstract Art
2014 SOLD 12 M£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Back from Front, Fernand Léger restarts his career. Avant-garde artist, he had been one of the main proponents of Cubism.
The great theme of modern civilization is mechanical. The Futurists are interested in its application to speed. Léger is inspired by the assembly and even the machining of its components: cylinders, wheels, discs, gears.
In 1917, he took the cylinders as a basis to build a Partie de cartes which is one of his many tributes to Cézanne. He uses this new grammar of the cylinder to oscillate between a reconstruction of a figurative Cubist theme and total abstraction. Unlike Malevich, Mondrian and Kandinsky but same as Miro later, Léger does not fall into an exclusive abstraction.
On February 4 in London, Christie's sells Les cylindres colorés, oil on canvas 54 x 50 cm painted in 1918, estimated £ 5M.
Viewed from afar, the work could display an engine and gears. However its elements are pointing in all directions without visible support and a closer inspection will consider this composition as completely abstract. Another novelty, shared with Mondrian, is the use of pure colors.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
This highly rare and early abstract painting by Fernand Léger was sold for £ 12M including premium.
Back from Front, Fernand Léger restarts his career. Avant-garde artist, he had been one of the main proponents of Cubism.
The great theme of modern civilization is mechanical. The Futurists are interested in its application to speed. Léger is inspired by the assembly and even the machining of its components: cylinders, wheels, discs, gears.
In 1917, he took the cylinders as a basis to build a Partie de cartes which is one of his many tributes to Cézanne. He uses this new grammar of the cylinder to oscillate between a reconstruction of a figurative Cubist theme and total abstraction. Unlike Malevich, Mondrian and Kandinsky but same as Miro later, Léger does not fall into an exclusive abstraction.
On February 4 in London, Christie's sells Les cylindres colorés, oil on canvas 54 x 50 cm painted in 1918, estimated £ 5M.
Viewed from afar, the work could display an engine and gears. However its elements are pointing in all directions without visible support and a closer inspection will consider this composition as completely abstract. Another novelty, shared with Mondrian, is the use of pure colors.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
This highly rare and early abstract painting by Fernand Léger was sold for £ 12M including premium.
1918 Under the Weeping Willow
2017 SOLD for £ 8.9M including premium
The war was a period of great concern for Claude Monet, a patriot and friend of Clemenceau. Too old for active engagement he takes refuge with some feeling of shame within his artistic occupation. With his series of paintings of water lilies that will become Les Grandes Décorations he wants to express that the beauty of nature is immutable unlike the events created by men.
Each water lily painting is a technical feat in increasingly panoramic formats. Monet also observes the shores of his pond in search of vertical themes that will bring an impression of vitality and power. The 200 x 100 cm picture of a group of mauve irises in close-up was sold for £ 10.8M including premium by Christie's on June 23, 2015.
In March 1918 the German counter-offensive threatens Amiens. After some hesitation Monet decides to remain at all costs in Giverny. He immediately begins his paintings on the theme of the weeping willows of his garden. This series will include ten artworks made in 1918 and 1919.
The weeping willow is an ornamental tree with dense and enveloping foliage. Under his tree Monet observes the subtlety of colors. The trunk and a small corner of the ground at the edge of the pond are sufficient to identify the theme. The low angle follows the trunk in bottom-up in its whole height. The leaves provide a mingling of colors treated in a heavy impasto by gestural brush strikes that deliberately ignore the perspective.
The weeping willows of Monet renew the modern art. He is aware and proud of that and wishes to present one of these paintings to France at the time of the armistice. This series opens the path to the experiments close to abstraction of his latest years.
On June 27 in London, Christie's sells a Saule pleureur by Monet, oil on canvas 130 x 110 cm, lot 14 estimated £ 15M.
Each water lily painting is a technical feat in increasingly panoramic formats. Monet also observes the shores of his pond in search of vertical themes that will bring an impression of vitality and power. The 200 x 100 cm picture of a group of mauve irises in close-up was sold for £ 10.8M including premium by Christie's on June 23, 2015.
In March 1918 the German counter-offensive threatens Amiens. After some hesitation Monet decides to remain at all costs in Giverny. He immediately begins his paintings on the theme of the weeping willows of his garden. This series will include ten artworks made in 1918 and 1919.
The weeping willow is an ornamental tree with dense and enveloping foliage. Under his tree Monet observes the subtlety of colors. The trunk and a small corner of the ground at the edge of the pond are sufficient to identify the theme. The low angle follows the trunk in bottom-up in its whole height. The leaves provide a mingling of colors treated in a heavy impasto by gestural brush strikes that deliberately ignore the perspective.
The weeping willows of Monet renew the modern art. He is aware and proud of that and wishes to present one of these paintings to France at the time of the armistice. This series opens the path to the experiments close to abstraction of his latest years.
On June 27 in London, Christie's sells a Saule pleureur by Monet, oil on canvas 130 x 110 cm, lot 14 estimated £ 15M.
Saule pleureur de #Monet : une peinture chargée d’histoire exécutée à l’aube de la fin de la 1ère GM https://t.co/v9exCXAJkq pic.twitter.com/yG83YVjden
— Christie's Paris (@christiesparis) June 14, 2017
1918 Two Children with Modigliani
2015 SOLD for £ 7.6M including premium
Amedeo Modigliani, as Francis Bacon later, is an empathetic portrait artist who feels the need to understand his sitters. On February 4 in London, Christie's sells Les deux filles, a double portrait of children which is very rare and perhaps unique of that theme in the art of Amedeo.
This oil on canvas 100 x 65 cm is estimated £ 6M, lot 15. It was sold for £ 6.5 million including premium by Christie's on 4 February 2009 over a lower estimate of £ 3.5 million, at the time of the crisis of the art market.
This artwork whose first owner was Zborowski was painted in 1917 or 1918, while experts are now preferring the latter date.
The end of 1917 was rough, with the scandal of the public exhibition of the nudes at the Berthe Weill gallery. In the following year, his long stay in Nice is organized by Zborowski. Far from the war, Amedeo is hoping to recover his health but he has also lost the contact with the professional models who had provided the bulk of his art.
These two girls who remain unidentified are a study of childhood, reinforcing the idea that the painting could have been done during the pregnancy of Jeanne who gave birth to their daughter on 29 November 1918. The serious brunette in careful hair style will soon emerge from childhood. She protects the younger blonde whose slightly deformed face assesses that Amedeo was attentive to the solutions of cubism.
This oil on canvas 100 x 65 cm is estimated £ 6M, lot 15. It was sold for £ 6.5 million including premium by Christie's on 4 February 2009 over a lower estimate of £ 3.5 million, at the time of the crisis of the art market.
This artwork whose first owner was Zborowski was painted in 1917 or 1918, while experts are now preferring the latter date.
The end of 1917 was rough, with the scandal of the public exhibition of the nudes at the Berthe Weill gallery. In the following year, his long stay in Nice is organized by Zborowski. Far from the war, Amedeo is hoping to recover his health but he has also lost the contact with the professional models who had provided the bulk of his art.
These two girls who remain unidentified are a study of childhood, reinforcing the idea that the painting could have been done during the pregnancy of Jeanne who gave birth to their daughter on 29 November 1918. The serious brunette in careful hair style will soon emerge from childhood. She protects the younger blonde whose slightly deformed face assesses that Amedeo was attentive to the solutions of cubism.
1918 Piegans by CM Russell
2005 SOLD for $ 5.6M including premium by The Coeur d'Alene Art Auction
1918 Block of four Inverted Jenny US error stamp
2005 SOLD for $ 2.97M including premium by Robert A. Siegel
Shared by Wikimedia :
1918 Vallotton in the Naked Sun
2010 SOLD 2.4 MCHF including premium
The Côte de Grâce is overlooking the Seine estuary. Beyond to the west, there is nothing else than the sea. This promontory attracts the lovers of sunsets.
An oil painting by Félix Vallotton, 54 x 73 cm, dated 1918, shows that landscape. The Sun is seen from the front, round, orange, violent. The artist had attended the Nabis group, and painted his best landscapes to the extreme limits of the possibilities of color. In this example, the sky, orange and violet, is magnificent.
Vallotton's landscapes are sometimes impersonal. This one is uninhabited, indeed dehumanized. In the darkness, a discreet barrier is the only witness from the civilization. The atmosphere is definitely romantic.
The lot is estimated CHF 1.8 million, for sale by Sotheby's in Zurich on December 6. It is shown in the press release shared by Artdaily.
POST SALE COMMENT
This beautiful sunset is a masterpiece of the artist. It was sold CHF 2.4 million including premium.
An oil painting by Félix Vallotton, 54 x 73 cm, dated 1918, shows that landscape. The Sun is seen from the front, round, orange, violent. The artist had attended the Nabis group, and painted his best landscapes to the extreme limits of the possibilities of color. In this example, the sky, orange and violet, is magnificent.
Vallotton's landscapes are sometimes impersonal. This one is uninhabited, indeed dehumanized. In the darkness, a discreet barrier is the only witness from the civilization. The atmosphere is definitely romantic.
The lot is estimated CHF 1.8 million, for sale by Sotheby's in Zurich on December 6. It is shown in the press release shared by Artdaily.
POST SALE COMMENT
This beautiful sunset is a masterpiece of the artist. It was sold CHF 2.4 million including premium.
1918 Self Portrait with Spanish Flu by Edvard Munch
2006 SOLD for £ 1.7M including premium by Sotheby's
Link to Artvalue.
1918 Watch Rivalries
2011 SOLD 1.76 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Inventor, industrialist, founder and owner of the car brand that bore his name, James Ward Packard had a hobby. Amateur of complication watches, he specified unprecedented combinations for his personal use.
Two pocket watches from his collection are on sale on June 15 at Christie's in New York. Each piece is a unique model. Made in the same year, 1918, they enable comparing technical performances of the two Swiss brands to whom Packard had provided his requirements. Kept in a bank, they are in perfect condition.
The advantage is on Vacheron Constantin, if one relies on the estimate, $ 250K. This chronograph clockwatch delivered in 1919 represented a technical breakthrough for the time.
Delivered in 1920, the Patek Philippe minute repeating watch is estimated $ 200K.
Both pieces are illustrated in the article shared by Bloomberg.
The Swiss rivalry quickly turned to the advantage of Patek Philippe. In the early 1920s, the banker Henry Graves Jr. began lining up to get the most complicated watch in the world, and Patek Philippe was the referee and the prime contractor of the rivalry between the two clients.
After the death of Packard (1928), Graves continued. His supercomplication watch, delivered in 1933 after five years of development studies by Patek Philippe, was sold for $ 11M including premium by Sotheby's on December 2, 1999.
POST SALE COMMENT
These two watches were worth much more than the estimate which had been announced, of course. The Vacheron Constantin, really exceptional, was sold for $ 1.76 million including premium. The PatekPhilippe was sold for $ 987K including premium.
Inventor, industrialist, founder and owner of the car brand that bore his name, James Ward Packard had a hobby. Amateur of complication watches, he specified unprecedented combinations for his personal use.
Two pocket watches from his collection are on sale on June 15 at Christie's in New York. Each piece is a unique model. Made in the same year, 1918, they enable comparing technical performances of the two Swiss brands to whom Packard had provided his requirements. Kept in a bank, they are in perfect condition.
The advantage is on Vacheron Constantin, if one relies on the estimate, $ 250K. This chronograph clockwatch delivered in 1919 represented a technical breakthrough for the time.
Delivered in 1920, the Patek Philippe minute repeating watch is estimated $ 200K.
Both pieces are illustrated in the article shared by Bloomberg.
The Swiss rivalry quickly turned to the advantage of Patek Philippe. In the early 1920s, the banker Henry Graves Jr. began lining up to get the most complicated watch in the world, and Patek Philippe was the referee and the prime contractor of the rivalry between the two clients.
After the death of Packard (1928), Graves continued. His supercomplication watch, delivered in 1933 after five years of development studies by Patek Philippe, was sold for $ 11M including premium by Sotheby's on December 2, 1999.
POST SALE COMMENT
These two watches were worth much more than the estimate which had been announced, of course. The Vacheron Constantin, really exceptional, was sold for $ 1.76 million including premium. The PatekPhilippe was sold for $ 987K including premium.
