Art history in today's news

On 2 October 2026, The Art Newspaper told the full story behind the Van Gogh that could become the most expensive the artist has ever sold at auction. Châtaigniers en fleurs ( Blossoming Chestnut Trees ), painted in Auvers-sur-Oise in May 1890 and not exhibited in public since 1964, leads the 12-work Blaquier-Arrieta Collection that Sotheby’s unveiled on 30 September and will sell in New York on 18 November, with an estimate in the region of $180 million. Quick facts What: Legendary: The Blaquier-Arrieta Collection , a single-owner evening auction of 12 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings estimated at about $450 million Where: Sotheby’s, Breuer Building, 945 Madison Avenue, New York When: Announced 30 September 2026; auction 18 November 2026, 6pm EST Who: Heirs of Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier and Carlos Pedro Blaquier; works by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet Section: Auctions ...

Christie’s Hong Kong 20th/21st Century Evening Sale on 29 September 2026 found buyers for its headline lots, but not at the top of the estimates. EFE reported that Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Ancient Scientist (1984) sold for HK$62.5 million (about US$7.9 million) and Yayoi Kusama’s A-Pumpkin (YHP) (2011) for HK$47 million (about US$5.9 million). Paul Cézanne’s still life L’Assiette bleue (1879–80), offered in Hong Kong by the house for the first time, made HK$32.5 million (about US$4.1 million). Quick facts What: Christie’s 20th/21st Century Evening Sale, with Basquiat, Kusama and a Cézanne still life among the top lots Where: Christie’s Asia Pacific headquarters at The Henderson, Central, Hong Kong When: 29 September 2026 (Day Sales follow on 30 September) Who: Christie’s Hong Kong; works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Yayoi Kusama, Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse Section: Auctions & Market What happened The sale was part of Christie’s year-long mark of 40 years in Asia. Before the h...