Chinese-French modernist Sanyu’s floral still life painting dating back to 1950 will be offered in a modern and contemporary art auction in Hong Kong on May 24. The painting, titled Potted Chrysanthemums, will be on display for public in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bejing, and Taipei prior to its sale.
The painting depicts a set of pink chrysanthemums stemming from blue branches. It is referred to as one of Sanyu’s signature motifs. The painting is estimated to fetch HKD 78 million–HKD 120 million ($11 million–$15 million).
Sanyu has painted Chrysanthemums as his main subjects for his still life for almost 20 years from 1930 to 1950. He made 133 painting regarding Chrysanthemums. These floral still lives have brought some of the artist’s highest prices at auction. The record price for a floral still life by the artist is HKD 191.6 million ($24.7 million), paid during the sale of Chrysanthèmes blanches dans un pot bleu et blanc (White Chrysanthemum in a Blue and White Jardiniere) at Christie’s in July 2020.
The work is being sold by a collector based in Asia, who purchased it at Christie’s in 2014 for HKD $46 million ($6 million), more than double the estimate of HKD 18 million. Prior to that, the work’s first owner, a private French collector, who acquired it directly from Sanyu, held it for more than 60 years before parting with it in 2014.
In December, a rare goldfish still life by Sanyu, painted during the 1930s–’40s and formerly held by Taiwanese billionaire Pierre Chen, sold for $22 million. The result aligns with the modernist’s market ascent over the past decade, seeing values appreciate by staggering margins since the early-mid 2000s. In the same season, Sanyu’s floral still-life from the same era sold for $17.8 million, surpassing its low estimate of HKD 68 million ($8.8 million).