NEW YORK — A watercolor by Vincent van Gogh that was seized by the Nazis during World War II will be sold next month at auction in New York, where it is expected to fetch a price of $20 million or more, the auction house Christie's announced.
Christie's is auctioning the 1888 work, "Wheatstacks," after facilitating negotiations between the Texas oilman's heirs who own it now and the heirs of two Jewish art collectors who owned it at different times before it was looted by the Nazis. Details of the settlement are confidential, a Christie's spokesperson said.
"Wheatstacks" will be auctioned Nov. 11 along with other artworks from the collection of Edwin L. Cox, a Texas oilman who died last year at age 99.
The work depicts three haystacks towering over harvest workers on a bright summer day.
READ MORE: Shredded Banksy artwork sells for $25.4 million at auction
It was purchased in 1913 by industrialist Max Meirowsky, who fled Germany for Amsterdam in 1938 fearing Nazi persecution.
Meirowsky entrusted "Wheatstacks" to a Paris-based art dealer, who sold it to Alexandrine de Rothschild, a member of the renowned Jewish banking family.
Rothschild fled to Switzerland at the onset of World War II and her art collection, including the van Gogh watercolor, was confiscated by the Nazis during the Occupation.
It is unclear where the artwork was between the end of the war and the 1970s, but Cox bought it at the Wildenstein gallery in New York in 1979.
Giovanna Bertazzoni, vice chair of 20th and 21st century art at Christie's called the artwork one of the most powerful works on paper by van Gogh ever to appear on the open market.
"Everything is breathtaking: the iconic subject, the perfect condition of the gouache, the intensity of the ink in the trademark cross-hatchings and twirls defining the landscape, the ambitious scale of the composition," she said in a news release Thursday.
Prior to the auction, the watercolor will be on view at Christie's in London from Oct, 17 to Oct. 21, marking the first time that it has been publicly exhibited since a 1905 van Gogh retrospective at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
Sustain our coverage of culture, arts and literature.
Mahogany Browne is a poet, writer, organizer and educator. Recently, she became the first-ever poet-in-residence at the Lincoln Center in…
For many, Cheech Marin is a household name. The comedian and actor is best known as part of the countercultural…
The blues guitar legend Buddy Guy once wrote, "Funny thing about the blues. You play 'em cause you got 'em.…
No matter what role he took on in a career that lasted more than five decades, Gambon was always instantly…
Actor David McCallum, who became a teen heartthrob in the hit series "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." in the 1960s and…
Hurricane Ida destroyed this 117-year-old Italian deli, a beloved hallmark of the French Quarter. Two years later, the owners are…
Writers and the major studios reached a tentative deal after nearly five months of striking. In the coming days, members…
Sheila Johnson made history as America's first Black female billionaire after co-founding BET. She broke barriers and found success as…
Writer Mary Otis' work grapples with issues of addiction, artistic purpose, and mother-daughter relationships. She recently performed excerpts from her…
Actors remain on strike, but movement on the writers' demands could mean that the actors will find a resolution soon…
For Hispanic Heritage Month, as part of our "Hidden Histories" series, we look back on the life of Lydia Mendoza,…
The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Sunday that Usher would lead the halftime festivities from Allegiant Stadium in…
The husband-and-wife creative duo behind the 12-member Tedeschi Trucks Band have been called two of the best roots musicians of…
On the 50th anniversary of that match against Bobby Riggs -- still the most-watched in tennis history -- King moved…
Ruth Simmons grew up in a deeply segregated part of Texas to become one of the country's most distinguished educators,…
