Joan Miro has proved to be the star of February's art sales, with his Femme (Femme debout) continuing a string of excellent results last night (February 6) in London.
 Conceived in 1969, the sculpture is one of the finest works of Miro's late career |
Christie's Art of the Surreal auction was topped by the bronze, which sold for £6.3m ($9.9m), achieving a 26.2% increase on estimate. Miro also provided the top lot of Sotheby's Surrealist Art auction on February 5, with Le fermier et son epouse selling for £5.8m ($9.1m).
Conceived in 1969, Femme (Femme debout) is part of a small group of large scale bronzes that were inspired by Miro's first experiments with sculpture almost two decades earlier. Standing 189 cm tall, Christie's described the piece as "a monstrous but whimsical Neolithic fertility goddess".
The cast at auction is part of a limited edition of four, plus one artist's proof and a further two foundry casts. It demonstrates Miro's masterful versatility, in which he was only rivalled by Picasso during the 20th century.
Also from Miro was Le sourire nacre devant l'azur, a 1972 oil on canvas that sold for £2m ($3.2m).
Two works by renowned surrealist Rene Magritte saw the second and third highest bids of the sale. Le Plagiat achieved a 73.1% increase on its £3m high estimate to sell for £5.1m ($8.1m), while Ceci n'est pas une pomme brought £2.9m, up 96.8% on the £1.5m valuation.
Visit our Art & Photography news section for the latest on art collecting. Alternatively, sign up to our free weekly newsletter for all of the latest news from across the auction world direct to your inbox.
