Paul Cezanne's Les Pommes auctions for $41m at Sotheby's

Paul Cezanne lived up to Picasso and Matisse's claim that he was "the father of us all" at Sotheby's last night, with Les Pommes leading the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale in New York.

Cezanne's Les Pommes
This unassuming composition displays Cezanne's finest techniques



Considered one of his finest still life works, Les Pommes soared to $41m, achieving an 18.8% increase on its $35m high estimate. It was consigned from the Collection of Alex and Elizabeth Lewyt.

The masterpiece was painted in 1889-1890 and, according to Sotheby's, "encapsulates Cezanne's artistic achievement".

Cezanne's still life works are particularly valued in his oeuvre, and this piece perfectly demonstrates the innovations that established his reputation as the leader of the post-impressionism movement, bridging the gap between impressionism and cubism.

Cezanne's Card Players is thought to be the world's most valuable artwork, after Vanity Fair reported that the Qatari royal family had bought the visionary work for between $250m and $320m in 2011. A watercolour study for the piece brought $19.1m in May 2012.

Modigliani L'Amazone
'A femme fatale to rival his most revealing nudes'



Bringing the second highest bids of the sale was Amedeo Modigliani's L'Amazone, an early masterpiece and one of his most famous works. Valued at $20m-30m, it sold comfortably at $25m.

Like most of Modigliani's portraits of women, the piece is erotically charged. Depicting Baroness Marguerite de Hasse de Villers, it was commissioned by her lover Jean Alexandre, who was the brother of Modigliani's close friend Paul Alexandre.

Sotheby's described the work as "a femme fatale to rival his most revealing nudes". Modigiliani's portrait of his lover Jean Hebuterne sold for $42.3m at Christie's in February.

Impressionist art is one of the best-selling and most respected genres among collectors. Paul Fraser Collectibles offers some brilliant opportunities for those looking to join the market, with a signed postcard from Pablo Picasso and autographed letters from Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

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