One of the most celebrated paintings of 20th century Greek art sold for €441,375 at the Bonhams Greek Sale in Paris on Thursday.
Made by the ’30s generation representative Yiannis Tsarouchis, the painting titled La garde oubliée is said to encompass defining elements of the leading painter’s work, including his signature subject, the sailor.
Previously in the collection of gallerist Alexander Iolas, the painting set a new world auction record for the artist, exceeding €440,000 against an estimate of €80,000-120,000.
One more painting of Tsarouchis, Épicerie à Mytiline (1965) was sold at the auction for €189,375. It had been estimated similarly to La garde oubliée at €80,000-120,000.
The sale, which consisted of 136 lots, made a total of €3,482,138.
“This was a very strong sale with many pieces far exceeding their estimates after fierce bidding battles in the saleroom, on the telephone and online,” said Bonhams Greek Art specialist, Anastasia Orfanidou.
“The icing on the cake was undoubtedly the world record price at auction for Tsarouchis’s masterpiece La garde oubliée which encapsulated so many of the themes that made the work of this wonderful artist so distinctive.”
Other highlights included the paintings Épithalamique by Yiannis Moralis (1916-2009) which sold for €605,175 (had been estimated at €300,000-400,000), Irô et Leandros by Nikos Engonopoulos (1907-1985) selling for €252,375 (estimate: €60,000-80,000) and La photo oubliée by Alecos Fassianos (1935-2022).
The latter, a painting representative of the style that established the artist’s reputation both in his home country and internationally sold for €170,475 (estimate: €80,000-120,000).
The Greek Sale was a collaborative sale put together by Bonhams in London and its associates in Athens, Art Expertise with the Greek team director Terpsichore Angelopoulou stating he was happy with the solid results of the sale showing “a strong and growing niche among an increasing number of collectors” for Greek Art.
“We expect this trend to continue in 2023,” she said.