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Important Tahitian sculpture by Paul Gauguin for sale at Sotheby’s

Paul Gauguin: Jeune Tahitienne

Paul Gauguin: Jeune Tahitienne, c.1890-93

Tahitian sculpture by Gauguin for sale at Sotheby’s ‘Jeune tahitienne’ was created during Gauguin’s first trip to Tahiti (1890-1893) and it is the only one fully-worked bust portrait by the artist. The work will be one of the stars of Sotheby’s May 2011 sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in New York]]>

March 30 2011, source: Sotheby’s / theartwolf.com

Coinciding with the excellent exhibition “Gauguin: Maker of Myth” at the National Gallery of Washington, Sotheby’s is offering for sale one of the most important works by Gauguin to come to the market in recent years: ‘Jeune tahitienne’, one of the finest sculptures by the artist still in private hands, a work that has not been seen by the public in 50 years.

Gauguin travelled to Tahiti searching an artistic redemption, a comeback to the primitive and the exotic that could help him to find a way in which his Art could be purified. According to the press note published by Sotheby’s, “this serene young woman captures the mystery, allure and exoticism of the South Pacific”, adding that “the coral and shells of the delicate necklaces were collected and strung by the artist himself–who personally considered his sculptures to be his greatest artistic achievement”.

The tamanu wood sculpture will be one of the stars of Sotheby’s auction of Impressionist and Modern Art on May 3 2011, and it carries a pre-sale estimate of $10-15 million. Prior to the sale, the work will be exhibited in Hong Kong, London and New York

Related content

Gauguin: the Myth. Exhibition at the National Gallery of Washington (2011)
Important Tahitian still life by Gauguin at Christie’s, February 2011
Gauguin in the tropics: an essay by theartwolf.com

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Important Tahitian sculpture by Paul Gauguin for sale at Sotheby's