Exclusive | Van Gogh painting owned by princess may fetch US$50 million at Hong Kong auction, setting record
Les canots amarrés, owned by Princess Camilla of Bourbon Two Sicilies, will set record for most expensive painting sold in Asia if work fetches US$50 million estimate
A Vincent van Gogh painting owned by a European princess will set a record for the most expensive painting sold in Asia if the work fetches its US$50 million estimate at an auction in Hong Kong on Thursday.
The high-profile sale coincides with the opening of auction house Christie’s new Asia-Pacific headquarters at The Henderson in Central, with an art adviser saying the sale could help the city regain attention in the global art market.
In an exclusive interview with the Post, Princess Camilla of Bourbon Two Sicilies said parting with the painting Les canots amarrés by Van Gogh from 1887 marked a new beginning for her.
“It’s a painting very dear to my family and my family’s trust. It’s a painting of incredible history in the very particular moment of the artist’s [career],” Princess Camilla said, adding that selling the work would enable her to explore new artists such as those from China who she felt were not known enough in Europe.
“I am very happy to imagine that in the new owner, the new place it will go, whether it’s for this person or museum, it will bring new joy to new people that will have the chance to see it.”
She added she had not considered selling in New York or London and chose Hong Kong because of “the rapidly growing and dynamic Asian art market”, which she thought of as a key player at the global level and one with “a strong and expanding base of collectors who are increasingly interested in Western art”.
