Pieter Breughel the Younger’s “Spring” more than tripled its low estimate of $700,000 and fetched $2.3 million at Sotheby’s Old Master paintings sale on June 6, 2013. 

The Breughel was among a group of 17 paintings from an anonymous West Coast estate consigned to Sotheby’s by New York Fine Art Appraisers (NYFAA), an appraisal and art advisory firm.  Five of the auction’s top lots came from the estate and brought a total of $4.2 million, nearly doubling their high estimates. 

“Allegories of the Seasons,” a group of four paintings by Sebastiaen Vrancx, also exceeded the pre-sale estimates, bringing $875,000 (est. $300/500,000), as did another rare composition by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, “The Whitsun Bride,” which sold for $845,000 (est. $400/600,000).  Breughel’s “Spring” was a previously unpublished work of 16-1/2 by 22-1/2 inches.

Danielle Rahm, Director of NYFAA, commented, “The sales results confirm that there is great demand for high quality works from private collections that are fresh to the market.  Prices for the major works repeatedly went well beyond their estimates, and even lesser works – those estimated at under $40,000 – performed very well.” 

Working on behalf of the estate’s executors, NYFAA solicited proposals for the sale of the paintings, selected the venue, arranged for packing and shipping, and negotiated the terms of the consignment contract.   

About NYFAA: New York Fine Art Appraisers, Inc. is one of the leading independent advisory and appraisal firms of the fine and decorative arts in the country, providing a full range of professional valuation, consulting and collection management services tailored to meet the needs of both private and corporate collectors and non-profit institutions in the United States and abroad.