New York – After setting the world auction record for Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita last month in London*, Bonhams New York will offer Fillette aux perruches in the Impressionist & Modern Art sale on November 13.

Painted in 1957, Fillette aux perruches is a brilliantly colored depiction of a young girl with parakeets from the artist's mature oeuvre. Beginning in the 1950s, during his second Paris period, Foujita drew inspiration from his everyday life, shifting his focus from the sensual nudes of the 20s and 30s to paintings featuring children and young girls. Fillette aux perruches is a quintessential example of the artist's ability to seamlessly blend his Japanese origins with the classicism of the great Western masters. The work is estimated at $300,000-500,000 and will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné by Sylvie Buisson.

The sale also features an important 1948 work on paper by Fernand Léger, L'Equipe au repos, offered with an estimate of $300,000-500,000. Belonging to one of Léger's most important post-war series, L’Equipe au repos demonstrates Léger's experimentation with the relationship between line and color. Léger found himself drawn to New York's bright and busy streets during his stay in the United States (1940-1945). The influence of city lights is apparent in the present composition by the artist's use of vibrant, sweeping strokes of boundaryless color across the leisured men's bodies and faces.

This work is distinguished by its important early provenance. This painting remained in Léger's personal collection until his death in 1955, when it was acquired by Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris from the artist's estate. The work later was acquired by Stephan Hahn, an influential New York art dealer who sold it to the present owner in April 1969.

Other highlights include:

1. Raoul Dufy, Mozart, oil on canvas (estimate: $150,000-250,000), an homage to the great composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the work is a resplendent example of Dufy’s mastery of color and his lifelong exploration of the interrelationships between music and painting.
2. Marc Chagall, Etude pour Golgotha, oil on paper, executed circa 1912 (estimate: $100,000-150,000), an incredibly rare, early work and one of Chagall's first depictions of Christ. The work is a preliminary study for the artist’s masterpiece Golgotha in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
3. Salvador Dalí, Study for Soldier Take Warning, gouache, pen, ink and pencil on brown paper, executed in 1942 (estimate: $80,000-120,000), one of the greatest representations of Dalí’s wartime iconography with key examples of the Surrealist lexicon.

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Enquiries

For further information and images call Sung-Hee Kim on +1 917-206-1692, or email sunghee.kim@bonhams.com .

* La fête d’anniversaire, a highly important masterpiece by Léonard Foujita sold for £7,096,250 to a bidder on the phone at Bonhams Impressionist and Modern Art sale in London on October 11, setting a new world record at auction for the artist. Unseen in public since 1950, and never before offered at auction, the work had an estimate of £900,000-1,300,000.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's largest and most renowned auctioneers, offering fine art and antiques, motor cars and jewellery. The main salerooms are in London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, with auctions also held in Knightsbridge, Edinburgh, Paris, San Francisco and Sydney. With a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams offers advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full list of forthcoming auctions, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com.