On April 27, 2022 at the auction called ‘Modern Evening Auction’ at Sotheby’s Hongkong, a screen of 3 elements titled ‘Figures in a garden’; oil painting, total dimension 175 × 209.5 cm; by Lê Phổ; has reach the peak of price: 17.920 million HKD; about 2.3 million USD; equivalent to nearly 60 billion VND (fees included).
In 2017, also at Sotheby’s Hongkong, Lê Phổ’s silk painting ‘Family life’ helped the price of Vietnamese paintings reach the million–dollar mark — 1.2 million USD for the first time. The painting created a buzz, becoming the media focus at that time. Since then, there have been many paintings of Lê Phổ that have reached the price of millions of dollars, but they cannot be as shocking and joyful as the first time. After that, the paintings of Mai Trung Thứ, Phạm Hậu, and Lê Quốc Lộc also reached the million–dollar mark, but the media only aroused a wave of joy when Mai Trung Thứ’s ‘Portrait of Miss Phương’ reached a whopping 3.1 million USD in 2021.
And in fact, the price of 2.3 million USD for Lê Phổ’s 3 elements painting ‘Figures in a garden’ this time surprised most of the collectors. After careful analysis from a personal point of view, Viet Art View has the following observations:
ABOUT PRICE LEVEL
- This is the first time that an oil painting with such a style of screen by Lê Phổ has been shown to the public. Three sheets 175×209.5 cm is the largest dimension for a painting of Lê Phổ were auctioned.
- The price is nearly 60 billion divided by 3 elements. Each element is approximately 20 billion VND. Dimension of each sheet 175×69.5cm. Compared to a painting of Lê Phổ of such dimension, it is expensive but not too expensive as many people think.
ABOUT VALUES
The value of an artwork always includes historical value, artistic value, commercial value.
- Historical value: This is the first largest dimension 3–elements oil painting of Lê Phổ ever auctioned. It makes sense in terms of events. The first thing always gets the most attention.
- Artistic value: The painting depicts the scene of 3 young women and 3 babies playing, relaxing and resting in a garden full of flowers. The painting is very typical, typical of Lê Phổ’s theme, artistic style, and visual style. At a glance, one can immediately recognize that this is a painting by Lê Phổ. Unmistakable with any other painter. Despite the fact that the painting is not so beautiful compared to many of his other oil paintings that have been auctioned…
- Commercial value: The three factors above will determine the commercial value of a work. From there, it can be judged that the price of nearly 60 billion VND for the painting ‘Figures in a garden’ is not too high. It is only surprising among collectors because the painting is not special and artistically excellent. But this is similar to beauty pageants. The most beautiful girl in the contest is not sure to win the crown because in order to win the title of Miss, she must have a lot of other criteria such as: morality, education, point of view, behavior, communication, kindness, etc.
- Time of auction: In any period of history, the value of art increases and decreases based on economic indicators and political situation. The value of an artwork is based on the artist’s name, rarity, appearance, the work’s own beauty… and the global economic situation at that time. When economic indicators are good, the tendency to invest in art will be higher. But sometimes, political and economic instability also pushes the value of art higher than the actual value when other types of investment such as stock, real estate… Currently, Vietnamese paintings are mostly purchased by Vietnamese, to bring home. But not a small amount of the best paintings have also flowed into Asian collections. Therefore, the Vietnamese economy must be strong enough, the art players are also high level, the flow of money into art will be strong. Only when Vietnamese people can purchase expensive paintings can they raise the value of Vietnamese art itself.
But after all, in the same session on April 27, 2022, the price of paintings by Chinese painters like Wu Guanzhong — 103,927,000 HKD; or Picasso’s painting at the price of 169,420,000 HKD… is still very far away when Lê Phổ’s ‘Figures in a garden’ is at 17,920,000 HKD.
But no matter what, this is also an ideal price with the wish of reaching the international level for Vietnam’s art… and also the joy of Vietnamese who love Vietnam’s art.
So there is nothing to worry about, but to be very happy…
LÊ PHỔ (1907–2001)
‘Figures in a garden’
Oil painting
Total dimension 175×209.5 cm
By Viet Art View
Copyright belongs to Viet Art View
