Le Pho painting sells for over $1.1 mln in Hong Kong

“Young Lady Tying Her Scarf” by Le Pho fetched the highest bids of four local masterpieces auctioned at Christie’s Hong Kong on Monday.

« Jeune femme attachant son foulard » (Young Lady Tying Her Scarf) by Pho (1907-2001) fetched HKD8.65 million (over $1.1 million), the highest bid of the four local artworks at the « 20th and 21st Century Art Evening Sale ».

The masterpiece, created in 1938, is a 59.5 x 48.5 centimeter ink and gouache work on silk with Pho’s signature in the upper right corner.

The auction house notes on its website that the painting’s subject has been a driving force in Le Pho’s life and calls it a « gift of an endless source of inspiration » in his oeuvre.

« The fine features of the lady’s diaphanous face, her headdress, her black ao dai (a rare color for such a garment), the white veil, the abundant vegetation, all set in a mountainous landscape of Tonkin, are expressed here with real originality. »

The « 20th and 21st Century Art Evening Sale » session also included works by two other Vietnamese artists– Mai Trung Thu and Nguyen Phan Chanh. Four paintings by the three Vietnamese artists earned a total HKD21.4 million (over $2.7 million).

Pho’s « Le Bol Bleu » (The Blue Bowl), a 75 x 44.5 centimeter ink and gouache on silk painting created in 1930, was sold for HKD2.75 million.

Two other ink and gouache on silk paintings, « La Joconde » (Mona Lisa) by Thu (1906-1980) and « Les Teinturières » (Dyers at Work) by Chanh (1892-1984), respectively earned HKD5.63 million and HKD4.38 million.

Pho (1907-2001) was a prominent painter who carved out a successful career in France. In his long career he created thousands of works.

He was the first Vietnamese artist to breach the million-dollar mark. His first painting to fetch over $1 million was ‘Family Life’ at Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction house in April 2017.

By Dang Khoa – VnExpress.net – May 25, 2021