The Most Expensive Artworks Sold in 2021
Vincent van Gogh, Cabanes de bois parmi les oliviers et cyprès, 1889. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. This enchanting landscape by Vincent van Gogh was the breakaway high result of a Christie’s sale of the late oil baron Edwin Cox’s collection of Impressionist art, with works by artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, and Pierre Bonnard. Cabanes de bois parmi les oliviers et cyprès, with its combination of signature Van Gogh motifs including olive trees, swirling gestural flourishes, and powerful swatches of cerulean and green, beat out a number of strong pieces by Cézanne and Van Gogh himself to earn the highest result of the sale and nab the number-four spot in the Dutch master’s current auction standings. The other Van Gogh works that hit the block as part of the Cox collection that night also sold well, with both Meules de blé (1888) and Jeune Homme au bleuet (1890) blowing past their high estimates. When taken in combination, these results—and Cabanes especially—signal a resurgent market interest in Van Gogh’s late-career works.