For Immediate Release Press Contact: Erin McAndrew +1.212.636.2680 emcandrew@christies.

com

CHRISTIES NEW YORK IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN ART EVENING SALE FEATURES ICONIC SURREALIST MASTERPIECES BY REN MAGRITTE
PRIVATE COLLECTION OF CELEBRATED MAGRITTE WORKS EXPECTED TO EXCEED $14 MILLION

Ren Magritte (1898 1967) La troisime dimension, 1950 Est: $700,000-1,000,000

Ren Magritte (1898 1967) Le monde familier, 1964 Est: $800,000-1,200,000

Ren Magritte (1898 1967) Les vacances de Hegel, 1958 Est: $9,000,000-12,000,000

Ren Magritte (1898 1967) Les belles ralits, 1962 Est: $3,500,000-5,500,000

New York Christies Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale in New York on November 1 will feature four important works by the Surrealist master Ren Magritte. The works, all from a prominent European collection, were acquired in the late 1970s and early 1980s and have remained in the same private collection since. The upcoming sale and exhibition marks the first time these magnificent works will be seen in public in more than twenty years. In recent seasons, Christies has seen exceptional prices for Surrealist works of this caliber, driven by increased demand from both established and new clients and an growing number of cross-over collectors from the Post-War and Contemporary art fields. The combined sale total for the four paintings is expected to exceed US$ 14 million. The collection of four works including two paintings and two works on paper is remarkable in that its includes virtually all of Magrittes most beloved and best-known visual motifs: the black gentlemans umbrella, the vivid green apple, the harness bell, the floating rock, and his so-called leaf tree. The lead highlight of the group is Les vacances de Hegel, or Hegels Holiday, one of Magrittes most important paintings of the 1950s (estimate: $9,000,000- 12,000,000). Though the artist painted only two versions of this

humorous composition, which depicts a glass of water perched atop an open umbrella, it remains one of the artists most well-known and emblematic images. Magritte took great delight in combining unpredictable and incongruous motifs in his works. In a letter to his biographer, Suzi Gablik, he explained his unusual choice of subject matter for Hegels Holiday as a conceptual puzzle he set out to solve: My latest picture began with the question how to show a glass of water in a picture in some way that would not be insignificant? Neither whimsical, nor arbitrary, nor feeble but lets say it: with genius? (false modesty apart) Then I thought that Hegel (another genius) would have greatly appreciated this object He would have been charmed, I think, or amused (as if on holiday) and I call the picture: Hegels holiday. Equally alluring is Magrittes Les belles ralits, or Fine Realities, painted in 1962, which features his iconic green apple motif topped by an incongruously tiny table covered with a white cloth (estimate: $3,500,0005,500,000). As with many of Magrittes most beloved compositions, his chosen subjects are seemingly suspended in air, and the disparity of scale between the apple and table serves to heighten the wry humor of the scene. Also included in the collection are two exquisite gouaches that illustrate Magrittes peerless facility with the medium. Magrittes Le monde familier, or The Familiar World, 1964, demonstrates his signature pictorial reversal of natural and artificial elements by depicting a solid rock floating implausibly above a cloud, which in turn hovers above the artists signature spherical harness bell or grelot (estimate: $800,0001,200,000). This work belongs to a series Magritte started in the 1950s that uses a rock hovering in the sky as its central theme, but it is one of the few that combines both the rock and the bell in one composition. In La troisime dimension, or The Third Dimension, 1950, a single leaf takes on the scale of a tree in a whimsical depiction of tropical birds perched upon each vein of the leaf (estimate: $700,000-1,000,000). These visually stunning leaf-trees, which Magritte envisioned as providing both a physical support and full ecosystem for the birds perched upon it, were a popular recurring motif throughout the artists career. In La troisime dimension, the leaf-tree itself appears to float in the atmosphere, in keeping with the common theme of the overall collection. Complete details of the collection are available online at www.christies.com. Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale e-catalogue Auctions: Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale Viewings: Christies Rockefeller Galleries, New York City http://tinyurl.com/ImpMod-Evening-Sale Tuesday, November 1 at 7pm Wednesday, November 2 at 10am October 28 November 1

About Christies Christies, the worlds leading art business, had global auction and private sales in the first half of 2011 that totaled 2.0 billion/$3.2 billion. In 2010 it achieved global auction and private sales of 3.3 billion/$5.0 billion. Christies is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service and expertise, as well as international glamour. Founded in 1766 by

James Christie, Christies conducted the greatest auctions of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and today remains a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful. Christies offers over 450 sales annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewellery, photographs, collectibles, wine, and more. Prices range from $200 to over $100 million. Christies has 53 offices in 32 countries and 10 salerooms around the world including in London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai and Hong Kong. More recently, Christies has led the market with expanded initiatives in emerging and new markets such as Russia, China, India and the United Arab Emirates, with successful sales and exhibitions in Beijing, Mumbai and Dubai. *Estimates do not include buyers premium

### Images available upon request