Impressionists and Surrealists vie for attention

COLLECTOR:  In February Christie's will hold a sale of Impressionist works by such artists as Manet and Renoir, on the same day as pieces by Surrealist masters including Dali and Magritte will be auctioned

Impressionist masterpieces including major works by Cézanne, Manet, Monet, Renoir and Vlaminck go under the hammer at Christie's, London, next month. On the same day a sale of "Art of the Surreal" including exceptional works by Salvador Dali, René Magritte and André Masson takes place at the same auction house.

Claude Monet's Prairie de Limetz highlights the "Impressionist and Modern Art" auction on February 4th. Estimated between £2 million sterling (€3.25 million) and £3 million, it has not been seen in public for more than 100 years.

An oil on canvas depicting poplar trees painted in 1888, it is one of a series of landscapes painted by Monet that summer. He painted the oil Golfe d'Antibes the same year, capturing the effect of light on Mediterranean water. It carries an estimate of £1.8 million to £2.2 million.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841- 1919) is represented by two major works. Le Premier Pas (1876) depicts Nini Lopez, one of the artist's favourite models, whom he painted several times in the 1870s during his prime Impressionist years. It is expected to fetch between £4 million and £6 million. L'Estaque, a landscape painted in 1882 estimated at £1.5 million to £2.5 million, used to be kept at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston - joint organisers with the National Gallery of Ireland of the current Impressionist exhibition in Dublin (see below).

Maurice de Vlaminck (1876- 1958) is represented by La Seine à Chatou, a landscape painted by the Seine in the village of Chatou estimated at £3 million to £4 million. Loaded with a mix of vibrant colours, it is expected to set a world record for the artist.

Paul Cézanne's (1839-1906) Maisons á Valhermeil vues en direction d'Auver-sur-Oise is expected to realise £2.8 million to £3.5 million. A major highlight of the auction, it was painted in 1882 when he left Pontoise and Auvers to paint in Provence - a time considered the starting point for his mature work.

Although probably his last picture executed near Pontoise, Cézanne painted it after his move to the South of France, when he returned briefly to Pontoise to visit his friend and mentor, Camille Pissarro.

The "Art of the Surreal" auction, also on February 4th, features prominent Surrealist artists from the 1920s and 1930s. Surrealism sought to release artists from the logical association of visual imagery to create pictures from the subconscious mind.

As many as five works by Salvadore Dali (1904-1989) feature in the auction. In L'apparition de la ville de Delft (apparition of the city of Delft) from 1935-36, Vermeer's View of Delft emerges like a mirage among rocks. Considered a work of homage to Vermeer's "photographic" precision, it is estimated at £300,000 to £500,000.

Dali's Chevauché, Celestial Ride (1957), depicting a rhinoceros - regarded as a symbol of virility - being ridden by a virgin brandishing a crutch, is estimated at £400,000 to £600,000.

Other highlights include a work by René Magritte (1898-1967), Les affinities électives (1933), estimated at £500,000-700,000. André Masson's Les Ombres (1927) carries an estimate of £180,000 to £250,000.

Monet, Renoir and the Impressionist Landscape - an exhibition of 69 paintings from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston - opened last Tuesday at the Millennium Wing, National Gallery of Ireland (entrance Clare St).

The exhibition runs until April 14th and includes masterpieces by Boudin, Cézanne, Monet, Renoir, Gauguin and van Gogh. Tickets must be booked in advance. Prices: adult €10; concession €6; family (two adults, three children) €23; children under 12 €3. Phone (24-hour): 1890 925 120; or from the UK: 0870 333 6030.

Www.ticketmaster.ie can also provide information on tickets, while further details about the exhibition can be located at www.nationalgallery.ie.