On November 18, 2026, in New York,Sotheby’s will present the Blaquier-Arrieta Collection, a collection of works that traces some of the key milestones in the emergenceof modern art,from Impressionism in the 1870s to the innovations of Post-Impressionism, right up to the early days of Fauvism. The evening sale, titled “Legendary: The Blaquier-Arrieta Collection Evening Auction,” is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and will feature paintings by artists such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, André Derain, and Maurice de Vlaminck.
The collection, considered one of the most important still held in private hands, was assembled by Carlos Pedro Blaquier and Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier beginning in the 1960s. The two collectors worked closely with some of the leading galleries of the time, including Lefevre and Wildenstein, with the goal of building a collection dedicated to Impressionist and modern art. The core of the collection thus spans an artistic period that coincides with one of the most significant transformations in Western painting.
The exhibition begins with the artists who, starting in the 1870s, challenged academic conventions to develop a more direct relationship with contemporary life. Claude Monet also turned his attention to the Tuileries Gardens, while Edgar Degas observed French society through scenes related to leisure and entertainment. The collection also includes Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s *En Canot*, painted in 1877, the year the Impressionists officially adopted that name for the first time. The work is part of the artist’s series dedicated to scenes of boating.
Another key moment is represented by Vincent van Gogh, featured with a luminous view of Auvers-sur-Oise created during the final months of his life. The painting thus belongs to the final phase of his artistic exploration, when his work had reached a particular expressive intensity. Alongside Van Gogh, the collection includes Paul Cézanne’s *Arlequin*, a work in which the artist depicts his own son and explores a pictorial approach based on a greater emphasis on structure, pointing toward a direction that would influence 20th-century painting.
The gradual shift toward new forms of representation continues with Paul Gauguin and his Tahitian still life from the late phase of his career. The work reflects the experimental nature of the artist’s exploration and marks a further departure from the Impressionist tradition. The collection then moves on to the works of André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck, whose paintings mark the emergence of a freer and more intense use of color associated with the birth of Fauvism.
The building of the collection was also accompanied by a commitment on the part of the Blaquiers and Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier to scholarship, philanthropy, and the preservation of cultural heritage. Several works also trace their provenance to prominent 20th-century collectors. Before entering the Blaquier-Arrieta collection, some paintings belonged to figures such as Albert Lasker, Norton Simon, and Lord Rothschild.
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| Sotheby’s is auctioning the Blaquier-Arrieta collection, featuring works by Monet, Van Gogh, and Cézanne |
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