Edvard Munch Vampire for New York Auction
Published September 28th, 2008
Sotheby’s November 3, 2008 evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in New York will feature an exceptionally rare masterpiece by Edvard Munch — Vampire, from 1894. This emotionally charged image numbers among the most iconic compositions in art history. A spectacular representation of love, sex and death, Vampire created a sensation when it was first exhibited and evokes a similar reaction today; calling to mind the provocative work of artists such as Goya, Francis Bacon and Damien Hirst. One of a group of four oil paintings of this theme that Munch completed between 1893 and 1894, Vampire is the only example not owned by a museum; the others residing in institutions in Oslo and Gothenburg. Never before offered at auction, the painting is expected to bring in excess of $35 million.
Executed in 1894, the painting was sold to Munch’s avid collector John Anker in 1903. It was later acquired by a private collection in 1934, where it remained for more than seventy years. Prior to exhibition and sale in New York, Vampire will be on view at Sotheby’s London from October 3-7, 2008 and in Moscow from October 16-19, 2008.
