Bonham’s to Auction an Unseen René Magritte Painting Worth up to $9 Million USD

Bonham‘s will unveil an unseen René Magritte painting, titled Torse nu dans les nuages (circa. 1937) as part of “The Collection of Amalia de Schulthess” sale. The art has been held in private for the past 70 years and is expected to fetch around $6,000,000 to 9,000,000 USD.

The painting belonged to Amalia de Schulthess, the late-Austrian-born artist and collector who was based in Beverly Hills and passed away earlier this year. The Magritte painting showcases two of the acclaimed Belgian artist’s signature themes: clouds and a female torso. The work was created in 1937, which marked the height of the Surrealist movement.

“Torse nu dans les nuages is a highly significant painting within René Magritte’s oeuvre, exemplary of his first Surrealist phase,” said Molly Ott Ambler, Head of Fine Art, Americas in a statement. “Strange and otherworldly, it is a pictorial puzzle that reconfigures expectations and offers an alternative representation of reality. It is quite simply a Surrealist masterpiece, an impressive meditation on the complex nature of spatial and perceptual experience,” she added.

The single-owner sale also includes art by Schulthess herself, alongside work by Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore and others. The auction will take place tomorrow, December 7, starting at 1pm ET.

Elsewhere, Banksy pledges to sell artwork to help convert Reading Gaol prison into an arts center.