Magritte Masterpiece Expected to Fetch Record-Breaking $95 Million at Christie’s

A rare painting from René Magritte’s iconic “L’empire des lumières” series is poised to shatter records at Christie’s New York this fall, with an estimated price tag exceeding $95 million, CNN reports.

If sold at this price, the work would surpass the Surrealist artist’s previous auction record and mark a major triumph for Christie’s amid a softening art market.

“L’empire des lumières,” dating back to 1954, is one of 27 paintings in which Magritte masterfully explores the juxtaposition of light and darkness, depicting a sunlit sky above a shadowy street scene. The work’s significance is amplified by the fact that a similar piece from the same series sold for £59.4 million (then $79.7 million) at Sotheby’s in London in 2022, nearly tripling Magritte’s previous record.

The painting is part of the renowned collection of the late Ahmet Ertegun, music executive and co-founder of Atlantic Records. A dedicated evening sale of his collection will be held on November 19 in New York, followed by daytime auctions and two online sales. A significant portion of the proceeds will be directed towards philanthropic initiatives, reflecting Ertegun’s lifelong commitment to causes like the Graduate Scholarship Programme in the Humanities at Oxford University, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the World Monuments Fund.

The anticipated record-breaking sale comes amidst a challenging period for the art market. Christie’s reported a 22% year-on-year drop in total revenue from live and online auction sales during the first half of 2024, reaching $2.1 billion globally. However, despite the decline, other key metrics like sell-through rates remain strong. T