PARIS, Oct 25 (ARTnews) – Sotheby’s tapped into the vibrant atmosphere of Art Basel Paris week and achieved a historic milestone, recording the highest-ever auction totals in France for surrealist and modern art sales. The combined results from the “Surrealism and Its Legacy” and “Modernités” auctions reached €89.7 million ($104 million), marking a 50 percent increase compared with last year’s equivalent sales.

The total also set a new record for Sotheby’s Paris as the most valuable various-owner sale series ever held in the French capital.

Modigliani Paintings Lead the Night

The standout of the evening was Amedeo Modigliani’s Elvire en buste (1918–1919), which shattered expectations by selling for €27 million ($31.3 million)—well above its €7.5 million high estimate. The result not only set a French auction record for Modigliani, but also became the most valuable artwork ever sold by Sotheby’s Paris.

The painting, unseen publicly since 1947, attracted seven competing bidders before the hammer fell.

Another Modigliani work, Raymond (1915)—believed to depict the novelist Raymond Radiguet—also fueled excitement. After a tense 10-minute bidding war, it sold for €10.6 million ($12.4 million), more than double its high estimate, and had remained in private hands for over six decades.

“These exceptional results marked a defining moment for Sotheby’s Paris and proved once again that when there are masterpieces, the market gets excited,” said Thomas Bompard, vice president of Sotheby’s France. “There was an incredible energy in the saleroom, and even online bidders from around the world contributed. Paris is entering a new dimension.”

Surrealism Shines

The Surrealism and Its Legacy portion generated €26.9 million ($31.2 million)—the second-highest total for a surrealist sale ever held by Sotheby’s in France.

René Magritte’s La Magie Noire (1934) led the category, selling for €10.7 million ($12.4 million)—double its estimate and a record for the series. The work, held in the same family collection for nearly a century, was originally acquired from the artist by the family of Suzanne Spaak, a World War II resistance heroine executed by the Gestapo for helping Jewish children escape Nazi persecution.

“It is quite extraordinary to face such an icon of Surrealism that has remained in the same collection since Magritte painted it,” Bompard said. “No collector could have dreamt of owning this celebrated La Magie Noire—until now.”

Other notable surrealist results included:

• Paul Delvaux’s Woman with a Rose (1936) – €2.4 million ($2.7 million)
• Óscar Domínguez’s Paysage Fantastique (1938) – €990,600 ($1.2 million)
• Konrad Klapheck’s Der Mustergatte (1964) – €825,500 ($957,580)

Modernités Sale and Global Participation

The Modernités session totaled €62.8 million ($72.8 million), with 85 percent of lots sold. Alongside the Modiglianis, Pablo Picasso’s Séries 347 etchings fetched €1.9 million ($2.2 million)—a French auction record for any print by the artist.

Across both sessions, nearly 90 percent of lots found buyers, and American collectors accounted for roughly one-third of the surrealist acquisitions.

The record-breaking evening underscored Paris’s growing prominence in the global art market, with top collectors, curators, and dealers converging in the city during Art Basel week—cementing its position alongside New York and London as a major auction hub.