Stolen Art DealerA half-length portrait of a man in eighteenth-century dress, turned and looking back over his shoulder, painted with fast, free brushwork.
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Catalogue No. 1855 · Bonhams · London
Portrait of François-Henri, 5th duc d'Harcourt, half-length and looking over his shoulder to his left
About $40.4 million in today’s money: 460 years of the typical US household’s income. Source
- Artist
- Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732–1806)
- Title
- Portrait of François-Henri, 5th duc d'Harcourt, half-length and looking over his shoulder to his left
- Date
- c. 1780
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Size
- 81 x 65 cm (31 7/8 x 25 9/16 in.)
Jean-Honoré Fragonard's portrait of François-Henri, 5th duc d'Harcourt, is an oil on canvas, 81 by 65 cm. It is a half-length portrait of a man in eighteenth-century dress, turned to look back over his shoulder to his left. The brushwork is fast and free. Neither the Bonhams lot page nor its press releases gives a date for when it was painted.
The portrait belonged to the d'Harcourt family, at the Château d'Harcourt and later the Château de Champs-de-Bataille, until 1971. Sotheby's, London, sold it on 8 December 1971 as lot 21 for £340,000, to Dr. Gustav Rau.
It came to auction again in the Rau UNICEF Sale at Bonhams, London, on 5 December 2013, as lot 85. Bonhams records the price as £17,106,500 including premium, which Bloomberg reported as $27.9 million. Bloomberg adds that the estimate was a minimum hammer price of £15 million.
Bonhams states that this was a world auction record for Fragonard at the time of sale. The previous record, it says, was £5,300,000 for a painting sold in London in 1999.
The sale
- Auction house
- Bonhams, London
- Date
- 5 December 2013
- Lot
- 85
- Estimate
- minimum hammer estimate £15 million (Bloomberg)
- Sold for
- $27.9 million (including buyer’s premium) · £17,106,500
- Record
- Bonhams states a world auction record for Fragonard at the time of sale; the previous record was £5,300,000 for a painting sold in London in 1999. (as of December 2013)
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Provenance
until 1971
Collection of d'Harcourt family, Château d'Harcourt, then Château de Champs-de-Bataille
1971-12-08
Sale, Sotheby's, London, 8 December 1971, lot 21 (sold for £340,000), where purchased by Dr. Gustav Rau
2013-12-05
Rau UNICEF Sale, Bonhams, London, lot 85, sold for £17,106,500 inc. premium
Sources
- Bonhams, Rau UNICEF Sale, lot 85 (Fragonard, Portrait of François-Henri, 5th duc d'Harcourt)
- Bonhams press release: Fragonard portrait makes £17million at Bonhams and sets new world record
- Bloomberg: Fragonard Portrait Fetches Record $27.9 Million in London
Prices include the buyer’s premium, in US dollars at the time of sale, unless marked as a hammer price.