Sotheby’s is preparing to auction a hidden trove of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings that could fetch around $450 million in a single evening. The twelve-work Blaquier-Arrieta collection, kept largely out of public view for decades, will go under the hammer in New York on November 18. At the center of the sale is Vincent van Gogh’s “Châtaigniers en fleurs,” painted in the final months of his life and estimated at $180 million, a figure that could climb well beyond that if competitive bidding emerges.
Paul Cézanne’s “Arlequin,” a portrait of the artist’s son in Harlequin costume, anchors the second half of the headline pairing with an estimate near $120 million. Both works are poised to challenge existing auction records for their creators, with the Van Gogh potentially surpassing the $117 million benchmark set in 2022 and the Cézanne approaching the $137.8 million mark achieved by “La Montagne Sainte-Victoire.” The rarity of these pieces, combined with their provenance from a private South American collection, has already drawn attention from major institutional and private buyers across North America, Europe, and the Middle East.
The paintings belonged to Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier and her husband, Argentine sugar magnate Carlos Pedro Blaquier, whose family is selling the works following their deaths in 2020 and 2023. Most of the canvases were acquired from London’s Lefevre Gallery in the 1970s and have not been exhibited publicly since, adding an aura of discovery to the sale. Sotheby’s has guaranteed the auction, though the exact floor price remains undisclosed, signaling confidence that the collection will meet or exceed expectations even amid broader economic uncertainty.
Before the New York sale, the works will travel to London, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Paris, giving potential buyers a rare chance to inspect them in person. The group also includes significant pieces by Monet, Renoir, Degas, Pissarro, Gauguin, and others, creating a comprehensive survey of late nineteenth-century European painting. As one of the most valuable single-owner collections ever offered at auction, the Blaquier-Arrieta sale is likely to set a new benchmark for how hidden masterpieces re-enter the market and influence global art valuations in the years ahead.
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