Andrea Jungmann, Sotheby’s managing director in Austria and Hungary and senior director of Sotheby’s London, analyzes the art market regarding Impressionism and provides professional insights and forecasts from an expert standpoint.
In 2019, for instance, Claude Monet’s “Meules” (1890) went under the hammer for a record-breaking $110.7 million at Sotheby’s in New York. How do you, as a professional, explain this staggering auction result in the field of Impressionist art?
Masterworks in any field always attract art collectors and the more there are the higher the prices for an artwork. This Monet was a real masterpiece, fresh to the market, and a typical work by the artist. No surprise that many collectors fought for it and therefore the price went up that high.
In your opinion, what is it that makes Impressionist art so popular among collectors?
Impressionist art is a milestone in art history. It is the beginning of modern art, a new way to see and depict the world. The works are also very aesthetic, the colors are beautiful and names like Renoir, Monet, Manet, etc. are known by everyone in the world.
Do you expect further price increases in the field of Impressionist art in the near future?
As supply in the art market is not endless and thus masterpieces will come to the market in a smaller number, I guess we have not seen the end of record prices. 20 years ago, no one would have believed that an artwork sells for more than $100 million. Nowadays, it is something that can happen should a real masterpiece turn up at auction.
From your expert point of view, is there an Impressionist who remains undervalued on the market?
For this I do not know the market well enough, but there were so many good and not that well known impressionist painters that it is likely.
Do you maybe have a favorite Impressionist or a favorite Impressionist work of art yourself? What makes the artist/artwork so special?
Monet’s waterlilies are my favorite as they are nearly abstract and you can get lost in them….love that.
If you could choose one particular Impressionist piece to sell at auction, which would it be?
Monet’s waterlilies, large format.
Mag. Andrea Jungmann
Mag. Andrea Jungmann, Sotheby’s managing director in Austria and Hungary and senior director of Sotheby’s London, joined the international auction house in 1989. She holds a master’s degree in art history as well as a diploma in cultural management. Throughout her long-standing career at Sotheby’s, she has been responsible for numerous record sales, including, among others, Gustav Klimt’s “Litzlberg am Attersee,” which sold for $40.4 million at Sotheby’s in New York in 2011, and Paul Rubens’s “Massacre of Innocents,” which came under the hammer for $76.7 million in London in 2002.
