Christie’s auction house is set to unveil a major work by renowned surrealist painter René Magritte, titled "L’ami intime" (The Intimate Friend), at an upcoming London auction on March 7. This marks a rare opportunity for art enthusiasts, as the painting has not been publicly displayed since 1998 and is expected to fetch between £30 million and £50 million ($38 million and $64 million).
Completed in 1958, "L’ami intime" features Magritte's iconic motifs, including a bowler-hatted man and whimsical white clouds against a blue sky. The enigmatic scene portrays the man facing outward over a hilly landscape, with a baguette and wine glass suspended in the foreground. Olivier Camu, Christie’s deputy chairman for Impressionist and modern art, describes the painting as "highly poetic, highly dreamy," ranking it among the most important Magritte works in private hands.
This year marks the centenary of Andre Breton’s “Surrealist Manifesto,” a revolutionary artistic movement characterized by unsettling juxtapositions and paradoxical statements. Magritte, who died in 1967, remains one of the most sought-after surrealist artists. Unlike contemporaries such as Salvador Dali, Magritte's works lack specific cultural or religious references, offering a conceptual and accessible appeal.
Magritte's paintings, characterized by their clean, powerful, and silent nature, have seen soaring prices in recent years. The record-breaking sale of "L’empire des lumières" (The Empire of Light) at a Sotheby’s auction in 2022 reached £59.4 million ($79.8 million at the time).
The painting up for auction in March comes from the collection of the late Gilbert Kaplan, founder of Institutional Investor, and his wife, Lena Kaplan. Prior to the sale, the masterpiece will be displayed at Christie’s locations in Los Angeles, New York, Hong Kong, and London.
