FRANCIS PICABIA (1879-1953)










Provenance
Maurice Montet, ParisGalerie Ch.. Le Chanjour, Nice (1979)
Private Collection, Switzerland (1980-2001)
Lucien Bilinelli, Brussels and Milan (2006)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 7th February 2006, lot 65
Private Collection, Russia (2006-2009)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 3rd February 2009, lot 22
Private Collection (2009-2015)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, Surrealist Art Evening Sale, 3rd February 2015, lot 75
Private Collection, California
Literature
William A. Camfield, Beverley Calté, Candace Clements, Arnaul...More...d Pierre. Francis Picabia Catalogue Raisonné. Volume III (1927-1939)...LESS...
History
Francis Picabia’s Lunis from 1929-1930 belongs to an exploration by the artist of layered figurative compositions. Called Transparences for their overlapping images akin to photographic transparencies, the works in this series mimic the delicate translucent qualities of a butterfly’s wings. Indeed, Picabia likely looked to those elegant insects for inspiration, studying an encyclopedia of butterfly species (Atlas de poche des papillons de France, Suisse et Belgique by Paul Girod) that was in his personal library. In Lunis, dotted wings swirl and mingle with other compositional elements, blending and transforming with other layers and lines – merging with the outline of a woman’s face, a bird’s contour, or the less-defined linear elements that draw the viewers eyes around the painting in graceful arcs.
MoreMARKET INSIGHTS
- The graph by Art Market Research shows that since 1976, paintings by Picabia have increased at an 8% annual rate of return
- The top 5 works by Francis Picabia sold at auction are from the 1920s, his most desirable period.
- Four of the top five Picabia works sold at auction were sold within the last two years
- Lunis (1929-1930) is one of the few Transparences privately held.
- Recent record-setting sales for works by Claude Monet ($110.7 million in 2019) and Sandro Botticelli ($92.2 million in 2021) show increasing demand for the best examples from each art historical period.
Top Results at Auction





Comparable Paintings Sold at Auction

- Same year, larger than Lunis, but a work on paper with less color
- Similar figuration the artist was known for during this time, lots of detail and fractals similar to Lunis
- Major recent result, selling for almost $5 million in 2019 – well above the high estimate

- Interesting focus on mythology which is an important theme for the artist
- Major recent result, selling for almost $5 million in Oct 2020 (mid-pandemic) – well above the high estimate
- Same year, larger than Lunis, but a work on paper with less color

- Same year, 1929, but darker and on panel (not canvas like Lunis)
- Similar composition to Lunis, has nice complexity
- Strong result from 2020 selling for $4.5 million USD – well above the high estimate
![picabia-comp4 "Melibée" (c.1931), oil on canvas, 77 x 51 1/8 in. Sold at Sotheby’s, Paris: 19 March 2019] for $4,452,678 USD.](https://cbhlquuowr-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/picabia-comp4.jpg)
- Later painting (1931) than Lunis
- Darker painting but has some color, less complex than Lunis
- Strong result in European sale in 2019 – selling for well above the high estimate
Paintings in Museum Collections



