Van Gogh Painting At Sotheby's May Make $50 Million

Have an extra $50 million burning a hole in your pocket?  That's how much you'll need to get one of the Venus' arms of paintings, a Van Gogh looking for a buyer.  Prestigious auction house Sotheby's is estimates that Still Life, Vase with Daisies and Poppies (1890) (also called Still Life: Red Poppies and Daisies) will go under the hammer anywhere from $30 million to $50 million (US).

The painting  officially goes on sale November 4 at Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale.  It is, unpredictably, predicted to be the sale highlight.  Museums, private owners of Van Gogh's works and the companies that insure them will be more than eager to see what the final price is as this will help them re-evaluate how much their Van Gogh's are now worth.

What's so special about this painting?  It's red flowers in a vase, right?  The background is similar to those of the infamous Sunflowers series.  This also may be one of the last paintings that Van Gogh did, according to the New York Observer.  It was painted at Auvers-sur-Oise, France, possibly in June of 1890.

Let's hope that Still Life, Vase with Daisies and Poppies does not share the same fate as Portrait of Dr. Gachet which disappeared after being bought at a Christie's auction for a Japanese collector 1990. That painting's price was over $82 million. Very few Van Gogh paintings have ever been on the open market in America since the 1980's, notes The Financial Times.

Image is from the Van Gogh Gallery's excellent website.

EDIT November 5: The painting went for $61.8 million.