kolkata sothebys paris is coming up a sale of a selection of works from the collection of comtesse viviane de witt viviane de witt is married to jerome de witt a descendant of napoleons brother jerome king of westphalia and became one of frances first female auctioneers in 1978 swiftly making her mark on the countrys maledominated auction world her interests span a humanistic wealth of fields irrespective of fashion genre or period ranging from chinese snuffbottles to contemporary art via tribal art and 18th century furniture her spontaneous yet learned curiosity is allied to a keen interest in each work and its history she is also a devotee of art deco and author of a book about the cabinetmakers jules and andre leleu and jewellery having published monographs on sterle and marina bulgari now viviane de witt has chosen sothebys to offer for auction a score of exceptional works by leading 20th century artists her decision to sell this worldclass array in paris confirms the status of the french capital as an international platform for modern and contemporary art market the modern art section includes a giacometti figurine one of his very first painted bronzes designed around 194950 and doubtless unveiled at giacomettis first postwar exhibition in paris staged at the galerie maeght in june 1951 giacometti gave the bronze to his friend balthus suggesting that he attached great importance to it estimate 115 m132 m the superb array of works by pablo picasso embodies different aspects of his genius ranging from his 1912 drawing of a seated man estimate 120000180000158000237000 to his unique 1948 terracotta facevase estimate 100000150000132000197000 contemporary art includes jeanmichel basquiats magisterial crown hotel mona lisa black background from 1982 a crucial time in his development basquiat was only 22 this precocious artistic triumph conveys the depth of basquiats creative power and the extent of his artistic resourcefulness welding ideological awareness autobiographical references and expressive genius into an iconic masterpiece it is a powerful yet coherent work of tremendous depth and complexity the most important basquiat ever to appear at auction in france that nods in the direction of leonardos mona lisa and manets olympia in its approach to the canons of western beauty the painting was first shown by bruno bischofberger the zurich galleryowner who established basquiats global reputation and resurfaced at the mary boone gallery in new york in 1999 when it was acquired by comtesse de witt estimate 57m6692m another major american work is five women a drawing by willem de kooning belongs to his most soughtafter body of work estimate 400000600000526000789000