Cezanne and Pissarro at the MoMA

The MoMA (New York) is presenting a major impressionist exhibition running until 12 September 2005, entitled “Pioneering Modern Painting: Cézanne and Pissarro 1865–1885” in which a selection of 85 works traces the career of these two Impressionist masters. Cézanne and Pissarro first met in 1861 and subsequently worked regularly together in Pontoise and Auvers sur Oise.

Camille PISSARRO (1831-1903) : 
Artist benchmark 2004 by Artprice.com
Value
in 2004
Annual
growth
Price index (base1997 = $100)
141
-43%
Annual turnover
$ 16,630,300
+11%
Number of lots sold
88
+33%
% of lots unsold (excluding prints)
27%
-23%
Rank of artist
32
-11
Paul CÉZANNE (1829-1906) : 
Artist benchmark 2004 by Artprice.com
Value
in 2004
Annual
growth
Price index (base1997 = $100)
68
-16%
Annual turnover
$19,012,422
-34%
Number of lots sold
36
-52%
% of lots unsold (excluding prints)
39%
+223%
Rank of artist
27
-20

At auction, Paul Cézanne is rated as the most “expensive” artist. His painting Rideau, cruchon et compotier (circa. 1893-1894) from the Whitney collection fetched USD 55 million at Sotheby’s on 10 May 1999. This sale made the painting the seventh most expensive in the market. By comparison, the highest price paid for a Pissarro was USD 8 million for his series of four paintings: Printemps/Eté/Automne/Hiver (1872-1873), sold by Christie’s on 3 November 2004. This sale was the climax of a spectacular price rise in the artist’s index between 2001 and 2003, the year the centenary of his death was celebrated. The Artprice index shows a 162% increase in Pissarro’s index during these three years. However, prices have been falling for over a year.