The Estrella Collection comprises over 200 works and will become the largest and most important collection of Chinese contemporary art to appear at auction. It has already commanded museum shows and has prompted its own catalogue: ChinaOnward: The Estella Collection – Chinese Contemporary Art, 1966-2006. It includes work by the likes of Ai Weiwei, Zhang Xiaogang, Cai Guo-Qiang and Xu Bing.
Zhang Xiaogang’s (b. 1958) Bloodline:The Big Family No.3, which was painted in 1995 and appeared at46th Venice Biennale, heads up the group and is predicted tobe one of the hits of the sale. Its estimate is set at HK$19.5-27 million(US$2.5/3.5 million). Given the scale and international appeal of thecollection, the auction will be held in two parts: approximately 110 works willbe offered on April 9, 2008, in Hong Kong during Sotheby’s spring sales andthen later in the autumn Sotheby’s in New York will host the remaining lots.The sale in Hong Kong is expected to achieve HK$65-95 million (US$8-12 million).
Evelyn Lin, Head of the Contemporary Chinese Art Department, Sotheby’s China and Southeast Asia,said, “The Estella Collection’s content, size and value establish it as amongst the best collections of Chinese contemporary Art. This is an unparalleled opportunity for collectors, both new and established, to acquire works from a collection whose encyclopedic presentation of artists has helped to reinterpret the history of Chinese contemporary art.”
