A drawing by Henri Matisse has been auctioned in Manosque, France, for an amount of 220,000 euros. Auction house Ivoire announced this on Saturday. The drawing hung above a wardrobe for years, without the owner knowing its value.
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The identity of the buyer of this 1938 charcoal drawing has not been disclosed. The work was valued at around €300,000 and is entitled “Portrait of Hélène Mercier, born Princess Galitzine”. Mercier was one of Matisse’s favorite models in the late 1930s.
The drawing was lost after being exhibited at a retrospective devoted to the artist in Philadelphia in 1948. It wasn’t until about a year ago, when the last owner offered it to the auctioneer to have it appraised, that the drawing revealed its secrets.
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