‘Vietnamese Lady’ painting by Le Pho sells for over half a million dollars

August 30, 2022

The painting “Vietnamese Lady” by late Vietnamese painter Le Pho sold for 781,200 Singapore Dollars (approximately $558,629) at an auction at Sotheby’s in Singapore over the weekend.

The art piece, an ink and gouache painting on silk created in 1938, was sold to a Vietnamese collector during Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Art live auction on Sunday.

The selling price was reportedly right along with art experts’ estimated potential price of 620,000-1 million Singaporean dollars (approximately $443,583-$715,456).

Measuring 11.22 inches by 9.25 inches, the work depicts a young woman wearing the Vietnamese national garment — the áo dài — while sitting in a traditional wooden chair.

The auction house described the work as “exquisitely painted and exceptionally rare,” showcasing the artist’s “unparalleled technical mastery in handling silk as a medium.”

Sotheby’s featured 50 paintings by 37 artists from Southeast Asia during the auction, with Pho having the most works featured with eight in total.

Pho was born in Hanoi and moved to France in 1937, where he became a prominent artist until his death in late 2001. He created thousands of paintings throughout his long and prolific career in the country.

In April 2017, his painting “Family Life” sold for over $1 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction house, making him the first Vietnamese artist to breach the million U.S. dollar mark. He is revered in Vietnam along with Vu Cao Dam, Le Thi Luu and Mai Trung Thu as the four most prominent artists of the “golden age of Vietnamese modern art” in the 20th century.

Mai Trung Thu’s “Children Playing” was also sold at Sotheby’s on Sunday for 504,000 Singaporean dollars (approximately $360,590).

Featured Image via Sotheby’s

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