An alluring Paul Gauguin landscape, Paysage aux trois arbres, continued a run of hard luck in November, when it was bought in at Sotheby’s without eliciting a single bid. The circa 1892 painting was estimated at $9 million to $12 million. The consignor, Bahamas-based Mandarin Trading Limited, had previously tried to sell it in 2000 at Christie’s, where it carried an estimate of $12 million to $16 million. The work failed there as well, prompting Mandarin to sue New York dealer Guy Wildenstein and Wildenstein & Company last year for what it claimed were “fraudulent misrepresentations.” The suit alleged that Wildenstein had appraised the Gauguin at $15 million to $17 million, leading the firm to acquire the painting privately for what it thought was a bargain $11.3 million. The suit was dismissed in September, a third blow for Mandarin.

 

"Strike Three?" originally appeared in the January 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's January 2008 Table of Contents.