Argentina's most important art collection, valued at $450 million, may go to auction

One of Argentina's most important and secretive art collections, amassed by the late patron Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier, is reportedly being prepared for auction at Sotheby's with an estimated value of $450 million. The collection, which includes masterpieces by Impressionist and Post-Impressionist giants like Van Gogh, Cézanne, Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Gauguin, has been kept under wraps for decades.

Following Arrieta de Blaquier's death in 2020 and her ex-husband Carlos Pedro Blaquier's in 2023, the collection is now managed by their five children. Artnet News first reported the potential sale, which would finally reveal the full extent of the treasures held by the prominent art patron, founder of the Association of Friends of the National Museum of Fine Arts.

Concerns about the collection's fate arose in June 2019 when several significant works were exported to Luxembourg for "safekeeping and exhibition." These included two Monet "Water Lilies" paintings, valued at $50 million and $42 million respectively, and works by Maurice De Vlaminck and Paul Signac, estimated at $5 million and $3.5 million. The export was temporary, but the artworks and sale proceeds did not return to Argentina, leading customs to levy a substantial fine of over 7.35 billion Argentine pesos on the family.

Christie's has previously handled some Blaquier artworks, including Van Gogh's "Zouave" portrait, which reportedly sold for around $190 million in a private sale. Christie's also recently sold two lesser-valued Signac paintings and is set to auction the family's silverware collection, estimated between $15 and $20 million, in London this December. However, Sotheby's is said to have offered more favorable terms for the main art collection.