12 paintings hidden for 50 years head to auction valued near $450 million
Twelve rare impressionist and post-impressionist paintings from a private South American collection are set for auction in New York with an estimated value of $450 million. The collection includes works by Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cézanne that have not been seen in public for fifty years.
Why it matters
The sale represents a significant event in the global art market, featuring rare masterpieces that could set new price records.
A collection of twelve impressionist and post-impressionist artworks valued at almost half a billion dollars is going up for auction on November 18, 2026, after sitting unseen for decades in a fabled private collection in South America. The paintings come from a collection amassed by the late Argentine art collector Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier and her sugar magnate husband, Carlos Pedro Blaquier, and are being sold by their children.They include van Gogh's landscape “Châtaigniers en fleurs” (Chestnut Trees in Flower) estimated at $180 million, and Cézanne’s portrait “Arlequin,” which carries an estimate of $120 million. Neither has been seen in public for half a century.
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