A stunning example of Claude Monet’s Nymphéas series from a distinguished Japanese private collection, this depiction of the waterlilies at Giverny was painted between 1914 and 1917. Courtesy Sotheby's.

LONDON.- Works by two of the most internationally acclaimed artists were unveiled at Sotheby’s Hong Kong this past week, ahead of Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction in London on 2 March.

A stunning example of Claude Monet’s Nymphéas series, this depiction of the waterlilies at Giverny was painted between 1914 and 1917. The culmination of the artist’ progression towards true abstraction, this ground-breaking series is widely considered his greatest achievement, and this expressive, later work perfectly encapsulates the artist’s vision on a grand scale. Having last been at auction in 1978, the work has not been exhibited since 1995, when it went on view across three museums in Japan. It is now coming to auction from a distinguished Japanese private collection.

Property from a Distinguished Private Collector. Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973), Buste de femme accoudée, dated 31.12.38. (lower left) and dated again on the stretcher, oil on canvas, 61 by 50cm., 24 by 19¾in. Painted on 31st December 1938. Estimate: 10,000,000 - 15,000,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's. 

The women of Picasso’s life were the fulcrum of his creative genius - essential to his creative and intellectual processes. Picasso’s Buste de femme accoudée, painted on 31 December 1938, charts his evolving relationship with his muse Marie-Thérèse Walter, to whom he was ostensibly still devoted at the time, and the increasingly dominant presence of his new lover Dora Maar. Picasso deliberately conflates the two women’s features, to create an image that is a wider celebration of love and imaginative power.

The work is painted entirely in shades of grey – the palette reduced to an elegant monochrome. Picasso had a lifelong fascination with this technique, most notably in his great masterpiece Guernica painted the year previously. Here, the technique further emphasises the ambiguity of the sitter, with the viewer left without definitive clues as to their identity. This aspect of his art was celebrated in the 2012-13 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum exhibition “Picasso: Black and White”, in which this work was included.

Property from a Distinguished Private Japanese Collector. Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), A Pair of Lovers (Eglogue en Provence), oil on canvas,32.5 by 23cm., 12¾ by 9 in. Painted in Arles in March 1888. Estimate: 7,000,000 - 10,000,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Also unveiled in Hong Kong was Vincent van Gogh’s Eglogue en Provence - un couple d'amoureux (est. £7-10 million). Painted in March 1888, the month after Van Gogh arrived in Arles, the vibrant work is an intimate depiction of two lovers walking along the bank of a river. Its palette shows the influence of the new quality of light he encountered in the South of France, as well as the artist’s fascination with Japanese prints. The term eglogue in the title denotes a rural idyll, deriving from a Classical form used by the ancient Roman poet Virgil, with the figures acting as an enduring image of love.

Monet x Monet: A Distinguished American Collection. Claude Monet (1840 - 1926), Les Demoiselles de Giverny, signed Claude Monet and dated 94 (lower left), oil on canvas, 65 by 100cm., 25½ by 39¼in. Painted in 1894. Estimate: 15,000,000 - 20,000,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Monet x Monet: A Distinguished American Collection. Claude Monet (1840 - 1926), Massif de chrysanthèmes, signed Claude Monet and dated 97 (lower centre), oil on canvas, 130.7 by 88.8cm., 51½ by 35in. Painted in 1897. Estimate: 10,000,000 - 15,000,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Monet x Monet: A Distinguished American Collection. Claude Monet (1840 - 1926), Glaçons, environs de Bennecourt, signed Claude Monet and dated 93 (lower right), oil on canvas, 40.5 by 54cm., 15⅞ by 21¼in. Painted in 1893. Estimate: 5,000,000 - 7,000,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Monet x Monet: A Distinguished American Collection. Claude Monet (1840 - 1926), Sur la Falaise près de Dieppe, soleil couchant, signed Claude Monet and dated 97 (lower right), oil on canvas, 65 by 100cm., 25⅝ by 39⅜in. Painted in 1897. Estimate: 3,500,000 - 5,000,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Monet x Monet: A Distinguished American Collection. Claude Monet (1840 - 1926), Prunes et abricots, signed Claude Monet (lower left), oil on canvas, 18 by 38.2cm., 71⅛ by 15in. Painted circa 1882-85. Estimate: 1,200,000 - 1,800,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Property from The Gillion Crowet Collection. René Magritte (1898 - 1967), L'empire des lumières , signed Magritte (lower right); signed Magritte and titled on the reverse, oil on canvas, 114.5 by 146cm., 45 by 57½in. Painted in 1961. Estimate Upon Request. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Provenance: Acquired from the artist in 1961.

Three Works by Banksy From the Robbie Williams Collection. Banksy (b. 1974), Kissing Coppers, tagged (on the right hand overlap); signed and dated (on the verso), spraypaint and emulsion on canvas, 121 by 90 cm. 47½ by 35½ in. Executed in 2005, this work is unique. Estimate: 2,500,000 - 3,500,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's. 

This work is accompanied by a Pest Control Certificate of Authenticity.

 Three Works by Banksy From the Robbie Williams Collection. Banksy (b. 1974), Vandalised Oil (Choppers), tagged (front left); signed and dated (on the verso), oil and spraypaint on canvas, 94 by 61 cm. 37 by 24 in. Executed in 2006, this work is unique. Estimate: 2,500,000 - 3,500,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's. 

This work is accompanied by a Pest Control Certificate of Authenticity.

 Three Works by Banksy From the Robbie Williams Collection. Banksy (b. 1974), Girl With Balloon, spraypaint on metal, 60 by 90 cm. 23⅝ by 35½ in. Executed in 2006, this work is from an edition of 5. Estimate: 2,000,000 - 3,000,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's. 

This work is accompanied by a Pest Control Certificate of Authenticity.