Henri Matisse's "Bouquet for July 14, 1919" up for Auction at Sotheby's N.Y.

AFP/Sotheby's/HO

With an estimated value of between 18 and 25 million dollars, according to Emmanuel Di Donna, head of the Impressionist sales office at Sotheby's New York, the painting "
Bouquet for July 14, 1919" by the french impressionist Henri Matisse will be presented for auction on May 5, 2010 at the Sotheby's N.Y.

Measuring 116cm by 89cm (45.5 by 35 inch) the painting, celebrating Henri Matisse's joy at France's first Bastille Day after World War I, was presented to his dealers Berheim-Jeune briefly after its completion and it remained in their family collection until it was sold at an auction in France to an european private collector in 1982 for 1.3 million dollars, setting a record for a Matisse at the time, later surpassed by "Les Coucous Tapis et Rose" (1911) sold for 35.9 million Euro ($46.4 million), the highest value paid for a work by the artist at auction.

Before the auction in New York, the painting will be shown in Hong Kong and London.