Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard) Auction History
This 1919 portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne has a fully documented provenance from early collectors in Paris through major sales at Christie’s (1986) and Sotheby’s (2016). It realized £38,509,000 with fees at Sotheby’s London on 21 June 2016 and is now in a private collection [2]. The work (Ceroni no. 305) is a key late portrait and one of the artist’s most valuable non‑nude paintings at auction [1][2][4].
- Artwork
- Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard)
- Artist
- Amedeo Modigliani
- Best-known sale or transfer
- Sold for £38,509,000 (Sotheby’s London, 21 Jun 2016)
- Sale type
- Public auction
- Current location / owner
- Private collection
Auction and Ownership Timeline
Painted in Paris
Paris
Modigliani paints Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard), oil on canvas, 92 × 54 cm; recorded as Ceroni no. 305 [1].
Roger Dutilleul acquires the work
Paris
Acquired from Lepoutre in 1919 by the noted Modigliani patron Roger Dutilleul, Paris [1].
Galerie de France (Paul Martin), Paris
Paris
Purchased from Dutilleul by Galerie de France (Paul Martin) in 1943 [1].
By descent to Jean Spira
Porrentruy, Switzerland
By descent from Pierre Lévy to Jean Spira, Porrentruy, Switzerland, prior to the 1986 sale [1].
Christie’s London sale, Lot 42
c. £1.9m (press‑reported) · Christie’s, London
Offered at Christie’s London; the Sotheby’s 2016 catalogue lists this sale in the work’s provenance [1]. Press later reported the 1986 price around £1.9m [3].
Sotheby’s London sale, Lot 12
£38,509,000 (with fees) · Sotheby’s, London
Sold for £38,509,000 with fees (hammer £34.3m). The lot carried an irrevocable bid that went unused due to strong bidding [2].
Private collection
Private collection
Acquired by an anonymous buyer at Sotheby’s London; current location recorded as a private collection [2].
Provenance and Ownership
Provenance: Constant Lepoutre, Paris; acquired in 1919 by Roger Dutilleul, Paris; Galerie de France (Paul Martin), Paris (acquired from Dutilleul in 1943); Pierre Lévy, Paris (by 1956); by descent to Jean Spira, Porrentruy, Switzerland; sold Christie’s, London, 23 June 1986, Lot 42; sold Sotheby’s, London, 21 June 2016, to an anonymous buyer; current location: private collection [1][2].
Catalogue reference: Ceroni no. 305 (I Dipinti di Modigliani, 1970), as cited in the Sotheby’s catalogue entry [1].
Quick Facts
- Last known sale
- 21 June 2016
- Known sale price
- £38,509,000 (with fees)
- Sale type
- Public auction
- Venue / institution
- Sotheby’s London
- Current owner or location
- Private collection
- Publicly viewable?
- No
Why This Sale Matters
The 21 June 2016 Sotheby’s London sale of Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard) for £38.5m including premium established the work as one of Modigliani’s most valuable portraits and a marquee lot in that season’s London auctions. The lot had an irrevocable bid, but competitive bidding rendered the guarantee unnecessary, underscoring deep demand for late portraits of Jeanne in the mid‑2010s [2]. The painting’s comprehensive provenance—tracing from Constant Lepoutre and the seminal Paris collector Roger Dutilleul through Galerie de France and Pierre Lévy—further supports its market stature [1].
Within Modigliani’s market, late portraits are surpassed only by the artist’s iconic nudes. Nu couché set the painting record at $170.4m at Christie’s New York in 2015, and Sotheby’s achieved $157.2m for Nu couché (sur le côté gauche) in 2018, establishing the house record [5][6]. Against this backdrop, the £38.5m price for Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard) significantly exceeded earlier portrait benchmarks, including Jeanne Hébuterne (au chapeau) at £26.9m in London (2013) [4]. The work’s stylistic importance—among the apex group of 1918–19 Jeanne portraits, and notable for its rare depiction with defined pupils—adds to its desirability [1].
Long‑term momentum for late portraits has continued beyond 2016, with examples like Portrait of Paulette Jourdain (c.1919) reaching about US$35m in Hong Kong in 2023, signaling strong, geographically diversified demand for prime Modigliani portraits [7]. Taken together, the blue‑chip provenance, extensive exhibition and literature history, and a top‑tier London auction result confirm Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard) as a reference‑level work in the artist’s portrait market [1][2][4].
Related Pages
Other auction histories by Amedeo Modigliani
Sources
- Sotheby’s London 2016, Lot 12: Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard) — Sotheby’s
- Picasso and Modigliani portraits make an impression at Sotheby’s auction — The Art Newspaper
- Picasso and Modigliani Lead Sotheby’s £151 Million Impressionist & Modern Sale in London — Artnet News
- Christie’s London, Feb 2013: Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale (top lot Jeanne Hébuterne (au chapeau)) — Christie’s
- Modigliani’s Nu couché leads a night of records in New York — Christie’s
- At $157.2 Million, Modigliani’s Greatest Nude Is Also the Most Expensive Painting Ever Sold at Sotheby’s — Sotheby’s
- 2023 Hong Kong Autumn Auctions: A New Chapter Begins (incl. Paulette Jourdain result) — Sotheby’s