Nu couché Auction History

Provenance (concise): Léopold Zborowski, Paris; then Jonas Netter, Paris; acquired by Riccardo & Cesarina Gualino in Paris on 2 Oct 1928; included in the Società Anonima Finanziaria (Zaccaria Pisa) collection sale at Galleria Pesaro, Milan, 5–8 Feb 1934, lot 185; by 1935 with Pietro Feroldi, Brescia; acquired from Feroldi by Gianni Mattioli, Milan, 1949; thence by descent in 1977 and again in 1987 to owners in Switzerland [1][4].

Sold at Christie’s New York on 9 Nov 2015 for $170,405,000 (price realized, incl. premium); Christie’s named the buyer as the Long Museum, Shanghai [1][2].

The 2015 Christie’s result for Modigliani’s Nu couché—$170,405,000, price realized with premium—reset the artist’s market, eclipsing his prior auction record by a vast margin and ranking as the second‑highest auction price achieved for any artwork at the time [2]. The sale also featured a minimum price guarantee with third‑party financing, a structure often attached to top‑tier “trophy” lots that signals depth of demand at the highest levels [1].

Beyond price, the painting’s appeal is anchored in art history: it is among the 1917–18 nudes associated with Modigliani’s notorious 1917 Paris show that was closed by police for indecency—an oft‑cited narrative that adds cultural weight to market valuations [6]. The work’s blue‑chip exhibition and publication record, including the cover of MoMA’s 1951 Modigliani catalogue and later the Royal Academy’s 2006 survey, reinforces its standing among the artist’s most important canvases [1].

The buyer was identified by Christie’s as Shanghai’s Long Museum, reflecting the continued globalization of demand for Western masterworks and the growing role of Asian private museums in shaping the market’s top end [2][3]. Subsequent activity confirmed that this result was not an outlier: in 2018, a related 1917 reclining nude by Modigliani realized $157.2 million at Sotheby’s, underscoring sustained nine‑figure demand for prime examples from the series [5]. Viewed together, the painting’s impeccable provenance, major-exhibition history, and landmark 2015 price have made it a touchstone for Modigliani’s market at the apex of Impressionist & Modern collecting [1][2][5].