Big names at surprising prices: Christie’s must-have finds under $50,000

A masterful example of Albert André’s refined Post-Impressionist sensibilities, Nature morte et statue was acquired directly from the artist by his influential dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel. André first exhibited in 1894 at the Salon des Indépendants, where his soft palette and delicate handling of light caught the attention of Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The two became lifelong friends, and it was Renoir who introduced André to Durand-Ruel — an encounter that helped launch the artist’s successful career. In addition to his accomplishments as a painter, André was also a respected writer and curator. He authored monographs on Renoir and Claude Monet. He also assembled the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection at the Museum of Bagnols-sur-Cèze — now named the Albert André Museum in his honour — cementing a legacy of innovation, grounded in tradition and enriched by close ties to the leading artists and thinkers of his time.

Pulling back the curtain on Leonora Carrington’s interest in the performing arts, Naturaleza muerta offers a rare glimpse into the theatrical side of the Surrealist painter’s richly imaginative world. Originally conceived as a set design for Penélope — a play written by Carrington and directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky in Mexico City — Naturaleza muerta reflects the fertile period she spent in Mexico, where her practice expanded beyond painting into new forms and medium. There, she embraced set and costume design, permeating the stage with her singular vision. Like much of her work, Penélope, as evidenced in the present work, channelled themes of alchemy, myth, and the occult, populated with strange beings in a dreamlike setting.

Created during the final year of World War II, Pablo Picasso’s Nature morte is a vibrant example of the artist’s ability to fuse abstraction and still life into a composition bursting with colour and form. During the war, the still life was Picasso’s preferred subject — offering a creative refuge during the darkest days of the occupation. Eleven years after its creation, in July 1955, Picasso dedicated and gifted Nature morte to his first American dealer, Sam Kootz. Kootz’s initial trip to France in the 1940s marked the beginning of a vital transatlantic partnership and enduring friendship. More than a dealer, Kootz was a passionate champion of modernism, determined to introduce American audiences to the most innovative artists of his time. Nature morte captures a moment of artistic defiance and growing international network that shaped postwar modernism.

Joan Miró’s Plaque, created in collaboration with master ceramicist Josep Llorens Artigas, reflects a vibrant period of experimentation in his career. Moving beyond traditional media, Miró began to explore ceramics in the 1940s and ’50s, drawn to the tactile possibilities of clay. Plaque captures the lyrical essence of his visual language — featuring iconic motifs like the bird and moon — rendered with playful spontaneity. Friends since their early days in Barcelona, Plaque is a testament to Miró’s creative partnership with Artigas, whose technical mastery allowed Miró’s imaginative forms to come alive in clay. From the Matisse family collection, by descent from the artist’s longtime dealer Pierre Matisse, Plaque demonstrates Miró’s ability to open his highly personal visual language to new possibilities.

With its brilliant colour, layered patterning, and dynamic composition, Albert Gleizes’s Les Clowns captures both the energy of the circus and the intellectual rigor of Synthetic Cubism. Gleizes, a key figure in the development of Cubism alongside contemporaries like Picasso and Georges Braque, often pushed the boundaries of form and perspective. Here, he channels that innovation into a subject full of movement and character — the circus clown, a recurring motif in modern art. Drawn to its sense of drama, illusion and the poignant contrast between performance and reality, artists such as Picasso, Georges Seurat, Marc Chagall and Fernand Leger also found inspiration under the big top. Through bold colour and rhythmic shapes, Gleizes creates a theatrical scene that captures the spirit of modern life through a uniquely Cubist lens.

The intrinsic humanity in Henry Moore’s work underpins his reputation as one of modern sculpture’s most influential figures. Oblong Mother and Child, executed on an intimate yet powerful scale, is a poignant example of one of his most enduring themes: the bond between parent and child. Created in Moore’s signature modernist style, the sculpture distils this relationship into abstract, yet deeply emotive forms. The elongated bodies and simplified features reflect the artist’s interest in the universal, drawing from ancient art to evoke timeless human connections. Moore returned to this motif throughout his career, discovering endless variations and layers of meaning. In Oblong Mother and Child, he captures its essence with striking clarity, offering a quiet meditation on protection, vulnerability, and the enduring strength of human connection.

Yves Tanguy developed a distinctive Surrealist style, characterized by vast, otherworldly landscapes populated with biomorphic forms and mysterious shadows. Influenced by automatism and the subconscious, Tanguy, best known for his meticulous oil paintings, scarcely relied on sketches or preparatory drawings, making the present Sans titre exceptionally rare. Coming from a member of the Matisse family’s collection — and likely once owned by the artist’s wife, fellow Surrealist Kay Sage — Sans titre is believed to be a study for the 1943 publication of Minotaure. Published in Paris during the 1930s, Minotaure was a Surrealist-oriented art and literary magazine that sought to introduce Surrealism to a new generation through the movement’s leading practitioners. Here, the figure’s head alludes to the mythical Minotaur, rendered in fine, controlled graphite lines — offering rare insight into the artist’s works on paper.

Widely celebrated for his meditative still life paintings, Giorgio Morandi’s Natura morta is a rare and refined example of the artist’s works on paper that is both minimal and intentional. With only a handful of brushstrokes, Morandi has created a complete still life, using soft, layered washes of colour that gently fill the composition. The simplicity of the forms and the subtlety of the palette reflect the artist’s lifelong focus on quiet, everyday subjects — bottles, jars, and boxes — arranged with care and precision. Rooted in repetition and restraint, Morandi’s practice invites the viewer into a space of stillness and close contemplation. Natura morta offers a rare look at Morandi’s hand in a different medium, capturing the same calm and clarity that defines his most iconic work.

At the turn of the century, the South of France became a magnet for artists seeking inspiration from the golden light, turquoise skies and waters of the Côte d’Azur. Painted during his time in Saint-Tropez, Pins aux Canebiers captures a pivotal moment in Maximilien Luce’s artistic evolution. Moving away from the structured Divisionism of his earlier work, Luce embraced a more energetic and expressive brushwork, as well as a more vibrant colour palette that channelled the warmth and energy of the Mediterranean landscape. A testament to his artistic growth and curiosity, Pins aux Canebiers offers a luminous glimpse of the southern coast through the eyes of an artist eager to explore, experiment, and reinvent.

Distilling the human head into angular planes rendered in deep green, yellow and red, Julio Gonzalez’s Petit tête cubiste, is a bold exploration of form rendered in the Cubist vernacular. Though best known for his groundbreaking contributions to modern sculpture — particularly in welded iron — González’s works on paper reveal a deeply analytical and inventive mind at work. In the late 1920s, Gonzalez developed a mutually influential partnership with Picasso. While Picasso shaped the evolution of Cubism, Gonzalez introduced him to the expressive potential of metal sculpture, sparking a creative synergy that expanded both artist’s practices. Petit tête cubiste captures this interplay, combining González’s sculptural sensibility with the abstracted, faceted language of Cubism.