Since Shanghai’s port opened in 1843, it became a key site for delivering Western art to China. Over a century later, the new Shanghai auction branch shows Poly Auction’s strategic move towards the Western arts.

On December, 22, Poly Huayi Auction held its first Shanghai sale at the five-star Jing An Shangri-La Hotel.

“Dialogue: From Yuan Ren Qiu Lie Tu (Yuan Dynasty People Hunting in Fall) to “Picasso—Important Eastern and Western Art,” the first evening sale of Poly Huayi Shanghai Auction, achieved huge success with total sale of RMB 590 million ($85.22 million). Bidding was robust, and with 73 lots on offer, the sell-through rate was 88%.

Pablo Picasso, Woman under the Light (Jacqueline). RMB 58,650,000 ($8.47 million).

European modern artists received unprecedented focus: Woman under the Light (Jacqueline) by Pablo Picasso sold for RMB 58.65 million ($8.47 million), Sainte-Andresse by Claude Monet sold for RMB 46 million ($6.64 million), and the Corner of the Garden by Paul Gauguin sold for RMB 37.95 million ($5.48 million). Also, the View from the Bay of L’Estaque by Paul Cezanne and Still Life by Giorgio Morandi sold for RMB 11.5 million ($1.66 million) each. A total of 10 lots sold for RMB 206 million ($29.76 million), which made this evening sale the most successful of its kind in mainland China.

Claude Monet, Sainte-Andresse. Courtesy of Poly Auctions.

On the other hand, Chinese ink and color paintings also had a very impressive performance. In the Classical Ink and Color Painting sector, Yuan Ren Qiu Lie Tu (Yuan Dynasty People Hunting in Fall) raked in RMB 63.25 million ($9.14 million), followed by Wang Hui’s A Horizontal view of the Country, at RMB 48.3 million ($6.98 million), and Ren Bonian’s Flowers and Birds Hanging Scroll (a set of four), which sold for RMB 10.12 million ($1.46 million).

In addition, Qi Baishi sold for RMB 5.75 million ($829,000), Ma Jin’s Emperor Qianlong Picking Horses in the Spring Countryside in Style of Giuseppe Castiglione sold for RMB 4.14 million ($598,000).

Fu Baoshi, Poetry of Mountain Shao. RMB 45,425,000 ($6.56 million).

In the Modern Ink and Color Painting sector, Poetry of Mountain Shao by Fu Baoshi sold for RMB 45.43 million ($9.14 million), Swiss Mountain Landscape by Zhang Daqian sold for RMB 14.95 million ($2.15 million)—twice the pre-sale estimate.

Xu Lei’s Decent of the Moon sold for RMB 4.48 million ($640,000), and Lou Zhenggang’s Nature-32a, Nature-32b, Nature-32c, Nature-32d sold for RMB 3.22 million ($465,100). In the China Modern and Contemporary sales, Beijing Poly Auction continued to lead with a work by Wu Guanzhong. Night and Wild Chrysanthemum sold for RMB 28.17 million ($ 4.07 million) and RMB 16.1 million ($2.33 million), respectively.

Leng Jun’s Century Landscape No. 3 sold for RMB 28.17 million ($4.07 million). Meanwhile, Untitled 07-14 by Zeng Fanzhi sold for RMB 21.27 million ($3.07 million), while a work by Chu Teh-Chun sold for RMB 11.04 million ($1.59 million).