Choice Pieces from an Estate

Auction houses have long cultivated the mystery of origins. Here secrecy is preserved once again, and the works speak louder than their owners. This time, they come from the estate of Mme X; the best known were acquired in the 1970s and 1980s from the leading Paris gallery owners Schmit, Nicolier and Étienne Lévy. Pedigree fanatics can rest assured that most of the pieces on offer have belonged to prestigious collections, appeared in exhibitions or been reproduced in reference works. One of the finest examples in the sale is Pierre-Auguste Renoir's 1905 Baigneuse assise . The painter sold…