Sale
Asian Painters : China & VietnamLe bain by Lê Phổ sold for over 2 million euros, the artist's third-highest world record
Tiếng Việt
French
At its 47th “Asian Painters” sale, our auction house offered Le bain (lot 9), an ink, gouache and colors on silk by Lê Phổ (1907-2001), marking the artist's 3rd world record in Neuilly-sur-Seine. On May 13, 2025, after a breathless auction battle, more than €2 million rewarded this important figure of the Indochina School of Fine Arts.
« After more than 10 years of spotlighting modern Asian art, 46 sales already organized and more than 155 works by Lê Phổ appraised and presented for sale, I marveled at the recent discovery of this silk. I was able to showcase it in April by traveling to Singapore and Indonesia. We accompanied it with tailor-made work and a richly documented catalog. The buyers rewarded our efforts by offering this remarkable work a 40-minute auction that had never been seen before. Sold for over 2 million euros, Le bain quadrupled its low estimate, a remarkable feat given its reasonable size. This work becomes the artist's 3rd world record »
— Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier, expert, associate director in charge of the fine arts and Asian art division
3rd world record for Lê Phổ, bidding soars to over €2M
Lot 9 - Lê Phổ (1907-2001)
Le bain, circa 1938
Ink, gouache and colors on silk, signed upper left
61 x 45.5 cm
PROVENANCE : Private collection, Paris (acquired circa 1938 and since inherited)
Le bain, painted by Lê Phổ around 1938, depicts a mother drying her child after a swim. On May 13, 2025, this masterpiece marked the artist's 3rd world record, after a breathless auction battle that lasted 40 minutes. An Asian collector won at €2,023,000, more than quadrupling the estimate for the painting (estimate: €400,000 / €600,000).
Trained at the Indochina School of Fine Arts in Hanoi, Lê Phổ discovered France for the first time in 1931, when Victor Tardieu chose him as an assistant for the Colonial Exhibition in Vincennes. The young graduate took advantage of this stay to travel in Europe, notably Italy, where he was captivated by the Italian Primitives and Renaissance, before returning in 1932 to teach in Indochina. In 1937, Lê Phổ returned to Paris, where he represented his ailing master Victor Tardieu. He then settled permanently in France. In Le bain, the artist transposes onto silk the lessons of the Italian Renaissance that he had encountered a few years earlier.
Hereafter, find all the results of this public auction : Results - Asian Painters : China & Vietnam [47]
Here are the top 5 from the May 13, 2025 sale:
Lot 9 - LÊ PHỔ, Le bain, circa 1938: €2,022,959
Lot 22 - LÊ PHỔ, La lettre, circa 1944: €432,960
Lot 20 - LÊ QUỐC LỘC, Bananiers au bord du fleuve Rouge,1943: €223,040
Lots 11 to 16 - MAI TRUNG THỨ, The Duchess of Windsor's Mai Thu collection total (in 2 lots): €157,800
Lot 19 - MAI TRUNG THỨ, Enfants endormis, 1943: €143,008
Asia at Aguttes
In 2024, Asia at Aguttes, with its ten dedicated auctions, totalled nearly 15 million euros. The historic leader in the Asian Painters section, Aguttes particularly champions modern Vietnamese and Chinese artists. The family-owned French auction house is also actively involved in highlighting more traditional arts, as recently demonstrated by the sale of a Guanyin for €988,000, ranked as the highest bid recorded for Asian sculptures in the world for the year 2024 (in the ranking published by Cans magazine, February 2025, p.137).
« The December 4, 2024 auction of this exceptional Guanyin from the Song dynasty (960-1279) for €988,000 illustrates the dynamism of international buyers eager for exceptional pieces and confident in our expertise. Entrusted by a private collector from Neuilly, its result confirms Aguttes' position as a key player in this demanding market. »
— Clémentine Guyot, Director, Asian Art Department
Lot 112 - China Song dynasty (960-1279)
Rare and important carved wood statue of Guanyin
Sold for €988,000
December 4, 2024, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Since 2014, Aguttes has been shedding remarkable light on the work of painters who, at the beginning of the 20th century, received dual Oriental and Western instruction. In February 2024, as the Indochina School of Fine Arts celebrates its centenary, expert Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier published Modern Art in Indochina, published by In fine éditions d'art. This publication, the first to offer a synthesis of the role of this establishment in artistic creation, unveils this art, neglected for 70 years. In recent years, works by artists from this institution have regularly set auction records. Over the past two years, the institution has also organized and hosted several round-table discussions and conferences in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Paris) and Hanoi.
Join Aguttes in early June for several events in collaboration with
Upcoming Sale
Asian Painters: China & Vietnam
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
For more information or to include a lot in our upcoming sales, please contact us
Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier - Expert
+33 1 41 92 06 49 - +33 6 63 58 21 82 - reynier@aguttes.com