An upcoming Sotheby’s auction in New York on November 18 is anticipated to break records for Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cézanne, led by van Gogh’s Chestnut Trees in Flower (Châtaigniers en fleurs) estimated at about $180 million and Cézanne’s Arlequin portrait estimated at around $120 million, neither of which has been publicly shown for roughly five decades.

The Blaquier-Arrieta private collection from Argentina, valued at about $450 million, features twelve Impressionist and post-Impressionist works that Sotheby’s is selling through the children of the late Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier.

Public display of the collection opens in London beforehand, with ten other pieces in the lineup alongside the two top works, including Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and Gauguin, underscoring its strength in Impressionist and post-Impressionist holdings.

Sotheby’s states the collection feels like a small museum, a complete, museum-level grouping achieved within a private set, highlighting its breadth and significance.

Collectors and experts view the Blaquier-Arrieta trove as one of the greatest remaining private groups of its kind, likened to a private Musée d’Orsay coming to market.

The collection is notable for its completeness, with one major work by each key Impressionist and post-Impressionist artist, a rarity in private holdings.

Experts describe the set as a legendary, rare assembly, signaling a generational shift as major private holdings come to public sale.

The works were unveiled publicly in London ahead of the New York sale, with a Monet and a Renoir among the featured pieces.

In addition to the top Van Gogh and Cézanne, the lineup includes Monet’s Le Jardin des Tuileries, Sisley’s La Seine à Port-Marly, a rare Gauguin Tahiti still life, a Toulouse-Lautrec portrait, another Pissarro, and two Fauve works by Derain and Vlaminck.

Observers see the sale as part of a broader mega-collector trend driving high-end art market activity amid economic turbulence.

Philip Hook and Sotheby’s emphasize the collection’s rarity and secrecy, noting its public unveiling after long private concealment and describing the works as a legendary, almost mythical group from major masters.

Sotheby’s Helena Newman calls the collection a “mini-Musée d’Orsay” for its exceptional caliber and rarity, marking it as one of the most important private groupings offered in recent memory.