NEW YORK, NY.- It was fireworks at Christie's storied Rockefeller Center saleroom as one of the world's greatest collections of works by the master printmaker Hiroshige rocketed past its total estimate, lighting up the market with shimmering prices. Hiroshige: Colors of the Four Seasons | The Alan Medaugh Collection totaled $6,991,616. All 181 lots sold. The total hammer plus premium was 4.6 times the low estimate. It took the American businessman Alan Medaugh half a century to assemble his collection of prints, fans, scrolls, and other works by the titan of Japanese art, Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), and it took less than six hours of competitive bidding for the market to affirm Mr. Medaugh's achievement, snapping up Christie's first offering of works from the Medaugh collection at notable prices. (Two more sales from this collection are planned.)

The overwhelming majority of lots in the sale sold for many times their low estimates. It took 46 lots, before a single lot sold for less than its high estimate, and another 59 lots before a second lot sold for less than its high estimate. Results at 10-times low estimate were frequent. Among the many notable results were: A triptych, Eight night views of Kanazawa, Musashi Province, which set a world record at $345,600, 8.6 times its low estimate; Kameido ume yashiki (Plum estate, Kameido), deluxe edition, which realized $358,400, a world record, six times its low estimate; Awa, Naruto no fuha (Wind and waves at Naruto, Awa Province), which realized $281,600, a world record and more than nine times its low estimate.





The Head of Christie's Japanese and Korean Art Department, Takaaki Murakami said, “This collection and this auction both broke new ground. Mr Medaugh put together one of the most important collections of Hiroshige works ever assembled, and the market showed its respect. The bidding and the overwhelming prices underscore what a master Hiroshige was, and what a master collector Alan Medaugh is.”

Further highlights

One of the lead lots of the sale, Ohashi Atake no yudachi (Ohashi bridge, sudden shower at Atake) is a perfect example of what makes the Medaugh collection special. The image with rain falling across the page is iconic. The condition in full, unfaded color, is pristine. The impression is an early one, with the two boats beside the far shore still visible. This impression fetched $332,800, which is six and half times its low estimate. White Heron Standing among Reeds set a record at $121,600. Suidobashi, Surugadai (Suido Bridge and Surugadai) went more than 20 times its low estimate to bring $217,600.