"La Magie Noire was bought by the family of the second world war resistance heroine Suzanne Spaak, who were Magritte's benefactors at a time when he was struggling financially and had failed to sell a single work for two years. Spaak was shot by the Gestapo in Paris for helping Jewish children to safety. Sotheby's has estimated La Magie Noire will sell for between 5m (4.4m) and 7m but expects it to fetch considerably more."
"It is extraordinary, as is the history of the family, Thomas Bompard, the vice-president of Sotheby's France, told the Guardian. This painting is the Taylor Swift of surrealism, Bompard, said. If you were to ask a group of schoolchildren to do a presentation on the surrealist movement this painting alone would be enough to define it. I call it the superstar of surrealism."
La Magie Noire, a Rene Magritte painting held in a private collection for more than 90 years, will be offered at auction later this month. The work was purchased by the family of Suzanne Spaak, a second world war resistance heroine who helped Jewish children and was executed by the Gestapo. Spaak's family were benefactors when Magritte struggled financially and failed to sell works for two years. Sotheby's values the painting at 5m–7m but expects a higher hammer price. Magritte began surrealist work in 1926, faced harsh criticism, economic hardship during the Depression, and later formed an advertising agency with his brother.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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