Sotheby’s staged a short‑term preview of Châtaigniers en fleurs in Hong Kong on 18 November 2025, the first public showing of the work in 60 years, just weeks before the New York auction.
The 1890 landscape, painted in Auvers‑sur‑Oise during the final months of Van Gogh’s life, sits at the heart of the Blaquier‑Arrieta Collection, which auctioneers expect to raise more than $450 million.
Art collector Harriet Harris Jonas purchased the painting in 1953; it later passed to Argentine industrialist Carlos Pedro Blaquier in 1975 and has stayed in the family ever since.
Sotheby’s vice‑chairman Scott Niichel told AFP that the work’s “expressive hopefulness” and the public’s rapturous response in Hong Kong signal a strong overseas interest, especially from Asia.
If the painting reaches its $180 million estimate, it will outstrip the current Van Gogh record of $117.2 million set by Orchard with Cypresses in 2022 and join the ranks of the world’s most expensive artworks.
The New York auction is scheduled for 18 December 2025, when buyers from across the globe will bid on the piece and decide its ultimate place in art history.