SOTHEBY’S NOVEMBER 7 & 8, 2007
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Paul Gauguin’s Te Poipoi (The Morning)was one of the greatest Tahitian scenes by the artist remaining in private hands (est. $40/60 million). For the past 62 years, the painting was part of one of the most illustrious collections ever formed in America, that of Joan Whitney Payson. Acquired by Mrs. Payson and her husband, Charles, in 1945, this stunning scene of an exotic paradise hung alongside masterpieces by artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and others, and has been consigned for sale by her family.
In Te Poipoi, Gauguin presents a highly idealized version of paradise, untouched by western influence. This stunning canvas was painted on the island’s southern coastal region of Mataiea in September or October 1892, about a year into the artist’s first extended stay in French Polynesia. The title of the painting refers to the still and quiet morning hours when the local people began their day. We can imagine Gauguin’s voyeuristic pleasure in watching this intimate scene of women bathing beneath a canopy of banyan and mango trees.
Te Poipoiis a refreshingly modern and daring interpretation of the ritual of the bath, one of the most symbolically loaded themes in the history of western art. Edgar Degas presented one of the best well-known modern interpretations of this theme by focusing exclusively on the bodies of his young models standing over their metal tubs. Gauguin would have been well-acquainted with these images because he had exhibited with Degas in 1887 atthe final Impressionist group exhibition in Paris.
When Gauguin returned to France in August 1893, he broughtback with him over sixty canvases and selected the best among them, including the present work, for a one-man exhibition at Durand-Ruel. After suffering a number of visits with his estranged family in Copenhagen and a broken leg in a street brawl in Pont Aven, Gauguin longed to return to the South Pacific. In order to raise money for the tripback, he sold several canvases at auction at Hôtel Drouot, including the present work,and in June 1895 set sail for Tahiti, where he would remain for the rest of his life.
Sotheby's 2014
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Sotheby's 2014
Paul Gauguin
TAHITIENNES
LOT SOLD. 1,370,500 GBP
Paul Gauguin
BRETONNE DE PONT-AVEN DE PROFIL
LOT SOLD. 302,500 GBP 
Paul Gauguin
LES MAS, ENVIRONS D'ARLES
LOT SOLD. 5,429,000 USD 
Paul Gauguin
ADAM ET EVE (LE DÉPART)
LOT SOLD. 362,500 GBP
Paul Gauguin
NÈGRERIES MARTINIQUE
LOT SOLD. 662,500 GBP
Paul Gauguin
FEMME NUE
Lot. Vendu 27,500 GBP 
Paul Gauguin
CHARETTE DE VARECH - RECTO PAYSAGE BRETON - VERSO
LOT SOLD. 33,750 GBP
Paul Gauguin
LA MAISON DU PAN-DU
LOT SOLD. 2,741,000 USD
Paul Gauguin
LA MAISON DU PENDU
LOT SOLD. 157,250 GBPSotheby's 2012
Paul Gauguin
CABANE SOUS LES ARBRES
LOT SOLD. 8,482,500 USD
Paul Gauguin
TÊTE DE TAHITIENNE OR LA FLEUR QUI ÉCOUTE
Lotto. Venduto 2,841,250 GBPChristie's
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Nature morte aux fruits et piments
PRICE REALIZED
$12,361,000
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Le vallon
PRICE REALIZED
£6,425,250
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Te fare Hymenee (La maison des chants)
PRICE REALIZED
$8,441,000
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Paysage aux troncs bleus
PRICE REALIZED
£4,521,250
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Les dindons, Pont-Aven
PRICE REALIZED
£2,057,250
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La maison blanche
PRICE REALIZED
£1,314,500
Chaumières au flanc de la Montagne Sainte-Marguerite
PRICE REALIZED
£577,250
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Clovis
PRICE REALIZED
£735,650
Etude de femmes martiniquaises
PRICE REALIZED
€673,000
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