Max Beckmann at Auction

A canvas painted in New York by German Expressionist painter Max Beckmann (1884-1950) Vor dem Ball (Zwei Frauen mit Katze), or Before the Ball (Two Women with a Cat), from 1949 and offered by a private party, is estimated to bring $8-$12.8 million at Sotheby's Impressionist and modern art evening sale on Feb. 5, 2013.

If the estimated price is achieved, it will put the painting among the top Beckmann canvases sold at auction, according to statistics from Artnet.com. His Self-portrait with Horn (1938) sold in 2001 at Sotheby's for $22.6 million; Self-portrait with Crystal Ball (1936) brought $16.8 million at Sotheby's in 2005; and Still Life with Gramophone and Irises (1924) went for $7.3 million at Christie's in 2007. Those are all oils on canvas, like Vor dem Ball, and slightly smaller than the 1949 work, which measures 56 by 39 inches.