Jerusalem has arrived on the international art map. On Tuesday, December 1, in a first-of-its-kind auction in Israel, a painting worth over a million dollars will be on sale in the capital city of Jerusalem.
Lucien Krief, a hareidi-religious painter and sculptor who owns a gallery next to the King David Hotel, told Arutz Sheva's Hebrew news journal on Sunday that the 1918 painting "Flower Vase on a Chair" by the Jewish expressionist Chaim Soutine has aroused the interest of wealthy art collectors from the United States, Russia, Japan and Western Europe.
Soutine was not the only brilliant artist producing works during that time, according to Krief. Some of Soutine's friends included Jewish painters Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, and Moise Kisling.
"They were impoverished friends who gave out their pictures to get food," said Krief. Krief noted the unique work of Soutine, who emphasized pain and suffering in his work. Paintings of houses after a storm, chairs in motion and this, a painting of a vase of flowers on a chair with brush smears, exemplified his style.
The painting being auctioned passed through many hands before reaching his, said Krief. From now until the auction, the painting is under 24-hour guard. While the auction will take place in the nation's capital city, many of the bids are expected to be received over the internet.