The record-breaking sale was recorded at Sotheby's Hong Kong's Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction on the evening of 28/9, far exceeding pre-sale estimates of 8-19,6 million HKD.

This price establishes the artwork as the most expensive Vietnamese painting on the market, surpassing the 3,1 million USD achieved by Mai Trung Thu's "Portrait of Mademoiselle Phuong" five years prior.

According to Sotheby's, the painting "Conversation d'elegantes au jardin" (A conversation of elegant ladies in the garden), created in 1939, is considered a standout achievement from the artist's early career. This work is also his largest, featuring multiple figures on silk, a scale rarely seen in his creations. The painting's rich colors imbue it with a gentle, lyrical quality.

“Few paintings fully demonstrate the artist's extraordinary ability to reconcile Eastern and Western traditions, transforming an ancient Asian material into a medium for expressing a modern vision of Vietnamese identity,” the auction house stated.

Ly Doi, an art journalist, observed that the most common traditional silk canvas size in Vietnamese craft villages is 90 cm, but this work is notably larger. He suggested it might be silk from another country, or that Vu Cao Dam may have specially commissioned it, utilizing Western weaving techniques. This large and rare silk canvas size contributed significantly to the painting's high price.

"Conversation d'elegantes au jardin", measuring 85,6x114,5 cm, ink and gouache on silk. Photo: *Sotheby's*.

The painting depicts five elegantly dressed figures, a departure from Vu Cao Dam's earlier silk paintings of women and landscapes, which typically featured only one or two individuals. They sit together in a garden, exuding relaxation, grace, and confidence. The stylized ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) reflects fashion changes of the 1930s. The artist's use of the term "elegantes" (elegant ladies) highlights a generation of urban Vietnamese women associated with intellectual beauty and sophistication.

The work also reveals Vu Cao Dam's profound influence by French Impressionism. The image of elegantly dressed women gathered in a garden evokes works by Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Sotheby's noted that the renowned artist chose a modern, distinctly French theme and conveyed it through Vietnamese artistic language.

Art historian Jeanine Auboyer wrote in 1946: “Vu Cao Dam's technique remained connected to the traditional material of his ancestors: silk. In it, he cherished the fabric's delicacy and the softness of the colors.” Researcher Ly Doi commented: “The painting style demonstrates that Western thought and technique were excellently applied to silk painting, enhancing its modernity and creating a sense of parity with oil painting.”

According to the auction house, the painting also holds personal depth. Its composition recalls a family photograph of Vu Cao Dam, including his sister Vu Thi Thuc in Vietnam. He was close to his mother and sister, considering the women in his family significant sources of inspiration throughout his life. From memories of family gatherings, Vu Cao Dam created a universal image of intimacy. The painting is also believed to be a gift to his wife, Renee Appriou, one year after their marriage.

Responding to Sotheby’s, artist Michel Vu, Vu Cao Dam's son, stated that this painting represents a pinnacle in his father's career. “It depicts an ideal vision, like the Garden of Eden – a perfect symbolic image of typical Eastern happiness. I also noticed the beauty in the faces he painted at that time,” Michel Vu said.

Vu Cao Dam (1908-2000) was a leading painter and sculptor. He graduated from the Indochina College of Fine Arts and was recognized as one of Vietnam's "Four European Masters" of painting, alongside Le Pho, Mai Trung Thu, and Le Thi Luu. He moved to Paris, France, in 1931 and studied at the Ecole du Louvre, gaining direct access to the collections of the Louvre Museum and the Guimet Museum. His years in France also allowed him to meet European masters of painting and sculpture.

During his lifetime, the artist favored the theme of maternal love, and many of his works fetched high prices at auction. He often depicted mothers holding their children, evoking emotions in viewers. The artist once stated that his knowledge of sculpture helped him better portray the proportions and curves of figures in his paintings.

Phuong Linh (according to Sotheby's)