Vietnamese Modernism at Auction | Lê Phổ, Vũ Cao Đàm & Important Vietnamese Art
As international demand for Vietnamese Modernist art continues to grow, Freeman's is launching a dedicated sale devoted to one of the most dynamic categories in the global art market.
Highlighting exceptional works by Lê Phổ and Vũ Cao Đàm, the auction celebrates artists whose works bridge Eastern traditions and Western modernism.
What Is Vietnamese Modernism?
The Origins of a Distinct Artistic Movement
Vietnamese Modernism emerged during the early twentieth century and stems from a group of artists trained at the École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochineunder Victor Tardieu, who blended traditional Vietnamese aesthetics with European artistic techniques.
The result, throughout several years, was a unique visual language characterized by lyrical compositions, refined color palettes, cultural symbolism, technical innovation, and cross-cultural influences.
Lê Phó (French/Vietnamese, 1907-2001) Composition de Fleurs, c. 1983 | Price Realized | $197,350; Vũ Cao Đàm (French/Vietnamese, 1908–2000) Composition, 1984 | Price Realized $62,500
The École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine
The School That Shaped a Generation
Founded in Hanoi in 1925, the École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine became one of the most influential institutions in Southeast Asian art history.
The academy introduced Western academic training while encouraging students to explore local traditions and materials, helping create a distinctly Vietnamese artistic identity that continues to resonate with collectors worldwide.
Lê Phổ: Master of Vietnamese Modernism
A Global Market Favorite
Among the most celebrated figures of Vietnamese Modernism stands Lê Phổ, who developed a signature style known for its luminous color, elegant, elongated figures, and poetic, relaxing depictions of family, gardens, and daily life in Vietnam and abroad as the artist formally settled in Paris in 1937.
Lê Phó (French/Vietnamese, 1907–2001) "Sur La Terrasse" | Price Realized $140,000; Lê Phó (French/Vietnamese, 1907-2001) | L'Enfant aux Pavots | Price Realized $101,600
Vũ Cao Đàm: Bridging East and West
A Distinctive Artistic Voice
Vũ Cao Đàm was another important name associated with the expansion of Vietnamese Art out west. First established in Paris, he moved to the South of Franceresiding in Vence, where he met Henri Matisse. A sculptor by training, his art focused on women models, maternities as well as Vietnamese folklore and mythology, which he celebrated throughout his life to appeal his manyWestern Collectors, in Europe and in the United States.
Vũ Cao Ðàm (French/Vietnamese, 1908-2000) | Divinité Blanche, 1976 | Price Realized $102,100; Vũ Cao Đàm (French/ Vietnamese, 1908-2000) | Mother and Child | Price Realized $190,500
Why Collect Vietnamese Modernist Art?
Rising Global Demand
Collectors, institutions, and investors increasingly recognize Vietnamese Modernism as one of the most important and rapidly expanding sectors within the Asian art market.
A particularly heartwarming recent trend is the rise of Southeast Asian collectors joining this global movement, united by a shared effort to bring their beloved national heroes back home.
Contact a Specialist
Interested in buying or selling Vietnamese Modernist art? Connect with our specialists to discuss upcoming auctions, valuations, and collecting opportunities.
Latest Articles
From $30 Estate Sale Discovery to $1.35 Million: Gertrude Abercrombie’s Alderman Merriam’s Shells Sets New World Auction Record at Freeman’s
Freeman's reset the world auction record for Gertrude Abercrombie today, as her work Alderman Merriam's Shells sold for $1,352,600 in the firm's Post-War & Contemporary Art sale, live in New York. The result marks the first work by the artist ever to hammer over $1 million. Rediscovered at an estate sale and purchased for just $30, the work led an auction that achieved a total of $3,449,560, with an 88% sell-through rate by lot and 154% by value. The sale also brought 23% new buyers to the firm, with participation from 12 countries. Speaking to the sale is Zack Wirsum, Senior Vice President, Head of Department, Post War & Contemporary Art. “No fairytale would be complete without a storybook ending, and Gertrude Abercrombie's Alderman Merriam's Shells selling for a new auction record is as happily ever after as it gets. As happy as we are to have recaptured the record sale price for an artist we have long championed, we are even happier for our eagle-eyed consignor who saved this masterpiece from staying forever lost to time. I love it when good things happen to good people and when the story unfolds in reality just as we wrote it. The Abercrombie shooting the moon was obviously the high point of the day, but the rest of the sale shone bright, with great results across the board to add to the magic of the day.” Collectors Battle for Gertrude Abercrombie’s Alderman Merriam’s Shells, 1951, Realizes $1,352,600 Carrying a pre-sale estimate of $150,000 to $250,000, Alderman Merriam's Shells (Lot 3, 1951) opened at $80,000 before five phone bidders, and several online bidders contested the work. The bidding carried the painting to $1,352,600 (price realized, including buyer’s premium), more than five times its high estimate, and set a new world auction record for Gertrude Abercrombie (American, 1909–1977), the celebrated Chicago Surrealist. It is the first work by the artist ever to hammer over $1 million. Missing from public view for 75 years, Alderman Merriam's Shells resurfaced this past summer at a Michigan estate sale, where a longtime collector of records and mid-century furniture spotted it in a dark hallway corner and bought it for $30 on the strength of its "Abercrombie" signature. Inspired by the find, the buyer visited the Abercrombie retrospective The Whole World Is a Mystery at the Milwaukee Art Museum, where the catalog reproduced a 1952 Chicago Tribune photograph of the painting in its original frame beside the actual shells it depicts. Dr. Susan Weininger, the leading Abercrombie scholar, subsequently authenticated the work, and the owner, recognizing Freeman's as a sponsor of the Milwaukee exhibition, entrusted it to the house. Painted in 1951, the work depicts nine finely rendered seashells on a slate-gray surface, with a single conical shell suspended by a thread against a black wall, appearing to levitate above the rest. The shells belonged to Robert Merriam, alderman of Chicago's Hyde Park, where Abercrombie lived and worked. A rare instance of the artist painting directly from life, it confirms that the shell motif in her later solitary shell paintings, long presumed invented, was drawn from observation and memory. Exhibited in six solo shows in 1952 and 1953, the painting was given by Abercrombie to Dr. John Reynolds of Kalamazoo, Michigan, in exchange for medical services, and remained in his family's possession until its rediscovery this year. Henry Moore Bronzes Lead $198,400 Offering of Sculpture from the Brooklyn Museum A selection of six sculptures from the Brooklyn Museum realized a combined $198,400, with every work finding a buyer. Leading the group were two bronzes by Henry Moore, Two Piece Reclining Figure: Maquette No. 4 (Lot 53, 1961) and Two Piece Reclining Figure #6 (Lot 54, 1964), each achieving $48,000 against estimates of $30,000–$50,000. Both works were bequeathed to the museum by William K. Jacobs, Jr. Additional highlights included two further works by Moore, Mother and Child: Bone (Lot 52, 1963) and Slow Form: Tortoise (Lot 55, 1962), alongside David Hayes’s welded steel Armored Animal (Lot 56, 1964), which The Maremont Corporation gifted to the museum in 1977. Dimitri Hadzi’s bronze Bozzetto(Lot 57), exhibited at MIT in 1963 and gifted to the museum by Dr. and Mrs. Werner Muensterberger in 1971, rounded out the offering. Rosenthal Collection of Newtown, Pennsylvania Sells 100%, Led by Alice Baber's Woodhenge at $124,800, More Than Double Its High Estimate The Rosenthal Collection of Newtown, Pennsylvania, was 100% sold and led by Alice Baber's (American, 1928–1982) Woodhenge (Lot 24, 1966), which achieved $124,800 against an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. Esteban Vicente's (American/Spanish, 1903–2001) D (Lot 23, 1959) followed at $73,600, against an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. The group of 6 works realized a combined total of $288,640. Those familiar with the Post-War New York art scene may recognize the family name. Louis H. Rosenthal, the patriarch of the collection, was the longtime proprietor of Rosenthal's Art & Hobby Supply Company in Greenwich Village, later continuing at New York Central Art Supply Company. For over four decades, Rosenthal was not only a supplier of materials but a trusted friend and advisor to a generation of artists whose work would come to define the modern and Abstract movements of the twentieth century, among them Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Alice Baber, Esteban Vicente, Mary Abbott, Milton Resnick, Karel Appel, and Paul Jenkins. Before their breakthroughs, many of these artists worked with limited means, and it was not uncommon for them to trade their work with Louis in exchange for the very materials that later shaped their successes. The works from the Rosenthal Collection stand as a testament to the family's unique material and personal contributions to the Post-War New York artistic community. Additional Highlights Lot 5 | Alex Katz (American, b. 1927) | Swimmer #2, 1973 Sold for $217,600 Lot 29 | Paul Jenkins (American, 1923-2012) | Phenomena Divining Rod, 1971 Sold for $172,800 Lot 76 | Hassan el Glaoui (French, 1924-2018) | Untitled Sold for $83,200 Lot 97 | Paul Feeley (American, 1910-1966) | Lacona, 1962 Sold for $76,800 Lot 4 | Roger Brown (American, 1941-1997) | Michigan Color Watch, 1981 Sold for $70,400 Lot 92 | Cosima von Bonin (German, b. 1962) | HALFWAY BUBBLES 1, 2, and 3, 2011 (three works) Sold for $51,200 About Freeman’s Freeman’s is a premier American auction house offering services in multiple categories including fine art, jewelry, design, books and manuscripts, furniture, decorative arts, antiquities, couture, and Asian works of art. With 16 regional locations nationwide, the firm provides auctions, appraisals, private sales, and art advisory services, connecting clients to the global art market. Freeman’s strives to bring art, history, and design to life by connecting people with extraordinary objects through exceptional service and expertise.
Freeman’s Two-Day Native American Art Auctions Achieve $1.3M
Highlights included the 100% sold Larry Ness Collection of Native American Photography, a Navajo “Claflin” Serape that realized $217,600, and a Tlingit Chilkat Blanket that sold for $35,200.
Rediscovering Alex Katz's 'Swimmer #2"
Painted in 1973, Swimmer #2 belongs to a distinctive moment in Katz’s career, when he was refining the cool, distilled visual language that would come to define his oeuvre. The composition presents a close-cropped profile of his son, Vincent, emerging from rippling water, rendered in luminous planes of color and sweeping, gestural brushwork. The swimmer’s serene expression contrasts with the energetic strokes of water surrounding him, creating a delicate balance between stillness and movement. Throughout the 1970s, Katz returned to the swimmer motif in a small group of related works, including the oils Swimmer and Swimmer #3, both painted in 1973, as well as the prints The Swimmer (1974) and Olympic Swimmer (1976). Across these works, Katz explored repetition and variation, transforming an ordinary moment of leisure into an image of striking graphic clarity and intimacy. Within this small body of work, Swimmer #2 has remained remarkably elusive. While related compositions have entered museums and collections and the imagery has circulated in print, this painting has remained in the same private collection since it was acquired directly from Marlborough Godard, Toronto, in 1976. Its return to public view nearly fifty years later offers a rare opportunity to encounter a work that has - until now - remained largely unseen.
Art Déco Rarities, Colored Gemstones and Signed Jewels by Bulgari, Harry Winston, and Verdura Headline Freeman’s $3.6M Important Jewelry Auction
Sale sees 91% sell-through rate by lot, 108% by value, led by a Colombian emerald ring that soared past estimate
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