A painting by Tsuguharu Fujita that fetched the highest price at a Sotheby's Hong Kong sale devoted to his work will go on public view at Karuizawa Ando Museum in Nagano Prefecture on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.
A Work From the Lewis Collection, Offered at Sotheby's Hong Kong
On September 28, 2026, Sotheby's Hong Kong held "The Foujita Lexicon: Works from the Lewis Collection," a special auction made up of 15 works by Fujita alone. The works came from the Lewis Collection, one of the world's leading collections, assembled by a British businessman. All 15 lots sold, making it a "white-glove sale."
Image courtesy of Sotheby's
The most intense bidding at the sale was for Le rêve (Hommage à La Fontaine), an oil on canvas from 1949. After bidding that continued for more than seven minutes, it sold for HK$26.52 million (approximately ¥532.32 million), more than six times the low estimate. This was the highest price paid at the sale.
Bought by the Founder of Karuizawa Ando Museum
The buyer was Yasushi Ando, founder and representative director of Karuizawa Ando Museum in Nagano Prefecture, which holds and exhibits only Fujita's works. The painting drew wide attention, and it will finally go on public view on November 10 at the museum, which was established so that many people could see Fujita's masterpieces.
About Tsuguharu Fujita (1886–1968)
In 1913, at the age of 26, Fujita went to France alone. Using a distinctive technique known as the "milky white ground," he took 1920s Paris by storm and established an international reputation. During World War II he painted war records as a military painter, and after the war he was sharply criticized by the Japanese art world and became increasingly isolated. He left Japan to concentrate on his work. In 1949 he traveled via New York and returned to Paris the following year. He acquired French citizenship in 1955 and was baptized as a Catholic in 1959, spending his later years as the French painter Léonard Foujita.
First Public Viewing in 75 Years
Le rêve (Hommage à La Fontaine) was painted in New York, where Fujita stayed for only 10 months between 1949 and 1950. It was one of the works shown at his solo exhibition at the Mathias Komor Gallery that November. As the title suggests, the painting is dedicated to Jean de La Fontaine (1621–1695), the French poet known for his Fables. After its last public showing in Madrid in 1951, it passed into a private collection.
Its display at a museum will be the first in 75 years.
About the work
A family of foxes sleeps contentedly in a bed, while a painting hanging on the wall shows a fox standing up to a storm. What did Fujita mean to express with these contrasting scenes? The work leaves that to the viewer's imagination, presenting a strange world where comfort and hardship meet.
"Foujita in New York" Exhibition Adds the Work From November 10
Karuizawa Ando Museum, the world's first museum to hold and exhibit only Fujita's works, is currently holding "Foujita in New York," an exhibition marking the 140th anniversary of Fujita's birth. Fujita's international name recognition ranks alongside that of Hokusai.
The exhibition focuses on the roughly 10 months Fujita spent in New York between leaving Japan in March 1949 and moving to Paris, showing his daily life in a foreign land and his search for new artistic expression. It explores this turbulent period, when the painter was seeking a comeback, through valuable materials and works. With guest curator Hiroyuki Uchiro (senior curator, Pola Museum of Art), the exhibition explores a new side of Fujita.
Since it opened, the exhibition has welcomed many visitors to Karuizawa. From Tuesday, November 10, Le rêve (Hommage à La Fontaine) will join the display.
Exhibition Overview
- Title: Foujita in New York (special exhibition for the 140th anniversary of Tsuguharu Fujita's birth)
- Dates: July 11 (Sat), 2026 to January 11 (Mon, holiday), 2027
- Venue: Karuizawa Ando Museum (43-10 Karuizawa-higashi, Karuizawa-machi, Kitasaku-gun, Nagano Prefecture 389-0104)
- Guest curator: Hiroyuki Uchiro (senior curator, Pola Museum of Art)
- Le rêve (Hommage à La Fontaine) on view from: Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Official website: https://www.musee-ando.com/
