Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh’s painting “Chestnut Trees in Blossom” (Châtaigniers en fleurs) is on display in Hong Kong.
The Operative Information Center-OMM reports, citing foreign media.
After the exhibition, the painting will be sent to New York to be offered at an auction scheduled for Nov. 18.
Sotheby’s estimates that the work could sell for about $180 million, potentially setting a new record for a van Gogh painting.
The painting is part of the private collection of Argentine collectors Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier and Carlos Pedro Blaquier, along with 12 other artworks. Works by Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro and Paul Cézanne will also be offered at the auction.
Van Gogh’s painting has not been shown to the public for more than 60 years. It depicts a flowering chestnut tree, a lone man walking past it and three women visible in the distance.
Created in 1890, the work is among the paintings van Gogh produced during the final two months of his life. It is one of about 70 works he made after leaving the Saint-Rémy psychiatric institution. He also painted his famous “The Starry Night” during that period.
Van Gogh worked at a remarkable pace in the final days of his life, producing an average of about one painting a day.
The artist died at the age of 37, two days after shooting himself in the chest. He had reportedly experienced mental health problems for an extended period before the incident.
