London – Milieu jaune by Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) leads Bonhams' Impressionist and Modern Art sale on Thursday 19 October at New Bond Street, London. The work has been in the same important private collection for more than 30 years, and was once owned by Hilla von Rebay, co-founder and first director of the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It has an estimate of £850,000-1,250,000.

One of the pioneers of abstraction, Wassily Kandinsky was born in Moscow, and he spent his childhood in Odesa, where he graduated from Odesa Art School. After studying law and economics in Moscow, Kandinsky returned to art at the age of 30. From 1922, he taught at the Bauhaus school of art and architecture until the school was closed under the Nazis, leading Kandinsky to flee to Paris.

Milieu jaune was created in 1934 at the outset of Kandinsky's prolific Paris period. In his new studio at Neuilly-sur-Seine, Kandinsky generated a body of work that explored the complexity of form and nature. Toiling in relative seclusion, Kandinsky reaffirmed himself as a painter of abstract worlds – with Milieu jaune presenting the viewer with a celestial vision.

Kandinsky had previously encouraged his students at the Bauhaus to fuse science, technology, and nature in their approaches to art and design, and in Paris in the 1930s, Kandinsky developed a fascination with the illustrations of scientific journals, fuelling his interest in the imagery of abstractions originating in nature. His new focus on scientific, biological and cosmic motifs was also inspired by his friend Paul Klee, and Surrealists such as Salvador Dalí.

Ruth Woodbridge, Head of Bonhams Impressionist and Modern Art in London, commented: "The sense of gazing upon a primordial universe is a powerful incantation of Kandinsky's abstraction, with Milieu jaune a perfect example. His Parisian works were extremely sought-after as soon as they were created and were quickly acquired by major institutions and collections. This particular work boasts impeccable provenance, having been in the collection of Hilla von Rebay. Milieu jaune was exhibited at Kandinsky's seminal New York retrospective in 1945, on loan from the personal collection of Rebay herself. The work has also featured in numerous Kandinsky exhibitions, demonstrating its core significance within his oeuvre."

Other highlights of the sale include:

• There will be a number of works in the sale by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), including Deux femmes en promenade. Estimate: £200,000 - £300,000.

• Marc Chagall (1887-1985), Souvenirs. Estimate: £180,000 - £250,000.

• Reuven Rubin (1893-1974), Elijah and the Chariot of Fire, (Painted in Israel in 1970-1971). Estimate: £70,000 - 100,000.

• Max Liebermann (1847-1935), Enkelin und Kinderfrau auf der Gartenbank. Painted circa 1923. Estimate: £60,000-80,000.

The Expressionist sale will also take place 19th October, commencing at 2pm, prior to the Impressionist and Modern Art sale.

28 September 2023