May 11, 2008 — A painting by Camille Pissarro, once owned by Jeffrey Prosser, former owner and CEO of Innovative Telephone, was sold for $4.1 million recently by Christie's, the New York art auction house.
The money raised from the May 6 sale will go to help pay off the debts of Prosser and his bankrupt corporations. It is one of a series of sales of different Prosser-connected assets, with more planned for the near future.
The painting auction was approved in advance by Judge Judith Fitzgerald, the presiding judge in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
According to Christie's, the work is oil on canvas, was painted in 1901 and measures 28.75 by 36.25 inches. Its title is "Le Grand Noyer, Matin, Eragny." Roughly translated, it means, "the big walnut tree, in the morning, in the village of Eragny." That is where Pissarro lived at the time; it is about 45 miles northwest of Paris.
Pissarro, born on St Thomas, was one of the leading impressionist painters in France at the time. He favored rural landscapes, and this is one of his best-known works. Three other Pissarros were sold the same day at the same auction, but for lower prices, ranging from $505,000 up to $1.8 million.
Prosser paid about $1.3 million for the painting nine years ago, the Source has learned. Christie's, in keeping with its tradition of discretion, disclosed only the "price realized" at the most recent sale, and nothing about the identity of the new owner or previous prices for the painting.
To see a reproduction of the painting, click hereand look up the May 6 sale in New York, lot 43, sale 1994.
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