A masterpiece by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir that once quietly hung inside a Manhasset home is now heading to the art market. “La femme aux lilas (Portrait de Nini Lopez),” painted between 1876 and 1877, will headlineChristie’s20th Century Evening Sale on Monday, May 18, in New York with an estimate of $25 million to $35 million.
For decades, however, the painting was not in a museum but in the living room of the late Lorinda Payson de Roulet, a longtime Manhasset resident, philanthropist, and former president of the New York Mets, whose family roots are deeply tied to the North Shore. The home itself reflects that legacy. De Roulet lived in the Manhasset home after marrying Vincent de Roulet; the Renoir painting had been originally acquired in 1929 by her parents, Joan Whitney Payson and Charles Payson.
The Renoir hung there for years, serving as a backdrop to family gatherings. Her daughter, Whitney Bullock, recalled that the painting was part of everyday life—the setting when the family would “get poshed up” and gather in the living room, according to Christie’s. The work now comes to auction as part of “The Collection of Lorinda Payson de Roulet,” ending a nearly century-long run in the same family. Christie’s Global Chairman Max Carter praised “La femme aux lilas” as a masterpiece of Impressionist portraiture ahead of its upcoming sale.
Beyond art collecting, the family’s imprint on Manhasset is significant and still visible. The Payson-Whitney family donated land from their estate to establish what is now North Shore University Hospital. De Roulet also founded the Patrina Foundation, which provides funding for grassroots programs supporting women and girls, and remained active in charitable work throughout her life.
Bullock recalled that her mother started that organization with funds obtained through the sale of Pablo Picasso’s “Au Lapin Agile.” “She decided to sell that when we were over on Christmas morning, and my sons were shooting Nerf balls a bit too close to it. She decided it should have a different purpose.” When the painting was later added to the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mrs. Bullock said, “Mum was proud of that. She was so happy to see her picture on the wall.”
Now, the Renoir that once oversaw a Manhasset living room will take center stage in the global art world—offering a rare public glimpse into a piece of art history that, for generations, was simply part of home.
All comments are subject to ourCommunity Guidelines. Schneps Media does not endorse the views shared by readers in our comment sections.
Source: LI Press
