Major modern art pieces at New York auction May 3

  A woman looks at painting by Pablo Picasso entitle "Femmes d'Alger" Master works by Monet, Picasso and Gauguin will be highlights of a spring auction of impressionist and modern art next week in New York. "We are feeling confident and expect a very busy few days," said Conor Jordan, head of auction house Christie's Impressionist & Modern Art. The sales are expected to make in total some 160 million dollars.Claude Monet's 1891 oil painting masterpiece "Les Peupliers," valued between 20 and 30 million dollars, is one of the main attractions at the Impressionist and Modern evening sale on May 3. The other star attractions will be the large Picasso "Femmes d'Alger," also valued at 20 to 30 million dollars, and the "La fenetre ouverte" by Matisse, estimated at 8-12 million.
Slightly more accessible -- at a few million dollars less -- are De Chrico's "Ettore e Andromaca" for five to seven millon dollars, and Dali's "Chevaliers en Parade," expected to raise 1.2 to 1.8 million dollars.
One of the top objects is to be Paul Gauguin 1890-93 wood carved piece "Jeune Tahitienne," with a 10 to 15 millon dollar pre-sale estimate.
"This is an extraordinary object. It could be one of the big surprises of the evening," said Simon Shaw, senior vice president and head of Impressionist & Modern Art.
Christie's expects to sell a total of 230 million dollars with other works by Warhol, Rothko and Francis Bacon at its sale on 11 May.
That night, modern master drawing "Kiss V" by Roy Lichtenstein, which was won in a lottery in 1965 for ten dollars, is estimated to sell for a cool one million dollars.