The piece by Van Dongen, La femme au collier, was created in 1908 when the artist was at the peak of his career and auctioned off at 23 million yuan. The late Dutch-French artist, renowned for his expressive approach to color, is recognized as a representative of the school known as Les Fauves (The Wild Beasts).The piece, which is imbued with his signature red hue, encapsulates the artist's new direction through expressive colors, visceral brushwork and a very modern approach to his subject. It was purchased by Helena Rubinstein, a cosmetics entrepreneur and avid patron of the arts, and was later sold as part of her estate in the late 1960s.

According to Yang, this is the first time Christie's features imported works by Picasso and Van Dongen before 1949 on the Chinese mainland.

"We look forward to further engaging in the national art scene, and driving dynamic conversations with collectors and art lovers alike in the future," she says.

According to Evelyn Lin and Cristian Albu, co-heads of the 20th and 21st century art development department for Christie's Asia-Pacific, Shanghai has emerged as an international city with "a lively energy and artistic vibe".

"We are thrilled to have worked alongside our London specialist team to curate such a significant sale, with the aim of deepening the bond and communication between collectors from the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world," says Lin.