Seoul's K Auction Blends Chagall Masterpiece With Korean Masters in 115-Lot Sale

K Auction, a leading Seoul-based art auction house, said on the 13th that it will hold a 115-lot sale on the afternoon of the 27th at its headquarters in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam. The total estimated value of the auction is about 17.6 billion won.

The sale’s centerpiece is Mark Chagall’s 1956 painting La Femme en Rouge (Red-Clad Woman), estimated at 4.5 to 9.0 billion won. The work features a bouquet and a woman against a dark background, highlighting Chagall’s lyrical, dreamlike style that often signals love and life’s joy.

Also on offer is Chusa Kim Jeong-hui’s calligraphy Moon San-ja-ji, from the artist’s exile on Jeju Island. The piece is described as a pinnacle of Chusa’s script and is noted for its historical verification, including its listing in the 1941 catalog of the Gyeongseong Art Club.

Rounding out the lineup are works by notable Korean modern masters, including Ha Jong-hyun’s Jebap, Kim Chang-yeol’s Water Droplets, and Park Seo-bo’s Myo-beop. These pieces represent enduring strands of Korea’s contemporary art, alongside the Western masterwork.

Public viewing of the auction lots is free from the 14th through the auction day at K Auction’s Seoul gallery. The event area is the company’s main office and exhibition space in the Sinsa-dong district of Seoul.

For U.S. readers, the sale highlights how Korean auction houses are increasingly blending Western and Korean works to attract global buyers. The presence of a major Western master like Chagall alongside Korean modern masters underscores continued international interest in Asian art, with implications for pricing, provenance standards, and cross-border collecting.

The auction illustrates a robust segment of Korea’s art market, where institutions and private collectors alike seek high-value works from both local and international artists. As U.S. museums and private collectors expand their Korean and Dansaekhwa holdings, results from Seoul’s top houses can help gauge demand and influence market sentiment beyond Korea.