5th October 2025 - (Paris) A seminal surrealist painting by René Magritte, preserved within a single family collection for over nine decades, will emerge onto the market later this month with expectations of achieving in excess of €7 million at auction.

"La Magie Noire," created during a period of profound financial difficulty for the Belgian artist, was originally acquired by relatives of Suzanne Spaak, a celebrated Second World War resistance member executed by the Gestapo for her efforts in rescuing Jewish children from Nazi persecution. The Spaak family provided crucial patronage to Magritte during the early 1930s when the artist had failed to sell any work for two consecutive years.

Thomas Bompard, Vice-President of Sotheby's France, characterized the painting as "the Taylor Swift of surrealism," noting its iconic status within the artistic movement. "This painting is the superstar of surrealism," Bompard remarked, emphasising the work's significance in defining surrealist aesthetics. The auction house has established a pre-sale estimate between €5-7 million while anticipating competitive bidding may substantially exceed this range.

The artwork forms part of a series of ten related portraits featuring Magritte's wife, Georgette Berger, depicted in a striking composition where her upper torso merges with a skyscape while her lower body retains naturalistic form. The painting remained with descendants of Alice "Bunny" Lorge, Suzanne Spaak's sister, who originally acquired the work to commemorate the birth of her first child.

The forthcoming sale at Sotheby's Paris on October 24 will conclude a brief public exhibition from October 17-23, offering rare public access to a masterpiece that has been predominantly housed in Belgian institutions, including the Magritte Museum in Brussels, throughout its existence.