Hong Kong – The Findlay Galleries Collection of twelve exceptional paintings by acclaimed modern Vietnamese art masters – Le Pho and Vu Cao Dam – will be offered at Bonhams in Hong Kong on 25 May 2024. The single-owner sale, titled Legends of Vietnamese Art from Findlay to Borynack, features paintings acquired directly from the two artists between the 1970s-1980s by Wally Findlay, who was the third-generation at helm of his family's gallery business and introduced – before anyone else – Le Pho and Vu Cao Dam to America, where they rose to fame.

In 1963, Le Pho and Vu Cao Dam, who were already eminent names in France but lesser known in the US, signed a near-exclusive contract with Wally Findlay Galleries. Wally Findlay was an admirer of their works, but as a gallerist with a nose for business, he also knew exactly what could be done in order to adapt the two Vietnamese artists to the American market. Wally's advice to Le and Vu was straightforward: keep the motif and style, but use larger canvases, brighter colours and modern compositions. As new paintings were produced for a series of exhibitions in New York, the artists quickly gained wide appeal and a loyal clientele of new admirers and collectors. This early-stage success cleared the way for Le and Vu's – or that of Vietnamese art overall – later global acclaim.

During this victorious partnership, Wally himself also acquired works directly from the two artists. These paintings, twelve of which are now on offer at Bonhams, represented the artists' huge, but unrealised, potential seen through the discerning eye of Wally Findlay. The twelve paintings became part of the Findlay Galleries collection when art connoisseur James R. Borynack took over in 1998.

Joan Yip, Senior Specialist and Head of Sale of Bonhams Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art, commented: "Le Pho and Vu Cao Dam are distinguished figures in modern Vietnamese art whose works have enjoyed global acclaim. Behind this, Wally Findlay Galleries played an instrumental and defining role. We are honoured to have been entrusted with twelve exclusive paintings originally from the Wally Findlay Collection, which pay witness to this pivot period of the two artists made possible by Wally the gallerist and his discerning eye."

Born in Vietnam, Le Pho and Vu Cao Dam moved to Paris in the 1930s and joined the prominent École de Paris movement. Their paintings mesmerisingly combine the delicacy and elegance of Vietnamese silk painting with the vibrant colours and expressive brushstrokes of French impressionism and fauvism. Their favourite subjects of women, flowers, landscapes, Vietnamese culture and folklore, are embodiment of harmony and exoticism that have been admired universally by the West and the East alike.

Highlights of the sale include:

• Vu Cao Dam, La divinité. Estimate: HK$700,000-900,000
• Vu Cao Dam, Composition. Estimate: HK$400,000-600,000
• Le Pho, Femmes aux fleurs. Estimate: HK$500,000-800,000
• Le Pho, Les chrysanthèmes blancs. Estimate: HK$400,000-600,000

To be held in the same season in April is Southeast Asian Modern & Contemporary Art sale, which offers a diverse line-up of artworks chronicling the development of Vietnamese art and its influence on artists in Southeast Asia in the 20th century. Works of note are, assembled from private collections across continents, by Vietnamese art masters representing three important art periods, spanning from the Indochina School period to the war years and Vietnam's economic revival. The sale also presents art pieces by Southeast Asian artists who were inspired by important names in Vietnamese art. Highlights include:

• Nguyen Van Binh, The Harvest, lacquer on wood panel. Estimate: HK$600,000-800,000.
• Nguyen Trung, Mango Garden, oil on canvas. Estimate: HK$120,000-150,000
• Hendra Gunawan, Street Scene, oil on wood panel. Estimate: HK$250,000-400,000
• José Joya, Untitled, oil on cardboard. Estimate: HK$100,000-180,000