The most important painting by Jean Dubuffet remaining on the private market is to sell for up to $25m at Christie's.

The piece will appear in the May 11 Looking Forward to the Past sale in New York.

Jean Dubuffet was a well known French artist

Dubuffet (1901-1985) is best known for his embrace of the Art Brut aesthetic (a term that he coined). His work was heavily influenced by outsider artists, something he shared with artists working in the COBRA movement during the 1960s.

Christie's comments: "Executed in 1961 at the height of his creative development, this major work can be seen in both its scale and ambition as its epitome of his signature style from the 1960s.

"This highly chromatic and vibrant work has been featured prominently in every major museum exhibitions devoted to the artist.

"Estimated in the region of $25 million, Paris Polka is the ultimate masterpiece still in private hand to be offered at auction and will likely break the previous auction record of $7.4 million which was achieved last November in New York."

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