Lacquer screen “Dan Huou Trong Rung” (Deer In The Forest) by Pham Hau sold for more than 1.7 million euros ($1.9 million) at a Sotheby's Paris auction on June 11, his most expensive work to date.
According to curator Ace Le, the sale made “Dan Huou Trong Rung” the seventh most valuable work by an Indochina-era master ever sold at auction and the first Vietnamese artwork to surpass US$1 million this year.
The painting depicts five deer in a forest landscape, some resting and others grazing. Sotheby's said the work exemplifies the combination of western modern artistic principles and traditional eastern esthetics.
Mai Trung Thu’s “Portrait Of Mademoiselle Phuong” remains the most expensive Vietnamese painting ever sold, fetching $3.1 million at a Sotheby's Hong Kong auction in April 2021.
Sotheby's described the painting as “monumental, yet remarkably tender and intimate”, saying it captures Thu's affection for Phuong, a Hanoi woman believed to have been his lover. The work also appeared in the 1993 film “Mui Du Du Xanh” (The Scent of Green Papaya) and is associated with the coming-of-age journey of its protagonist, Mui.
Pho's “Figures In A Garden” sold for $2.28 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong in April 2022, the second most expensive Vietnamese work at the time.
The triptych consists of three oil-on-canvas panels depicting six life-sized figures among trees and flowers. Sotheby's said the work was created during the painter’s Findlay period, regarded as the peak of his career, when he favored bright, vivid colors and large-sized oil paintings.
One year later, Pho's “La Famille Dans Le Jardin” (The Family In The Garden) sold for US$2.37 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong, breaking his previous record.
The painting portrays a woman in a white ao dai sewing on a bamboo bed in a garden, with a child reading beside her. Three figures in traditional clothing are visible in the background, involved in different activities. Sotheby's compared the composition to a photograph, citing Pho's “technical skill and vivid sense of imagination.”
In May 2025, his “Le Bain” (The Bath) sold for more than $2.32 million at an event held by French auction house Aguttes.
The painting, created during the early stage of the artist's career, depicts a mother bathing her child while another woman washes clothes in the background.
Thu's “Le Concert” (The Concert) sold for 1.81 million euros at an Aguttes auction in Sep. 2025.
It shows five young ao dai-clad women, three playing traditional musical instruments and the other two singing.
Nguyen Gia Tri's “Le Trois Femmes” (The Three Women) sold for HK$16.1 million ($2 million) at a Christie's auction in March 2025.
“Villageoises Parmi Des Bananiers” (Villagers Among Banana Trees), another of Tri's work, was sold for $1.08 million by French auction house Drouot Estimations in Jan. 2023.
“La Femme Nue” (The Naked Woman) by Pho fetched 1.37 million euros at an Aguttes auction in September last year. It exceeded the $1.4 million achieved by his “Nude” at a Christie's Hong Kong auction in May 2019.
“Femme Au Chapeau Conique Le Long De La Rivière” (Young Woman With A Conical Hat By The River) sold for US$1.57 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong in Dec. 2021. It was the second most expensive Vietnamese painting ever auctioned until “Figures In A Garden” surpassed it.
It portrays a woman in a green ao dai with an oval face, large eyes and curled hair falling across her cheeks. Her identity remains unknown, though she frequently appeared in Thu's works during his years in Hue.
The number of Vietnamese paintings fetching more than $1 million peaked in 2020 and 2021, driven largely by Pho’s works. Since 2023, global economic headwinds have affected demand and prices. In 2024, only one Vietnamese painting, by Nguyen Phan Chanh, crossed the million-dollar threshold.
