NEW YORK, N.Y.- Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 3 May 2011 in New York will feature Jeune tahitienne, an exquisite sculpture carved during Paul Gauguin’s first trip to Tahiti between 1890 and 1893 (est. $10/15 million*). As the only fully-worked bust portrait that Gauguin is known to have created, it is unique within his oeuvre, and numbers among the artist’s finest sculptures in private hands. Jeune tahitienne will be on view this April at Sotheby’s Hong Kong and London galleries, marking the first time the work has been seen by the public in 50 years, having been purchased by the current owner in 1961 at Sotheby’s London. The work will return to New York for the full sale exhibition on 29 April**. As in Gauguin’s greatest paintings, this serene young woman captures the mystery, allure and exoticism of the South Pacific, enhanced by the use of various local materials: the ma