A painting by Vu Cao Dam, one of the most influential artists in Vietnam in the 20th century, will go under the hammer at London's Sloane Street Auctions on May 2.

The oil on canvas "Property of a Lady of Title" will be the first Vietnamese artwork on auction at this distinguished auction house. It was on display at a solo exhibition of Vu Cao Dam Dam (1908-2000) in London in 1960, hosted by the prominent Frost & Reed Gallery.

Born in 1908 in Hanoi to a well-off family, the fifth of fourteen children, the artist was influenced by French culture from a very young age as his father, Vu Dinh Thi (1864- 1930), was a scholar and had an in-depth knowledge of French culture.

A graduate of the Hanoi College of Fine Arts, Vu Cao Dam was taught by French artists Victor Tardieu and Joseph Inguimberty. In 1931, he travelled to Paris on a scholarship to further his studies at the Ecole de Louvre. In 1949, he relocated with his family to southern France, where the local environment as well as the influence of his neighbour Chagall, who lived just a kilometre away, is evident in his later paintings, such as the present one.

Daniel Hunt, Sloane Street Auctions Founder and CEO said Vietnamese art is gaining global recognition, having been growing steadily for 20 years or more. Artists from the Indochina period, such as Vu Cao Dam, are especially highly regarded, and an increase in Vietnamese collectors has only helped their popularity and prices.

The London-based Sloane Street Auctions specialise in old master drawings and paintings, European furniture and works of art, impressionist art, modern and contemporary art, photography and private sales.

Not only showing interest in Vietnamese art, Sloane Street Auctions also join efforts to help unfortunate children in Vietnam through supporting Facing the World, a UK-registered charity which has operated in Vietnam since 2007 to provide medical treatment for children born with craniofacial defects./.VNA