The gallery used the other walls of this antechamber to offer up paintings by Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and Claude Monet.

WSJ: Hong Kong: The Next Global Art Powerhouse

W. Turner, cubist paintings by Pablo Picasso and ancient Chinese bronzes.

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Both auction houses said their new Hong Kong galleries represent a key part of their plans to broaden the palate of China's art buyers, who are still more interested in Chinese paintings than they are in household Western names like Pablo Picasso.

WSJ: Sotheby's to Launch Hong Kong Gallery