2 January 2015
One of the earliest example of a painting by Caravaggio titled, ‘Boy Peeling a Fruit’ dating from 1591 will go under the hammer on 28 January at Christie’s New York. The painting is similar to one of the centrepieces of the Royal Collection Trust belonging to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Royal example was […]
28 December 2014
It has been an incredible year for art scandals but despite the deception the art market has grown a wapping 20%, with revenues exceeding $15.4 billion (£9.8 billion). which just goes to show that collectors and institutions are not only interested in buying the best but seek to buy works of art with an iron […]
23 December 2014
Sotheby’s has seen a notably intensified focus on the emergence of female power players in the art market in 2014. There was a surge in appreciation for and reappraisal of works by female artists. Landmark prices were achieved for works by female masters through the ages: Establishing a record price for a female artist, Georgia […]
18 December 2014
It would seem that there is a new fashion for the paintings of World War II political ‘hobbyists’. First we had a century old painting by Adolf Hitler that was auctioned off at the Weidler auction house in Nuremberg last month. The work went under the hammer for €130,000, or £102,000; and now it is […]
18 December 2014
Henri Martin’s French Impressionist landscape, titled ‘La vallée du vert à Labastide-du-Vert’ (c. 1920), has sold for $485,000 or £311,000, the work lead Heritage Auction’s $1.2 million (£770,000) December 10th European Art Signature Auction. Russian Romantic painter Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky’s ‘French Ships Departing the Black Sea’ (1871) was a highlight selling for $125,000, or £80,000 […]
17 December 2014
“175 Masterworks To Celebrate 175 Years of Photography: Property from Joy of Giving Something Foundation” auction held at Sotheby’s New York on December 11th and 12th, broke the world record for a photography auction. The sale was drawn from a collection gathered by the late American financier Howard Stein. The auction grossed the grand sum […]
10 December 2014
Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s watercolour painting, Venus Verticordia has sold this afternoon at Sotheby’s for £2,882,500 / $4,522,931, soaring above its pre-sale estimate of £1,000,000-1,500,000, and establishing the highest price for a watercolour by Rossetti at auction.* Four bidders competed for the work – three on the telephones and one in the saleroom – with the […]
8 December 2014
The 13th edition of Art Basel Miami Beach closed yesterday, Sunday, December 7, 2014, with gallerists, private collectors, museum groups and the media praising the edition of the fair. Highlights of the show included the introduction of the new Survey sector, which brought 13 art-historical projects to the fair, including many rare works never before […]
7 December 2014
Christie’s Paris Contemporary Art evening and day sales have remained buoyant proving prices are still strong selling 85% of the lots offered the auction realised €24,910,050 / £19,761,143 / $30,998,066. Amongst the 178 sold lots, 11 new world records have been set for pieces by artists sold at auction, including Henry Darger, Christo, Jim Nutt, […]
4 December 2014
Last night, at Sotheby’s London, one of the last great Turner masterpieces remaining in private hands set a world auction record for the artist*, selling for a staggering £30.3 million/ $47.4 million/ €38.6 million (est. £15-20m / $24.1-32.1m / €19-25.3m). This result also represents the highest price at auction for any pre-20th century British artist […]
1 December 2014
The estate of the legendary British editor of Oz Magazine Felix Dennis, who died in June 2014, is to auction his vast collection of work by the controversial British artist Eric Gill. Reflecting on the artist and designer Dennis once said; “He may have led a reprehensible private life, (in truth, there is no ‘may’ […]
29 November 2014
The auction house Christie’s has recorded exceptional results for their Autumn British and Irish Modern Art Sale.The market seems to be going from strength to strength, with the Evening and Day Sales achieving a combined total of £11,930,350 / $18,632,463 / €14,862,473. The Evening Sale was led by Dame Barbara Hepworth’sFigure (Sunion), which achieved £1,106,500 […]
27 November 2014
The art collection of the late Mexican tycoon Lorenzo Zambrano was auctioned at Sotheby’s New York earlier in the week; the over-all result of which broke records for a Latin American art sale . “A Vision of Grandeur: Masterworks from the Collection of Lorenzo H. Zambrano” fetched $17.6 million or £11.1 million, breaking the record […]
27 November 2014
A Tibetan ‘thangka’ tapestry went under the hammer at Christie’s Hong Kong on Wednesday for HK$348.4 million, or £28 million, setting a new world record for a Chinese artwork sold at international auction, SCMP reported. The Shanghai-based billionaire Liu Yiqian placed the winning bid via telephone, which brought an end to a lengthy bidding war. […]
26 November 2014
Phillips auction house continues with its particular niche of offering recently executed works by younger, emerging artists with its upcoming “Under The Influence” sale in London on December 10th. The sale, which will introduce the work of artists Erik Lindman and Paul Cowan to auction for the first time and includes lower priced works by […]
25 November 2014
An exquisite portrait by Henri Matisse depicting Princess Nézy-Hamidé Chawkat, the great granddaughter of the last Sultan of Turkey, Odalisque au fauteuil noir will be on offer at Sotheby’s London sale of Impressionist & Modern Art. The work dated 1942 and estimated at £9-12 million is one of Matisse’s finest paintings from his famed ‘Odalisque’ […]
17 November 2014
Napoleon Bonaparte’s iconic, black felt, bicorn hat has set an auction record for the most expensive hat ever sold. It was worn when he was in exile on Elba and believed to be one of his 120 original hats, has sold to a South Korean collector for £1.5 million 1.9 million euros ($2.2 million), at […]
13 November 2014
Christie’s has made history with its Post-War and Contemporary Art sale by setting the record for the highest total achieved for any auction. The auction totalled $852,887,000 (£535,986,570/ €682,309,600), with strong sell-through rates of 97% by value and 94% by lot. Bidders from around the world competed for an exceptional array of Abstract Expressionist, Pop […]
12 November 2014
It was an astronomical result by anyones estimation Alberto Giacometti’s “Chariot,” which sold for $100,965,000 broke the hundred million dollar ceiling. It was also the highest single lot accounting for 1/4 of the total in a sale at Sotheby’s, which included 74 lots, in its Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale. Last Tuesday the hedge […]
11 November 2014
Sotheby’s placed under the hammer the prestigious collection of Rachel “Bunny” Mellon on Monday night, the auction houses experts called the collection – of modern and contemporary works that spanned 400 years -“one of the last great private American collections formed in the 20th century.” On its completetion the auction made over £100 million, exceeding […]
6 November 2014
A work by Edouard Manet has set a new auction record for the French impressionist. ‘Spring’, a portrait of a French actress, sold at Christie’s in New York for £40.6 million, a sum that almost doubled the previous record of £20.7 million for a work by Manet. The oil painting was in the possession of […]
6 November 2014
Wang Zhongjun, the chairman of Huayi Brothers film studio in China has purchased Van Gogh’s painting “Still Life, Vase with Daisies and Poppies”, at Sotheby’s New York, Tuesday for £39m $61.8m. Zhongjun is one of China’s wealthiest men. A spokesperson for the Huayi Brothers have not commented on the sale however,last year Jianlin’s Wanda Group […]
5 November 2014
Sotheby’s Autumn Impressionist and Modern sale in New York has realised $422 million, against presale expectations of $316.5–424.9 million. This has been a record breaker for the auction room setting the highest-ever auction total in Sotheby’s history. Alberto Giacometti sculpture, “Chariot” has sold at Sotheby’s New York for $101 million. The 1950 sculpture depicts a […]
3 November 2014
New figures show sales decreasing in the UK but growing globally; Britain’s status as a centre for the international art market is under threat from New York and other overseas locations. Sales of fine art and antiques in the UK dropped by 3 percent to £8 billion in 2013, juxtaposed with a growth in worldwide […]
27 October 2014
Christie’s Shanghai has celebrated their first year of launch with a series of auctions that mark Christie’s activities in the city. Modern and contemporary art, wine, jewellery, watches and the new category of Chinese Contemporary Design sold to both Chinese and international clients throughout the day in sales that realized RMB 132,350,000.00 /US$21,674,692. “Collectors have […]
22 October 2014
The 12th edition of Frieze London is a fading memory as many of the same international dealers prepare for the FIAC Paris public launch tomorrow. Many of the participating galleries praised this year’s Frieze for energy and the new layout. This year, Frieze London brought 162 galleries from 25 territories under one roof with visitor […]
21 October 2014
A significant collection of works, never before on the market, by Man Ray will be offered at Sotheby’s, Paris on 15 November. Drawings, Objects, Jewellery, Chess and Film. This will be the very last opportunity to acquire works by Man Ray coming directly from the studio of the artist, the artist’s estate. Following the first […]
18 October 2014
At Sotheby’s London, eight bidders drove Piero Manzoni’s monumental Achrome well beyond pre-sale expectations to £12,626,500 or €15,872,822 – the estimate was between 5 to 7 million pounds. This establishes the highest price across all the Frieze auctions this week. The work by Manzoni was the top lot in an evening sale where collectors battled […]
14 October 2014
Sigmar Polke’s status had a further boost at Christie’s London on Monday; with the evening sale of the Essl Collection, the prices for the German artist’s work increased, with five works by Polke originally estimated at an aggregate price of £8 million, ended up selling for just over £16 million, bringing Polke closer to his […]
11 October 2014
Sotheby’s is presenting a large selection of ‘Warhol’s Women’, portraits of iconic superstars and muses, November 11-12, as part of their NY contemporary art evening sale. With estimates from $1 million to $30 million. On 11 and 12 November an unprecedented line up of Andy Warhol’s best known female stars. The selection of seven paintings […]
9 October 2014
Sotheby’s will be offering Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s watercolour version of Venus Verticordia in London on 10 December 2014. The Pre-Raphaelite artist’s obsession with luscious sensuality and female allure reached its zenith in his only major nude subject, and the picture led to the breaking of Rossetti’s friendship with John Ruskin, Victorian Britain’s leading art critic. […]