4 October 2013
Sotheby’s is auctioning the seminal Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) by Andy Warhol as the outstanding highlight of their New York contemporary auction season. At over 8 ft. by 13 ft., the monumental painting is one of only four Car Crash works of this scale in the pivotal Death and Disaster series and the only […]
3 October 2013
The Billionaire hedge fund manager Dan Loeb has spoken out about Sotheby’s lack of vision and has called for the resignation of William Ruprecht, chairman, president and CEO of the auction house, which was founded in 1744. Expressing a shortfall in leadership, excessive pay and perks, and the fact that rival Christie’s has outperformed the […]
29 September 2013
A second abstract painting by the German artist Gerhard Richter, owned by the ageing rock star Eric Clapton will go under the hammer at Christie’s auctioneers this autumn. Last year, ‘Abstraktes Bild (809-4)’ was sold to an anonymous buyer for £21,321,250, setting a record price for any living artist. Clapton purchased three major works by […]
22 September 2013
Sotheby’s has announced a major addition to their highly lucrative American Art auction in New York on 4 December 2013. They will be offering some of the most important original paintings by Norman Rockwell from the family of Kenneth J. Stuart Sr., the artist’s longtime friend and art editor at the Saturday Evening Post. The […]
18 August 2013
British art exports have hit a peak, not seen since the market crashed in 2008. The popularity of London as a second home for wealthy Russians, Middle Eastern and Americans has driven the auction market, which is the barometer for UK art sales. The value of art exports leaving the UK surged by £500 million, […]
11 August 2013
Project Latitude, the second industry research conference involving the Brazilian art market, presented in July has released results. It showed some important statistics compiling data concerning contemporary art in Brazil. Unlike the estimates presented by the Folha de Sao Paulo journal, the art market in Brazil has not stalled. A new modo operandi of significance about […]
11 August 2013
The most comprehensive archive auction of chattels belonging to the French impressionist artist Pierre Auguste Renoir’s from his signature polka-dot scarf to a collection of 20 original plaster sculpture maquettes, will highlight an expansive grouping dedicated to the Impressionist icon in Heritage Auctions’ presentation of The Renoir Estate Collection Signature® Auction, Sept. 19 in New […]
9 August 2013
Sotheby’s (NYSE: BID 6 August 2013) has reported their financial results for the second quarter and first half ended June 30, 2013. The company has generated a net income of $91.7 Million. Second quarter total revenues of $304.8 million and first half total revenues of $406.6 million in 2013, which essentially match both periods in […]
7 August 2013
Would you buy expensive fine art from Amazon? We will soon find out as Amazon.com, Inc. has announced the launch of Amazon Art a marketplace that gives customers direct access to more than 40,000 works of fine art from over 150 international galleries and dealers. At launch, Amazon Art is showcasing artworks from more than […]
3 August 2013
Charles Saatchi is selling a bed complete with embroidered panels by Tracey Emin along with 50 other works of sculpture and installation art. The sale will take place in October, at Christie’s, in an auction titled, ‘Thinking Big’. Proceeds from the sale will subsidise schools education programmes and continue the free entry to exhibitions policy, […]
29 July 2013
Profiles in History auctioneers in Los Angeles , have announced that a collection of iconic cultural memorabilia up for sale at their Hollywood Auction, July 28th and July 29th in Los Angeles has sold achieving record prices. The sale followed the important Milton Greene Collection auction which took place on Saturday, July 27th and included […]
24 July 2013
The Artist Pension Trust (APT) which holds the biggest global collection of contemporary art has announced that they are to sell off half their collection this autumn. The collection was started 10 years ago and has amassed over 10,000 works by 1,600 artists from 75 different countries. The APT works are valued at 100 million […]
17 July 2013
It was announced yesterday that Christie’s auctioneers will become the only international auction house to hold sales in India. This follows their aggressive move into China and their longstanding commitment to retaining their market leadership in this lucrative part of the world. Their inaugural Mumbai auction of Indian art is scheduled for December 2013. it […]
12 July 2013
A painting by the late British artist Ben Nicholson, (Mycenae-axe-blue), has sold for £1,082,500. It was a highlight at the auction and the first time, the painting has been on the market for decades. It was previously featured in the Tate’s celebrated 1964 exhibition Painting & Sculpture of a Decade, 54-64. This important abstract work […]
12 July 2013
Masterpiece London saw a rise in visitor figures ending with an overall increase of 20% on last years attendance. Just under 34,000 people in total came to the fair to enjoy the breath-taking calibre of art, antiques and unique collectors items for sale. Many exhibitors reported strong sales this year throughout the fair, and across […]
4 July 2013
Old Masters have set new record prices in an unprecedented bidding war at Sotheby’s yesterday. Two El Grecos offered in the sale marked the first time two masterpieces, by the artist were offered in the same auction. Saint Dominic in Prayer, £9,154,500 (est: £3.5-5m) set a record for a painting by a Spanish artist and […]
27 June 2013
Last night in London, Sotheby’s Contemporary Art evening sale realised £75.8 million. Leading the auction were two works by Francis Bacon. The 1966 triptych portrait of his friend, muse and lover Isabel Rawsthorne which sold for £11,282,500, while the first work the artist ever sold, his historic Head III was battled for by six collectors, […]
26 June 2013
Christie’s London evening auction of Post-War & Contemporary Art held on 25 June has realised a total of £70,253,225 / $108,470,979 / €82,477,286, selling 90% by value and 80% by lot. The most expensive lot in the sale was Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982) which sold for £18,765,875 / $28,974,511 / €22,031,137. Peter Doig’s Jetty (1994) […]
20 June 2013
Christies sale of Impressionist & Modern Art, held at their King Street London rooms, which took place on Tuesday 18 June, attracted bidders from around the world and realised a total of £64,076,575 / $100,407,993. The auction was a runaway success, selling 87% by value and 84% by lot. It didn’t quite match Sotheby’s outstanding […]
20 June 2013
Sotheby’s London Evening Sale held on 19 JUNE 2013 of Impressionist & Modern Art totalled £105,939,000, exceeding its pre-sale high estimate of £74-104 million. The average lot value: was £1,826,534, driven largely by the strength of the diverse offerings – fresh-to-the-market estate property, sculpture, and classic Impressionist works – the sale attracted global competition. In […]
16 June 2013
Art Basel’s 44th edition closed this evening, (Sunday, June 16, 2013), with galleries reporting exceptionally buoyant sales across the board. The fair has once again proven itself, the leading meeting place for both the international contemporary and modern art world. The event attracted a record of 70,000 visitors, generating an attendance of 86,000 over the six […]
16 June 2013
The eager visitors to Dreispitzhalle, VOLTA’s ninth Basel edition were not dissapppointed. The bright color of the carpet, ‘hot pink’, overshadowed the earlier inclement weather that has been soaking Central Europe for weeks, and the peeks of blue sky echoed in satisfactory sales throughout a steadily flowing opening day. For those less familiar with the […]
12 June 2013
Christie’s is selling the collection of Tony Reichardt, a pioneering British art dealer in the 1960s and 1970s. Reichardt was an innovative independent Director of Marlborough Fine Art in London from 1961-1985. He was responsible for the Contemporary space they opened on Bond Street and for the development of their print gallery. In conjunction with […]
8 June 2013
An important large solid gold plate by Pablo Picasso, Visage Tourmenté comes to the market for the first time, having been unseen in public for over 40 years. Weighing over 2.5kg, it is made from 22 carat gold. It is extremely rare to see gold pieces by Picasso at auction as the artist only created […]
6 June 2013
Sotheby’s Paris Contemporary Art sale which took place on 5th June has broken the record for the Highest Contemporary Art Evening Sale Total of the 2013 Paris Summer Auction Season. The Highest Priced Contemporary Work of Art was Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Crown Hotel which sold for €5.7/ $7.4m / £4.8m In a packed sale room, Sotheby’s […]
27 May 2013
Art Basel has announced that UBS will replace Deutsche Bank as its key global partner. UBS will support Art Basel on a global level and across its shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. The multi-year agreement commences on May 28, 2013, and is a testament to both organisations’ shared aspiration of creating a […]
26 May 2013
The first edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, closed today with galleries reporting strong sales across all five days. The show drew high praise for its quality and innovativeness. The fair was attended by over 60,000 people,and visited by directors, curators, trustees and patrons from museums and institutions including: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; […]
16 May 2013
Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art evening sale in New York achieved the highest total for such a sale, in auction history, a staggering $495,021,500 (£326,714,190/ €386,116,770) on 15 May. A remarkably strong sell-through rate of 94% by value and by lot helped to propel the sales success. Bidders from around the world competed for an […]
14 May 2013
One of the highest grossing charity auctions in history took place last night at Christie’s New York. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, in partnership with the auction house presented The 11th Hour charity auction, to benefit environmental and wildlife conservation efforts supported by the Foundation. By the end of the evening, sales totalled a staggering $33.3 […]
14 May 2013
If there is anything close to an international currency- it’s art- and ‘art’ is at Frieze in abundance. There were so many occasions where I passed a booth and said – “Oh, that must be such and such a gallery,” only to notice that the booth in fact belonged to a dealer from a far […]