16 February 2012
Francis Bacon’s 1963 Portrait of Henrietta Moraes sold for nearly £20 million, while newly discovered Freud drawing doubles pre-sale estimate at a Christie’s sale of post-war and contemporary art The painting was described in the catalogue as ‘the most seductive painting of a female figure ever realised by Francis Bacon’. Strangely, Christie’s had declined to […]
11 February 2012
Most expensive British bronze sells for £19.1 million At Christie’s Christies has broken the auction record for the most expensive work of British sculpture sold. The work of art, by Modernist Henry Moore depicts a reclining female figure resting on her elbow. The abstract bronze,titled Reclining Figure was created for the Festival of Britain in […]
10 February 2012
Three paintings from the Hollywood star Liz Taylor’s collection have sold for nearly £14million at auction. The three works, by some of the biggest names in art history – Van Gogh, Edgar Degas and Claude Pissarro – fetched an incredible £13,787,750 at a Christie’s sale – smashing the paltry pre-sale estimate of £6.2million. Unsurprising, the […]
6 February 2012
Christie’s and Sotheby’s report booming business thanks to patronage of the super rich, with Ten Richest Clients Responsible For 10% Of Art Auction Revenue It may appear bizarre that, in the midst of such turbulent economic times, business at auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s is booming. Christie’s, for instance, has announced sales of £3.6bn – […]
5 February 2012
Qatar Royal Family pay £158m for The Card Players The nation of Qatar which is better known for its oil than its European art collection has purchased a painting by the post Impressionist, Paul Cézanne for what is thought to be the highest price ever paid for a work of art. The Card Players was […]
2 February 2012
Managing Director Allison Earl Woessner Locks the door on Kensington online auctioneers
1 February 2012
Artist’s resale royalty charge as yet fails to dent auction house prospects In the face of the January enactment of the artist’s resale royalty charge, London’s auction houses have lined up a killer set of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art sales that could total an incredible £562 million. If achieved, this would be one of […]
27 January 2012
Picasso Matisse and Klee works Defrauded By Cook Fine Art In New York A Madison Avenue art dealer has been charged with defrauding a client of $4 million. It appears that Robert Scott Cook sold works by Picasso, Manet, Matisse, Renoir and others, keeping the money himself. Federal prosecutors said. Robert Scott Cook used his […]
25 January 2012
February Contemporary Art Sale will include works by Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Bridget Riley, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Takashi Murakami, Alighiero Boetti, Alberto Burri, and Leon Kossoff With 2011 being Sotheby’s 3rd most successful year of all time for Contemporary Art, – totalling at an incredible $1.17 billion – the auction house is […]
25 January 2012
Portrait Realises £1.4 GBP at Christies Auction on 25 January A portrait from the 17th century which once graced the home of Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor and authenticated as a genuine Frans Hals, goes under the hammer at Christie’s New York,today. “Portrait of a Man,” painted in the early 1630s is offered in their sale […]
24 January 2012
The Art Collection Fund seduces new investors with promise of 12% return from $80,000,000 investment in art Investors are to be invited to invest in a European investment group with plans to purchase $80 million worth of modern and contemporary art for a predicted annual return of 12 % over four years. ‘The [Art Collection] […]
14 January 2012
Jail for art dealer in fraudulent Hirst print scam Richard Silver, a part time New York art dealer, who purchased $40,000 worth of fake Damien Hirst prints in 2006 from an ebay seller, in Irvine, Calif, has been sentenced to 60 days in jail for falsifying records and appraisals for a series of fake Damien […]
9 January 2012
Art gave 11 per cent return to investors in 2011, making art a better investment than stocks for second year in a row Despite apparently all pervasive economic gloom elsewhere, the art market has given an incredible 11 % return to investors in 2011 – making art a better investment than stocks for a second […]
30 December 2011
Art Market Reports $10.6bn Record For 2011 Market uncertainty and global instability has led to the biggest grossing year ever, for sales of art at auction. Auction house pre Christmas results have recorded a total of £6.8bn GBP or $10.6bn for this year. This was up on last year’s $9.5bn. China, was the largest growth […]
13 December 2011
We reported on 7 March that the record-breaking £51m Pinner Vase, an 18th century Qianlong-dynasty ceramic sold from a suburban London auction house had been part paid for, by a third party agent. Well the deposit was paid but the lot still remains outstanding and in limbo. The plot thickens, as it is understood that […]
19 November 2011
This week’s 20th Century British and Irish Art sale at Bonhams broke the world auction record for a work on paper by Henry Moore. After a considerable bidding war, the 1941 drawing of a seated mother and child sold for £634,850. It was featured in last year’s major retrospective of Henry Moore at the Tate […]
18 November 2011
Sotheby’s auctions for Modern and Post-War British Art make £8m, selling work by Lowry and the fictional creation Nat Tate Sotheby’s held its first ever evening auction of Modern and Post-War British Art this week, and by all accounts this inaugural event was a success for the house, with the combined total from the evening […]
17 November 2011
Confusion as last week’s total sales of Asian Art hit impressive £57.4 million, despite fact that 44% of lots remained unsold As we reported earlier this month, London has over the past few weeks been host to one of the world’s major Asian art events: Asian Art in London. Officials from the major auction houses […]
11 November 2011
Portrait of Kate Moss set to be sold at Bonhams next week for £18,000, alongside famous images by Robert Maplethorpe and David LaChapelle A nude black and white portrait of supermodel Kate Moss taken by celeb and fashion photographer Albert Watson is set to make £18,000 when it goes on sale next at Bonhams in […]
8 November 2011
Buyers lack enthusiasm at first post-war and contemporary sale of the season, uncharacteristically held by Phillips De Pury Phillips De Pury hosted the first post-war and contemporary sale of the season last night, and, whilst results were by no means as disappointing as those seen at Christie’s last week, neither could the sale be […]
3 November 2011
Sotheby’s have enjoyed considerably more success at their first “Impressionist and Modern Art” sale of the autumn season than their rivals Christie’s, who suffered mixed results on November 1st. In contrast to the Christie’s sale, where excessive estimates for the leading lots seemed to put potential buyers off, the top-valued piece at Sotheby’s – Gustav […]
2 November 2011
Picasso and Degas Fail to Sell At Christies Modern evening sale As we reported on Monday, this week sees the start of the New York Impressionist and Modern art auction season, with all the major houses presenting big-ticket works. The results however, coming from the first sale of the season at Christies were anything but […]
17 October 2011
The aspirational brown motor car is offered by Bonhams Auctioneers “The legendary Pop Artist Andy Warhol’s car is to join other famed autos at a Scottsdale sale of fine and classic cars. Screen goddess Marlene Dietrich’s 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom will be in good company at Bonhams’ inaugural Scottsdale sale come January. The 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver […]
15 October 2011
Sotheby’s Christie’s and Phillips produce healthy results This week has been an important one for the art market, with London’s leading auction houses all hosting major contemporary art sales to coincide with Frieze week. The Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale saw a total sale value of £17,809,000, the third-highest recorded total for their October Contemporary […]
3 October 2011
Lord Forte’s Piccadilly Circus Oil goes under the hammer In November Having been part of hotel tycoon Lord Forte’s personal collection for almost 30 years, a LS Lowry painting of Piccadilly Circus is now going to be up for auction for the very first time. What’s more, it’s estimated that the piece – due to […]
30 September 2011
AIDS charity to benefit from Sotheby’s sale and new photo Portfolio Elton John has announced that his charitable organization, The Elton John AIDS Foundation will auction six important works of contemporary art at Sotheby’s. The sale held on the 10 Nov in New York will include Keith Haring’s untitled 1981 ink-on-paper drawing depicting three men. […]
22 September 2011
Damien Hirst, the YBA worth £215 million, has allegedly been putting pressure on the major auction houses to stop selling incomplete editions of his iconic spin prints. The works were originally sold as a boxed set with original top cover painting. Several of the sets have been broken up and sold off individually. Hirst feels […]
17 September 2011
Personal Items from Elaine Kaufman’s Upper East Side Apartment and Restaurant Art Collection Featuring Works by Andy Warhol, Helen Frankenthaler, Reginald Marsh, Wallace Berman, Arman, and George Segal to be sold Legendary restauranteur Elaine Kaufman’s estate goes under the hammer early next week. She was an avid art collector as well as a purveyor of […]
6 September 2011
China is now the second largest art market after USA Every September, Shanghai becomes a key destination for the international art world, as the entire Asian contemporary art scene comes together during SH Contemporary for the most dynamic art week of the year. The SH Contemporary 2011 launches between September 8th to 10th, with a […]
11 August 2011
Original works by Picasso and Warhol to go under the hammer The estate of one of Hollywood’s most colorful stars, Tony Curtis goes under the hammer on 17 September. It includes work personally given to him by Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso. The rare Hollywood star whose off-screen character was often more sensational than […]
15 July 2011
Gustav Klimt Stolen By Nazis To Be Offered By Sotheby’s A masterpiece by the Austrian Secessionist painter Gustav Klimt that was looted by the Nazis during World War II, is to go under the hammer following its return to its original owner’s great-nephew.The 1915 landscape, entitled Litzlberg on the Attersee, is expected to realise more […]