12 January 2013
Christie’s London are offering David Hockney’s ‘Great Pyramid at Giza with Broken Head from Thebes’ (1963) in their February Post-War & Contemporary Art sale. This is an early landmark painting by the British artist known for his painterly Pop realism. The work stands as the only canvas to commemorate David Hockney’s first trip to Egypt […]
10 January 2013
Sotheby’s, the international auction house have reported their third most successful year ever for global auctions and a new record for Contemporary Art (2012), which totalled $1.25 billion and saw a new record set for the work of any living artist. The company is now preparing for its February Evening Auction of Contemporary Art. The […]
8 January 2013
Tate Modern one of London’s most popular cultural attractions has seen a record 5.3 million visitors in 2012. This is the highest ever recorded figure for a calendar year in its history. The figure was up 9.5% on the previous year. Tate Britain has also had a good year with 1.53 million visitors coming through […]
2 January 2013
International Art sales realised more than $64bn (£40bn; 49bn euros) last year with analysts predicting that this area of the market will continue to grow. The art market has again consistently outperformed the equities market this year with a trend of stable growth in the years between 2001 and 2011. Fine Art Fund Groups are […]
27 December 2012
2012 was a year of surprises in the London auction rooms. It wasn’t only Munch, Picasso and Warhol that made the headlines. South African artist, Vladimir Tretchikoff’s ‘Portrait of Lenka (Red Jacket)’ his muse and one time lover in Java, smashed its pre-sale estimate of £50,000- £80,000 to achieve an artist’s record of £337,250 at […]
22 December 2012
Kent County Council has cut £200,000 for sports development, £200,000 for Kent Music and £100,000 to Turner Contemporary art gallery in Margate. Paul Carter KCC leader said the council had already explored every area of efficiency but must find £15m in excess of £60m it had already planned. “We really have explored every area of […]
15 December 2012
The piano played by the character Sam in one of the film Casablanca’s iconic scenes has sold for $600,000 (£370,000) at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. It was used for the song “As Times Goes By” in the classic 1942 film . It’s was offered by a Japanese collector who purchased it in the […]
3 December 2012
A previously unknown 1928 Mickey Mouse cartoon poster topped Heritage Auction’s Nov. 29-30 ‘Vintage Movie Poster Signature Auction’ by fetching $101,575 (£63,291) in Dallas. The poster shows a grinning Mickey – dubbed ‘The World’s Funniest Cartoon Character’ – waving his gloved hand. Auction house director Grey Smith called the poster “an important piece of pop […]
23 November 2012
Last week, the auction houses threw open their New York bidding rooms and captured the attention of the art world – and it was a rollercoaster couple of weeks, providing a great deal of conflicting material for market analysts to try and sew together. Both Sotheby’s and Christie’s Impressionist and Modern auctions concluded well below estimate, […]
16 November 2012
Phillips de Pury & Company auctioneers have revealed highlights from its Latin America Contemporary Art auction “Our 20 November 2012 auction is a focused sale containing many of the most influential voices in Latin American contemporary art, spanning the last 60 years. The curatorial approach taken in the development of this sale showcases the depth […]
16 November 2012
Jeff Koons clumsy sculpture titled Tulip, which sat outside New York’s Rockefeller Center, for the viewing of Christie’s latest Contemporary art sale has sold for an artist record of $33.7m (£21.2m). Created between 1995-2004, the tinted stainless steel sculpture is one of five versions of the work in existence. The piece is a photorealist rendition […]
14 November 2012
Sotheby’s in London have sold an original 1967 collage created by the Pop artists Sir Peter Blake and Jann Haworth in their 13th November sale. The work of art was familiar to millions of music fans around the world. The work, which was produced in collaboration with pop artist Jann Haworth, portrays the fictional character […]
12 November 2012
“Apart from drugs, art is the biggest unregulated market in the world;” declared art critic Robert Hughes at the start of his 2008 documentary Mona Lisa’s Curse. In an opinion piece for the New York Times, former Wall Street banker William Cohan described the art market as “utterly unregulated” and “a very dangerous place, populated […]
11 November 2012
Hollywood – A gingham dress with a pinafore worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 classic film, the Wizard of Oz has sold for £302,000 at auction in Beverly Hills.The blue and white garment realised a respectable price within the high and low estimate guidelines. A spokesperson from Julien’s Auctions said; “A similar dress worn […]
10 October 2012
The RA Now auction and exhibition has successfully auctioned off the works of 40 Royal Academicians and a number of international Honorary Royal Academicians who have donated significant pieces to the show. Highlights of the sale include Grayson Perry’s unusual pot titled, ‘Bad Portraits of Establishment Figures, 2012 ‘ which sold for £150,000, Allen Jones […]
19 September 2012
If the latest Andy Warhol that you’ve spotted on eBay looks too good to be true, it probably is. ‘There’s a sucker born every minute’ — P T Barnum Since the advent of the internet, art sales have been moving beyond the hallowed halls of auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s, and into the […]
3 August 2012
An historic painting showing the New Horse Guards from St James’s Park by the Venetian painter Canaletto is to be auctioned at the Dorotheum in Austria in October. The oil on canvas depicts a rare view of the London landmark under construction in 1753. The painting is the centrepiece in a sale of Old Master […]
19 July 2012
In the first half of 2012 leading auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s show conflicting views on the state of the market. Despite the record-breaking sale of Munch’s “The Scream” Sotheby’s is posting a 15.8% decrease in sales from the similar period last year. Christie’s, however, is boasting an 11.2% increase. For Christie’s, this first-half has […]
1 July 2012
As the Summer auction and fair season winds up and galleries mount their group shows, a mainstay of the art calendar Jack Castle takes a look at the staggering results from three of the major sales rooms. The very special place in art history and unique nature of works such as the Francis Bacon, Study […]
24 May 2012
Art from the estate of Gunter Sachs, the German billionaire former husband of Brigitte Bardot, has been sold for £35.6m at auction in London. The top lot was an Andy Warhol self-portraits, which sold for £5.4m and record breakers included a table by the British ‘Pop Artist’ Allen Jones which sold for nearly £1m ($1,533,943). […]
23 May 2012
If the world did not have problems enough speculating about future failures of single currencies and the threat of climate changes. The US and Europe are now competing with a very serious and rapidly growing Asian art market. China is the elephant in the room of many discussions concerning politics, economics, and the environment, yet […]
20 May 2012
A painting using the blood of Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty as a medium has sold for £35,000. The collaboration titled Ladylike was one of around 20 “blood” paintings on show representing Doherty’s work at the Cob Gallery in London. The portrait of Winehouse was estimated to sell for between £50,000 and £80,000 when auctioned […]
13 May 2012
Thursday’s Contemporary Art Auction at Phillips de Pury NYC totalled at $88.9 million, sitting squarely in the middle of its pre-sale estimates of $75.9 million to $110.7 million. Of the 44 works on offer, 35 found buyers, with the star lot of the night being a 1981 painting by Basquiat being sold by US collector […]
12 May 2012
How much would you pay for a Damien Hirst skull? Not as much as you might think, as it turns out – if you are happy to fork out for a loose doodle on the back if a poster, that is! The doodle, having been given to a friend in Mexico, has somehow found its […]
9 May 2012
Before last night the price of $86.3 million, paid for Francis Bacon’s ‘Triptych’, 1976, in 2008 was the most expensive post-war artwork ever sold at auction. But now Mark Rothko’s Orange, red, yellow has been sold for $86.9 million (£53.8m). Wow. The painting was executed in 1961, and was sold at Christie’s in New York. […]
2 May 2012
Edvard Munch, the celebrated Norwegian Post-Impressionist, painted four versions of his now iconic ‘The Scream.’ This evening one will be auctioned by Sotheby’s and is expected to become one of the most expensive pieces of art sold at auction. Since being painted in 1895, ‘The Scream’ has had an interesting history. Three of the four […]
2 May 2012
Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” is aiming to be the biggest seller in New York during May’s upcoming auctions. Private collectors as well as the big auction houses including Christie’s and Sotheby’s will be contributing a variety of pieces, some reaching well above $10 million. Other artist’s to feature in this momentous month are Picasso, Francis […]
29 April 2012
Bonham’s Offers Complete Bert Stren Set Of Monroe Prints – Bert Stern may not have been the first photographer to capture Marilyn Monroe, but he was definitely the last to secure a professional session with the screen icon. In July 1962, the young Bert Stern was given access to three sittings in order to capture […]
26 April 2012
Russian oilman and art collector Viktor Vekselberg is demanding a £1.7 million refund from auction house Christies. Vekselberg – worth over £7billion and the 64th richest person in the world – believes that he was sold a fake painting and is taking the case to the High Court. The painting in question is entitled as […]
16 April 2012
As Cezanne’s ‘Boy in a Red Waistcoat’ turns up in Serbia, we wonder about the fate of other stolen works of art The Art Loss Register – the international index of stolen works – has 350,000 stolen artworks on file. But where are they? Traded on the black market and hanging in private homes? […]
13 April 2012
iconic masterpiece on display for one week at auction house The last privately owned rendition of Edvard Munch’s The Scream has gone on view in London at Sotheby’s for one week. It will go under the hammer in New York, on 2 May 2012 and is expected to fetch $80m or more. This could be […]
24 March 2012
Update – Savills Auction which took place on 27 March has finished and the property has been sold for £565,000. Ever dream of owning something by the painter Vincent van Gogh? His paintings sell for millions and that would be the price for a minor one. These days the purchase of a major work by […]