Category: Auctions
Banana makes $6.2m at Sotheby's New York
November 21 2024
Video: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Maurizio Cattelan’s aforementioned Comedian realised an impressive $6.2m (all figures include commission) over its $1m - $1.5m estimate at Sotheby's New York yesterday evening.
Overall, it seems that the New York Modern & Contemporary sales have done rather well this season. Christie's New York's 20th Century Sale realised a total of $302,007,600 the other night, with Ed Ruscha's Standard Station soaring to $68,260,000 and Magritte's L'empire des lumières at $18,810,000 over its $6m - $8m estimate.
Let's hope this present feeling of economic optimism, in face of growing nuclear tensions far away from Yorke Ave and Rockefeller Plaza, will last until the Old Master Paintings sales in December!
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Well, there it is. I'm off to present 2 hours of lectures on Sir Joshua Reynolds this morning to clear the mind. I'll return in the afternoon to publish more AHN in due course!
Update - Everything in this video (Bendor adds) makes me want to bring in a form of communism so pure that even Karl Marx would blush. 'One of three editions (and two artist's proofs)'. FFS.
Sotheby's New York Modern Sales realise $322m
November 19 2024
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Results from the recent Modern Evening sales at Sotheby's New York appear to show that the high-end of the Modern and Impressionist market is in a rather good place at the moment. Sydell Miller's single-owner auction, which was a white-glove sale (meaning all lots sold), brought in a total of $215,953,000 (all figures inc. premiums). The top lot was Monet's Nymphéas (pictured), which achieved an impressive $65,500,000. Likewise, the Modern Evening Auction achieved a total of $106,184,000, with a bust by Alberto Giacometti making the top price of $13,250,000.
Whether or not you attribute these positive results to what the New York Times has described as the 'Trump Bump', the real test will perhaps be on Thursday when Maurizio Cattelan's highly anticipated Comedian [also known as the Banana duct taped to a wall] is offered for sale carrying a $1m - $1.5m estimate. The Modern and Contemporary market never fails to produce surprises, it seems.
The Christie's New York 20th / 21st Century Evening Sales are scheduled for this evening, so more news to come.
Jewellery Painting Soars!
November 15 2024
Picture: Van Ham
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The following painting catalogued as 'Lavinia Fontana - The Choice of Jewellery. Lady by the Toilet.' soared to 607,200 EUR (including premium) over its 8,000 - 10,000 EUR estimate at Van Ham in Cologne yesterday. Let's wait and see if it turns up anywhere interesting!
Update - the curious thing about this lot (writes Bendor) is that it was catalogued as by an unknown artist at first. Perhaps just to get all our hopes up!
Paris OMP Sales
November 14 2024
Picture: Artcurial
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I feel that I may have neglected pointing out the upcoming season of Old Master Paintings auctions in Paris, which are increasingly full of interesting pictures to examine and admire. This includes Christie's Paris, who have a live sale on 21st November and an online sale which ends on 22nd November, and Artcurial on 26th November.
Sotheby's Paris' auction, which was held earlier on the 13th November (yesterday), yielded a few interesting results, most notably Vigée Le Brun's portrait of the Marquess Dubois de La Motte which realised 120,000 EUR over its 40k - 60k estimate.
Sleeper Alert!
November 14 2024
Picture: Pandolfini
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Quite a few accounts on social media have pointed out the phenomenal 290,000 EUR this drawing made at Pandolfini in Florence yesterday. The work, catalogued as 'Artist of the 18th century', soared past its 1,000 - 1,500 EUR estimate. Several accounts have pointed towards the sheet possibly belonging to a 16th century German hand.
Sotheby's London Day Sale
November 13 2024
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Sotheby's London upcoming Old Master & 19th Century Paintings Day Sale has been uploaded online. The auction will take place on 5th December 2024.
As usual with these sales, I won't spoil the fun by point out what may or may not be interesting.
Christie's Old Masters Part II
November 9 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's London have uploaded their upcoming Old Masters Part II: Paintings, Sculpture, Drawings and Watercolours sale online. This auction will take place on 4th December 2024.
As usually, I won't spoil the fun by pointing out what may or may not be interesting.
Sotheby's London December Sale
November 9 2024
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's London have just published their upcoming Old Master & 19th Century Paintings Evening Sale online. The auction will take place on 4th December 2024.
The top lots of this year's sale are 3 Italian Renaissance and baroque pictures. Amongst the highlights are Rosso Fiorentino's Virgin and Child with St John the Baptist (pictured), a painting that was in Catherine the Great's collection until the state sales of the fledgling Soviet Union, which carries an estimate of £2m - £3m. Alongside this is a Botticelli from the Lloyd Collection, depicting the Virgin and Child Enthroned, which likewise carries an estimate of £2m - £3m (here's an article on the picture by The Times). The trio is topped off with a Magdalen in Meditation by Artemisia Gentileschi, also at £2m - £3m. Amongst the other top lots are works by George Stubbs, Osman Hamdy Bey and Eugène Delacroix.
Bonhams December Sale
November 8 2024
Picture: Bonhams
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Bonhams London have uploaded their upcoming Old Master Paintings sale online. The auction will take place on 4th December 2024.
Although I don't usually comment on pictures within these sales, I thought it worth pointing out these two outstanding fancy pictures by Johann Zoffany, depicting a flower and watercress seller from eighteenth century London. They have descended directly from the family that acquired them over two centuries ago and are ripe for a clean as you can see. The pair carry an estimate of £300,000 - £500,000.
Christie's London December Sale
November 7 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's London have just uploaded their upcoming Old Masters Part I sale online. The live sale will take place on 3rd December 2024 at 6.30pm.
The top lot of the sale is this rather fine Andalusian Horse by Van Dyck (pictured), estimated at £2m - £3m, a study which was executed for the artist's equestrian portrait of Charles V now in the Uffizi, Florence. Here's the full press release explaining its significance, including the fact the reverse contains the 'only surviving landscape in oil by Van Dyck'. The picture last made £773,750 when sold in the same rooms back in 2000, albeit in an apparently very yellowed state!
Amongst the other highlights of the sale are a commedia dell'arte scene by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo at £1m - £1.5m, a Semon of St John the Baptist by Pieter Brueghel II at £800k - £1.2m, and a pair of Venetian views by Michele Marieschi at £600k - £800k. The sale also contains several high-value nineteenth century works, including pictures by Francesco Hayez, Gustave Courbet and Michael Peter Ancher.
Early Rediscovered Poussin coming up at Ader
October 1 2024
Picture: Artnet
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Artnet have shared news of an early rediscovered Poussin which is coming up for sale at the French auction house Ader later in November. Vénus Épiée par Deux Satyres, which was researched with the assistance of Eric Turquin and featured in an exhibition last year in Lyons, will carry an estimate of 'up to €1m'.
Dorotheum Sale
October 1 2024
Picture: Dorotheum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Dorotheum in Vienna have recently published their upcoming Old Masters sale online. As usual, there are many interesting and fascinating lots to browse through. The sale will take place on 22nd October 2024.
Bonhams Autumn Sale
September 23 2024
Picture: Bonhams
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Bonhams London's autumn Old Master Paintings sale has been published online with bidding for lots closing on 2nd October 2024.
As usual, I won't spoil the fun by pointing out what may or may not be interesting.
Monumental Desportes Coming Up
September 20 2024
Video: ARTCENTO
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The French auction house Pousse-Cornet will be offering a monumental still life by Alexandre-François Desportes in a few days' time. The painting, which cataloguing suggests hasn't been offered for sale since 1961, carrys an estimate of 100,000 - 150,000 euros.
$200m Sydell Miller Collection coming up at Sotheby's
September 20 2024
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's New York have announced the sale of $200m worth of art from the collection of the eyelash and haircare mogul Sydell Miller (d. 2024) in November 2024. Spanning over 90 lots, works on the block will include high-value paintings by Monet, Picasso (pictured), Kandinsky and Matisse.
According to their website:
After selling her company, with a renewed sense of time and energy, she turned her focus to family, philanthropy and collecting. Informed by countless family visits to galleries, museums and auctions, Miller built the foundations of the extraordinary collection to follow. Alongside her pursuit of fine art, Miller also began collecting design. Her initial focus in these formative years was on iconic French eighteenth-century furniture and European design, particularly the French Art Deco period of the 1920s and 1930s. Guided by her impeccable eye for beauty and craftsmanship, she sought out pieces that captured the elegance and refinement of that era. Over time, Miller’s collecting interests broadened to include not only historic masterpieces but also daring contemporary Design works. She began integrating modern and post-war design into her collection, acquiring pieces by such celebrated designers as François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, and – as her passion for decorative arts and design evolved – she showed increasing interest in works by emerging Contemporary designers, including Robert Goosens, David Wiseman, Joseph Walsh and others. What distinguished Miller as a collector is how she lived with these works – fine art and design were not separate categories but coexisted harmoniously in her spaces. Throughout her pioneering career, her self-avowed aim was always to promote “individual expression and creativity”, and this aesthetic is at the heart of her collection.
Sleeper Alert!
September 13 2024
Picture: Gorringe's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A reader has kindly been in touch with news that this nude study soared past its modest £60 - £80 estimate at Gorringe's this week to achieve an impressive £38,000. The painting's description in the online catalogue was 'Impasto oil on board, Abstract composition, Nude art school study (believed to be Slade)'. I wonder what the consignor thought after hearing the result!
Iolo Williams Collection at Olympia Auctions
September 13 2024
Picture: Olympia Auctions
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Olympia Auctions in West London will be offering 88 fine drawings and watercolours from the collection of Iolo Williams (1890-1962) on 2nd October 2024. Williams was a great scholar on the subject of watercolours and this sale is a homage to this passion.
According to the auction house:
Having been kept safely - in storage boxes under a bed - this will be their [the lots offered] first appearance on the market for more than 60 years and in some cases much longer.
Iolo Williams was a museums and art critic for The Times from 1936 onwards and an avid collector. Born in Middlesborough, he lived in Hindhead in his youth and latterly in Kew, south-west of London, and formed his collection from the 1930’s to the 1950’s when unidentified drawings could be picked up for a modest price from dealers and auctions. Through diligent research, he identified many works as being by leading exponents of the golden age of British drawings and watercolours: artists such as Thomas Girtin, Richard Wilson, William Payne, John Varley and Paul Sandby. He also discovered and put on record other artists about whom little was then known.
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With such tempting estimates, there has probably never been a better time to get collecting in this field. As a quick plug, I discussed this subject (alongside many others) in a long-format podcast I recorded with Dr David Bellingham earlier in the summer.
Er... what are those doing there?
September 10 2024
Picture: Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden GmbH
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The following Biedermeier era portrait sold at Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden in Germany a few days ago. As stated in the catalogue, the early nineteenth century painting had been selectively 'overpainted' by the contemporary artist Eike Heinrich Redel (b. 1951). The work sold for 700 EUR (hammer price) in the end. I wonder how much the old painting underneath had cost Redel in the first place!
See here for Banksy's own re-interpretation of an early portrait by Thomas Beach and a similar post on AHN back in 2021.
Clara Peeters headlines Koller Sale
September 6 2024
Picture: Koller
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Amongst the highlights of Koller's upcoming Old Master Paintings sale is this still life by Clara Peeters. The catalogue note, which explains the attribution alongside question of exactly which birds are featured within, is worth a read. The painting will be offered for 300,000 - 500,000 CHF on 20th September 2024.
Susanna Drury Soars!
September 5 2024
Picture: Woolley & Wallis
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
This charming watercolour of London by the rare and little-known artist Susanna Drury (c.1698-c.1770) achieved an impressive £81,900 (inc. premium) over its £1,500 - £2,500 estimate at Woolley & Wallis yesterday.
In other related W&W news, the fine Constable sketch I posted the other day eventually realised £516,600 (inc. premium) over its £50k - £80k estimate. Never underestimate a Constable sketch, it seems clear!
